IQ and Human Intelligence
Price:
$74.95 (05)Description
The study and measurement of human intelligence is one of the most controversial subjects in psychology. For much of its history, the focus has been on differences between people, what it means for one individual to be more intelligent than the other, and how such differences might have arisen. With the emphasis on these issues, the efforts to understand the general nature of intelligence have been obscured.The author provides clear, comprehensive, and expremely redable introduction to this difficult subject. In addition to a discussion of the traditional topics raised by IQ tests, this book attempts to bring the theory and data of cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience to bear on some of these other, equally important scientific questions.
Reviews
"This book provides an overview of the main issues around the study of intelligence, including the mdoern development of IQ testing, environmental and hereditary effects on intelligence, factor analysis, and theories of intelligence. It also looks at different kinds of intelligence, such as verbal and spatial abilities, and reasoning and problem solving. Mackintosh (psychology, U. of Cambridge) incorporates explanatory boxes and chapter summaries making this a useful text for advanced undergraduates and graduate students in psychology."--Reference & Research Book News
"Now N. J. Mackintosh, a distinguished animal-learning theorist having considerable psychometric experience and no aversion to tackling difficult and controversial issues, weighs in with his own views [on the g factor]. IQ and Human Intelligence demonstrates that he has done his homework. . . . Mackintosh's analysis of purported environmental influences on intelligence is one of the most thoughtful in the literature. . . . One of the great strengths of this book is its treatment of cognitive science research relevant to understanding intelligence. Mackintosh's mastery of the empirical findings, their possible interpretation, and contemporary theory is impressive. . . . The scientific study of human intelligence was for a long time primarily an applied activity focused on measurement . . . [Now it] has become a major theoretical enterprise. [This book] is a superb introduction to the current status of both facets of this important and fascinating endeavor."--Science
