The Measurement of Intelligence Part 25

The following are samples of satisfactory definitions, those for each word being arranged roughly in the order of their value from excellent to barely pa.s.sing:--

(a) _Balloon_

_Satisfactory._ "A balloon is a means of traveling through the air." "It is a kind of airs.h.i.+p, made of cloth and filled with air so it can go up." "It is big and made of cloth. It has gas in it and carries people up in a basket that's fastened on to the bottom." "It is a thing you hold by a string and it goes up." "It is like a big bag with air in it." "It is a big thing that goes up."

_Unsatisfactory._ "To go up in the air." "What you go up in."

"When you go up." "They go up in it." "It's full of gas." "To carry you up." "A balloon is a balloon," etc. "It is big." "They go up," etc.

(b) _Tiger_

_Satisfactory._ "It is a wild animal of the cat family." "It is an animal that's a cousin to the lion." "It is an animal that lives in the jungle." "It is a wild animal." "It looks like a big cat." "It lives in the woods and eats flesh." "Something that eats people."

_Unsatisfactory._ "To eat you up." "To kill people." "To travel in the circus." "What eats people." "It is a tiger," etc. "You run from it," etc.

(c) _Football_

_Satisfactory._ "It is a leather bag filled with air and made for kicking." "It is a ball you kick." "It is a thing you play with." "It is made of leather and is stuffed with air." "It is a thing you kick." "It is brown and filled with air." "It is a thing shaped like a watermelon."

_Unsatisfactory._ "To kick." "To play with." "What they play with." "Boys play with it." "It's filled with air." "It is a football." "It is a basket ball." "It is round." "You kick it."

(d) _Soldier_

_Satisfactory._ "A man who goes to war." "A brave man." "A man that walks up and down and carries a gun." "It is a man who minds his captain and stands still and walks straight." "It is a man who goes to war and shoots." "It is a man who stands straight and marches."

_Unsatisfactory._ "To shoot." "To go to war." "It is a soldier."

"A soldier that marches." "He fights." "He shoots." "What fights," etc. "When you march and shoot."

Silence accounts for only a small proportion of the failures with children of 8, 9, and 10 years.

REMARKS. The "use definitions" sometimes given at this age are usually of slightly better quality than those given in year V. Younger children more often use the infinitive form, "to play with" (doll), "to drive"

(horse), "to eat on" (table), etc. Use definitions of this year more often begin with "they," or "what"; as, "they go up in it" (balloon), "they kick it" (football), etc.

Why, it may be asked, is the use definition regarded as inferior to the descriptive or the cla.s.sificatory definition? Is not the use to which an object may be put the most essential thing about it, for the child at least? Is it not more important to know that a fork is to eat with than to be able to name the material it is made of? Is not the use primary and does it not determine most of the physical characteristics of the object?

The above questions may sound reasonable, but they are based on poor psychology. We must rest our case upon the facts. The first lesson which the student of child psychology must learn is that it is unsafe to set up criteria of intelligence, of maturity, or of any other mental trait on the basis of theoretical considerations. Experiment teaches that normal children of 5 or 6 years, also older feeble-minded persons of the 5-year intelligence level, define objects in terms of use; also that normal children of 8 or 9 years and older feeble-minded persons of this mental level have for the most part developed beyond the stage of use definitions into the descriptive or cla.s.sificatory stage. An ounce of fact is worth a ton of theory.

The test has usually been located in year IX, with the requirement of three successes out of five trials and with somewhat more rigid scoring of the individual definitions. When only two successes are required in four trials, and when scored leniently, the test belongs at the 8-year level.

VIII, 6. VOCABULARY; TWENTY DEFINITIONS, 3600 WORDS

PROCEDURE. Use the list of words given in the record booklet. Say to the child: "_I want to find out how many words you know. Listen; and when I say a word you tell me what it means._" If the child can read, give him a printed copy of the word list and let him look at each word as you p.r.o.nounce it.

The words are arranged approximately (though not exactly) in the order of their difficulty, and it is best to begin with the easier words and proceed to the harder. With children under 9 or 10 years, begin with the first. Apparently normal children of 10 years may safely be credited with the first ten words without being asked to define them. Apparently normal children of 12 may begin with word 16, and 15-year-olds with word 21. Except with subjects of almost adult intelligence there is no need to give the last ten or fifteen words, as these are almost never correctly defined by school children. A safe rule to follow is to continue until eight or ten successive words have been missed and to score the remainder _minus_ without giving them.

The formula is as follows: "What is an _orange_?" "What is a _bonfire_?"

