Cognition/Intelligence, Assessment of

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

The goal of the French psychologists Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon was to examine the mental abilities of children in comparison with their average-level achieving peers. In the first couple of decades of the 20th century, Binet and Simon defined intelligence as a fundamental faculty that is of the utmost importance for practical life. They referred to this faculty variously as judgment, good sense, practical sense, initiative, and the ability to adapt one's self to circumstances. A person who lacks judgment may be a moron or an imbecile, but a person who has good judgment cannot be either. Indeed, Binet and Simon believed that the rest of the intellectual faculties were of little importance in comparison with judgment. The Binet-Simon scale required children to complete a series of mental activities until the items consistently became too difficult for them to answer correctly. The tests were normed to allow an estimate of “mental age” for each student based on the types of items they were able to answer correctly.

Lewis Terman revised and extended the Binet-Simon scale in 1912, standardized it using a large American sample, and renamed it the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Terman defined intelligence as the ability to engage in abstract thinking. Terman was well known for his work in assessing children to predict whether they would be successful later in life. He found that children who were gifted tended to be healthier, taller, better developed physically and advanced in leadership and social adaptability compared to their average-level peers.

The Stanford-Binet Scale, which was revised for its fifth edition (SB5) by Gale Roid, can be used across the lifespan. It has been normed with 4,800 participants including 1,400 children ages 2 to 5. The Stanford-Binet assesses two Domains (verbal and nonverbal reasoning) and five Factors (fluid reasoning, visual-spatial processing, quantitative reasoning, working memory, and knowledge). Each of the Factors is assessed through different subtests in each of the Domains. For example, there are verbal and nonverbal subtests for fluid reasoning. The Stanford-Binet provides a number of objects such as blocks [Page 498]and colorful toys that must be manipulated to increase the attention and enjoyment of young children. The assessment takes about 5 minutes per subtest to administer.

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