In this article, the author reviews three traditions of cognitive assessment: the structural approach (based on factor analytic research), the information-processing approach, and the dynamic approach (based on learning theory). The theoretical background of each assessment approach is sketched and the advantages and disadvantages of each discussed. The author then proposes an integrated two-factor cognitive theory which accommodates all three traditions. Using this theory as a basis, he proposes a design for a test battery which would be appropriate for use in a multicultural context and would identify individuals likely to benefit from developmental opportunities.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AckermanP.L. (1988). Determinants of individual differences during skill acquisition: cognitive abilities and information processing. Joural of Experimental Psychology: General, 117, 288–318.
2.
AndersonJ.R. (1983). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press.
3.
BaddeleyA.D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
4.
BerryJ.W. (1984). Towards a universal psychology of cognitive competence. International Journal of Psychology, 19, 335–361.
5.
BiesheuvelS. (1972). Adaptability: its measurement and determiants. In CronbachL.J.DrenthP.D. (Eds), Mental tests and cultural adaptation. The Hague: Mouton.
6.
BoeyensJ. (1989). Learning potential: an empirical investigation. NIPR Special Report Pers 435. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.
7.
BroadbentD.E. (1958). Perception and communication. London: Pergamon Press.
8.
BransfordJ.P.DelclosV.R.VyeN.J.BurnsM.S.HasselbringT. S. (1987). State of the art and future directions. In LidzC.S. (Ed.), Dynamic assessment. (pp. 479–496). New York: Guilford.
9.
BudoffM. (1968). Learning potential as a supplementary assessment proceure. In HellmuthJ. (Ed.), Learning disorders, Vol. 3, (pp. 295–343). Seattle: Special Child.
10.
BudoffM. (1974). Measuring learning potential: an alternative to the traditional intelligence test. In GredlerG.R. (Ed.), Ethical and legal factors in the practice of school psychology, (pp. 74–89). Philadelphia: Temple University.
11.
BudoffM. (1987). The validity of learning potential assessment. In LidzC.S. (Ed.), Dynamic assessment (pp. 52–81). New York: Guilford Press.
12.
BurtC. (1949). The structure of mind: a review of the results of factor analysis. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 19, 176–199.
13.
CampioneJ.C.BrownA.L. (1987). Linking dynamic assessment with school achievement. In LidzC.S. (Ed.), Dynamic assessment. (pp. 82–115). New York: Guilford.
14.
CampioneJ.C.BrownA.L.FerraraR.A.JonesR.S.SteinbergE. (1985). Breakdowns in flexible use of information: intelligence-related differences in transfer following equivalent learning performance. Intelligence, 9, 297–315.
15.
CarlsonJ.S.WiedlK.H. (1992). Principles of dynamic assessment: the application of a specific model. Learning and Individual Differences, 4, 153–166.
16.
CarrollJ.B. (1976). Psychometric tests as cognitive tasks: a new ‘structure of intellect’. In ResnickL.B. (Ed.), The nature of intelligence. Hillsdale (N.J.): Lawrence Erlbaum.
17.
CascioW.F.OuttzJ.ZedeckS.GoldsteinI.L. (1991). Statistical implications of six methods of test score use in personnel selection. Human Performance, 4, 233–264.
18.
CattellR.B. (1971). Abilities: their structure, growth, and action. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
19.
CronbachL.J. (1957). The two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist, 12, 671–684.
20.
CronbachL.J.FurbyL. (1970). How should we measure ‘change’ or should we?. Psychological Bulletin, 74, 68–80.
EmbretsonS.E. (1987). Toward development of a psychometric approach. In LidzC.S. (Ed.), Dynamic assessment. (pp. 141–170). New York: Guilford Press.
23.
EmbretsonS.E. (1992). Measuring and validating cognitive modifiability as an ability: a study in the spatial domain. Journal of Educational Measurement, 29, 25–50.
24.
EysenckH.J. (1986). The theory of intelligence and the psychophysiology of cognition. In SternbergR.J. (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human intelligence, Vol. 3. Hillsdale (NJ): Erlbaum.
25.
EstesW.K. (1982). Learning, memory, and intelligence. In SternbergR.J. (Ed.), Handbook of human intelligence. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
26.
FergusonG.A. (1954). On learning and human ability. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 8, 95–11.
27.
FergusonG.A. (1956). On transfer and the abilities of man. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 10, 121–131.
28.
FerrettiR.P.ButterfieldE.C. (1992). Intelligence—related differences in the learning, maintenance, and transfer of problem-solving strategies. Intelligence, 16, 207–223.
29.
FeuersteinR. (1980). Instrumental enrichment. Baltimore: University Park Press.
30.
FrijdaN.H.JahodaG. (1966). On the scope and methods of cross-cultural research. International Journal of Psychology, 1, 110–127.
31.
GaltonF. (1883). Enquiries into human faculty and its development. London: Macmillan.
32.