"_Roar_; what does _roar_ mean?" "_Gown_; what is a _gown_?" "What does _tap_ mean?" "What does _scorch_ mean?" "What is a _puddle_?" etc.

Some children at first show a little hesitation about answering, thinking that a strictly formal definition is expected. In such cases a little encouragement is necessary; as: "_You know what a bonfire is. You have seen a bonfire. Now, what is a bonfire?_" If the child still hesitates, say: "_Just tell me in your own words; say it any way you please. All I want is to find out whether you know what a bonfire is._"

Do not torture the child, however, by undue insistence. If he persists in his refusal to define a word which he would ordinarily be expected to know, it is better to pa.s.s on to the next one and to return to the troublesome word later. Above all, avoid helping the child by ill.u.s.trating the use of a word in a sentence. Adhere strictly to the formula given above. If the definition as given does not make it clear whether the child has the correct idea, say: "_Explain_," or, "_I don't understand; explain what you mean._"

Encourage the child frequently by saying: "That's fine. You are doing beautifully. You know lots of words," etc. Never tell the child his definition is not correct, and never ask for a different definition.

Avoid saying anything which would suggest a model form of definition, as the type of definition which the child spontaneously chooses throws interesting light on the degree of maturity of the apperceptive processes. Record all definitions _verbatim_ if possible, or at least those which are exceptionally good, poor, or doubtful.

SCORING. Credit a response in full if it gives one correct meaning for the word, regardless of whether that meaning is the most common one, and regardless of whether it is the original or a derived meaning.

Occasionally half credit may be given, but this should be avoided as far as possible.

To find the entire vocabulary, multiply the number of words known by 180. (This list is made up of 100 words selected by rule from a dictionary containing 18,000 words.) Thus, the child who defines 20 words correctly has a vocabulary of 20 180 = 3600 words; 50 correct definitions would mean a vocabulary of 9000 words, etc. The following are the standards for different years, as determined by the vocabulary reached by 60 to 65 per cent of the subjects of the various mental levels:--

8 years 20 words vocabulary 3,600 10 years 30 words vocabulary 5,400 12 years 40 words vocabulary 7,200 14 years 50 words vocabulary 9,000 Average adult 65 words vocabulary 11,700 Superior adult 75 words vocabulary 13,500

Although the form of the definition is significant, it is not taken into consideration in scoring. The test is intended to explore the range of ideas rather than the evolution of thought forms. When it is evident that the child has one fairly correct meaning for a word, he is given full credit for it, however poorly the definition may have been stated.

While there is naturally some difficulty now and then in deciding whether a given definition is correct, this happens much less frequently than one would expect. In order to get a definite idea of the extent of error due to the individual differences among examiners, we have had the definitions of 25 subjects graded independently by 10 different persons.

The result showed an average difference below 3 in the number of definitions scored _plus_. Since these subjects attempted on an average about 60 words, the average number of doubtful definitions per subject was below 5 per cent of the number attempted.

An idea of the degree of leniency to be exercised may be had from the following examples of definitions, which are mostly of low grade, but acceptable unless otherwise indicated:--

1. _Orange._ "An orange is to eat." "It is yellow and grows on a tree." (Both full credit.)

2. _Bonfire._ "You burn it outdoors." "You burn some leaves or things." "It's a big fire." (All full credit.)

3. _Roar._ "A lion roars." "You holler loud." (Full credit.)

4. _Gown._ "To sleep in." "It's a nightie." "It's a nice gown that ladies wear." (All full credit.)

7. _Puddle._ "You splash in it." "It's just a puddle of water."

(Both full credit.)

9. _Straw._ "It grows in the field." "It means wheat-straw." "The horses eat it." (All full credit.)

10. _Rule._ "The teacher makes rules." "It means you can't do something." "You make marks with it," i.e., a ruler, often called a _rule_ by school children. (All full credit.)

11. _Afloat._ "To float on the water." "A s.h.i.+p floats." (Both full credit.)

12. _Eyelash._ If the child says, "It's over the eye," tell him to point to it, as often the word is confused with _eyebrow_.

14. _Copper._ "It's a penny." "It means some copper wire." (Both full credit.)

15. _Health._ "It means good health or bad health." "It means strong." (Both full credit.)

17. _Guitar._ "You play on it." (Full credit.)

18. _Mellow._ If the child says, "It means a mellow apple," ask what kind of apple that would be. For full credit the answer must be "soft," "mushy," etc.

19. _Pork._ If the answer is "meat," ask what animal it comes from. Half credit if wrong animal is named.

21. _Plumbing._ "You fix pipes." (Full credit.)