GuptaR.M.CoxheadP. (1988). Why assess learning potential?. In GuptaR.M.CoxheadP. (Eds), Cultural diversity and learning efficiency: recent developments in assessment. (pp. 1–21). New York: St Martins Press.
33.
GuilfordJ.P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.
34.
GuttmanL. (1965). A faceted definition of intelligence. In EifermanR. (Ed.), Scripta Hierosolymitana Studies in Psychology, 14, 166–181. Jerusalem: Hebrew University.
35.
HakstianA.R.VandenbergS.G. (1979). Cross-cultural generalizability of a higher-order cognitive structural model. Intelligence, 3, 73–103.
36.
HartiganJ.A.WigdorA.K. (1989). National Research Council Fairness in Employment Testing: Validity generalization, minority issues, and the GATB. Washington: National Academy Press.
37.
HebbD.O. (1949). The organisation of behavior. New York: Wiley.
38.
HegartyS. (1988). Learning ability and psychometric practice. In GuptaR.M.CoxheadP. (Eds), Cultural diversity and learning efficiency: recent developments in assessment. (pp. 22–38). New York: St Martins Press.
39.
HickW. (1952). On the rate of gain of information. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 86, 10–13.
40.
HolburnP.T. (1992). Test bias in the Intermediate Mental Alertness, Mechanical Comprehension, Blox, and High Level Figure Classification Tests: an NTB/HSRC report. Contract Report C/Pers 453. Johannesburg: Human Sciences Research Council.
41.
HornJ.L. (1986). Intellectual ability concepts. In SternbergR.J. (Eds), Advances in the psychology of human Intelligence. (pp. 35–77). Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum.
42.
HornJ.L. (1989). Models of intelligence. In LinnR.L. (Ed.), Intelligence, 29–73. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
43.
HornJ.L.KnappJ.R. (1973). On the subjective character of the empirical base of Guilford's structure-of-intellect model. Psychological Bulletin, 80, 33–43.
44.
HuntE. (1980). Intelligence as an information processing concept. British Journal of Psychology, 71, 449–474.
45.
HuntE. (1985). The correlates of intelligence. In DettermanD.K. (Ed), Current topics in human intelligence, Vol. 1, (pp. 157–178). Norwood (N.J.): Ablex.
46.
HunterJ.E.SchmidtF.L. (1981). Fitting people to jobs: the impact of personnel selection on national productivity. In DunnetteM.A.FleishmanE.A. (Eds), Human performance and productivity: Vol. 1. Human capability assessment. (pp. 233–284). Hillsdale (N.J.): Lawence Erlbaum.
47.
IrvineS.H.CarrollW.K. (1980). Testing and assessment: issues in methodology and theory. In TriandisH.C.BerryJ.W. (Eds), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology, Vol. 2: methodology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
48.
JensenA.R. (1980). Bias in mental testing. London: Methuen.
49.
JensenA.R. (1982). The chronometry of intelligence. In SternbergR. J. (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human intelligence, Vol. 1. Hillsdale (NJ): Erlbaum.
50.
JensenA.R. (1988). Speed of information processing and population differences. In IrvineS.H.BerryJ. W. (Eds), Human abilities in cultural context. (pp. 105–145). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
51.
KirbyN.H.NettlebeckT. (1989). Reaction time and inspection time as measures of intellectual ability. Personality and Individual Differences, 10, 11–14.
52.
KranzlerJ.H. (1992). A test of Larson and Alderton's (1990) worst performance rule of reaction time variability. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 255–261.
53.
KranzlerJ.H.JensenA.R. (1989). Inspection time and intelligence: a meta-analysis. Intelligence, 13, 329–347.
54.
KyllonenP.C.ChristalR.E. (1989). Cognitive modeling of learning abilities: a status report of LAMP. In DillonR.F.PellegrinoJ.W. (Eds), Testing. (pp. 146–173). New York: Praeger.
55.
LarsonG.E.AldertonD.L. (1990). Reaction time variability and intelligence: a ‘worst performance’ analysis of individual differences. Intelligence, 14, 309–325.
56.
LarsonG.E.SaccuzzoG.E. (1989). Cognitive correlates of general intelligence: toward a process theory of g. Intelligence, 13, 5–31.
57.
LaughtonP. (1990). The dynamic assessment of intelligence: a review of three approaches. School Psychology Review, 19, 459–470.
58.
LevyP. (1992). Inspection time and its relation to intelligence: issues of measurement and meaning. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 987–1002.
59.
MarshalekB.LohmanD. F.SnowR.E. (1983). The complexity continuum in the radex and hierarchical models of intelligence. Intelligence, 7, 107–127.
60.
NellV.TaylorT.R. (1993). Bypassing culture: user's manual for the Neuropsychological Battery. Johannesburg: Unisa Health Psychology Unit, P.O. Box 4788.
61.
NettlebeckT.LallyM. (1976). Inspection time and measured intelligence. British Journal of Psychology, 67, 17–22.
62.
NeubauerA. (1990). Selective reaction times and intelligence. Intelligence, 14, 79–90.
63.
NewellA.SimonH. (1972). Human problem solving. Englewood Cliffs (N. J.): Prentice—Hall.
64.
OwenK. (1989). Test and item bias: the suitability of the Junior Aptitude Tests as a common test battery for White, Indian, and Black pupils in Standard 7. Report P-96. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.
65.
PellegrinoJ.W.GlaserR. (1979). Cognitive correlates and components in the analysis of individual differences. In SternbergR.J.DettermanD.K. (Eds), Human intelligence. Norwood (N.J.): Ablex.
66.
PosnerM.I.BoiesS.J.EichelmanW.H.TaylorR.L. (1969). Retention of visual and name codes of single letters. Journal of Experimental Psychology Monograph, 79, 1–16.
67.
ResnickL.B.NechesR. (1984). Factors affecting individual differences in learning ability. In SternbergR.J. (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human intelligence, Vol 2. Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum.
68.
SaccuzzoD.P.LarsonG.E.RimlandB. (1986). Visual, auditory, and reaction time approaches to the measurement of speed of information processing and individual differences in intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences, 7, 659–667.
69.
SchiffrinR.M.SchneiderW. (1977). Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending, and a general theory. Psychological Review, 84, 127–190.
70.
SenA. (1991). Alternative to psychological testing. Psychology in Developing Societies, 3, 203–220.
71.
SnowR.E.KyllonenP.C.MarshalekB. (1984). The topography of ability and learning correlations. In SternbergR.J. (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human intelligence, Vol. 2. Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum.
72.
SnowR.E.LohmanD.F. (1984). Toward a theory of cognitive aptitude for learning from instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 347–376.
73.
SnowR.E.MarshalekB.LohmanD.F. (1976). Correlation of selected cognitive abilities and cognitive processing parameters: an exploratory study. School of Education Technical Report No. 3. Palo Alto (CA): Stanford University.
74.
SpearmanC.E. (1927). The abilities of man, their nature and measurement. London: Macmillan.
75.
SternbergR.J. (1977). Intelligence, information processing, and analogical reasoning. Hillsdale (N.J.): Lawrence Erlbaum.
76.
SternbergR.J. (1982). A componential approach to intellectual development. In SternbergR.J. (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human intelligence, Vol. 1. Hillsdale (NJ): Lawrence Erlbaum.
77.
SternbergR.J. (1984). Towards a triarchic theory of human intelligence. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 7, 269–287.
78.
SternbergR.J. (1986). GENECES: a framework for intellectual abilities and theories of them. Intelligence, 10, 239–250.
79.
SternbergR.J. (1988). Intelligence. In SternbergR.J.SmithE.E. (Eds), The psychology of human thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
80.
SternbergS. (1969). Memory scanning: mental processes revealed by reaction time experiments. American Scientist, 57, 421–457.
81.
TaylorT.R. (1987a). The future of cognitive assessment. NIPR Special Report Pers 420. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.
82.
TaylorT.R. (1987b). Test bias: the roles and responsibilities of test user and test publisher. NIPR Special Report Pers 424. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council.
83.
TaylorT.R.BoeyensJ.C.A. (1991). The comparability of the scores of blacks and whites on the South African Personality Questionnaire: an exploratory study. South African Journal of Psychology, 21, 1–11.
84.
ThurstoneL.L. (1938). Primary mental abilities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
85.
van der VijverF.J.R.PoortingaY.H. (1982). Cross—cultural generalization and universality. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 13, 387–408.
86.
VernonP.A. (1983). Speed of information processing and general intelligence. Intelligence, 7, 53–70.
87.
VernonP.A. (1986). Relationships between speed-of-processing, personality, and intelligence. In BagleyC.VermaG.K. (Eds), Personality, cognition, and values. London: Macmillan.
88.
VernonP.A. (1987). New developments in reaction time research. In VernonP.A. (Ed.), Speed of information processing and intelligence. Norwood (NJ): Ablex.
89.
VernonP.A. (1989). The heritability of measures of speed of information-processing. Personality and Individual Differences, 5, 411–423.
90.
VernonP.A. (1990). An overview of chronometric measures of intelligence. School Psychology Review, 19, 399–410.
91.
VernonP.A.JensenA.R. (1984). Individual and group differences in intelligence and speed of information processing. Personality and Individual Differences, 5, 411–423.
92.
VernonP.E. (1962). The structure of human abilities. London: Methuen.
93.
VersterJ.M. (1982). A cross-cultural study of cognitive processes using computerized tests. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Pretoria: University of South Africa.
94.
VersterJ.M. (1986). Cognitive competence in Africa and models of information processing: a research prospectus. NIPR Report Pers 411. Johannesburg: Human Sciences Research Council.
95.
VickersD.NettlebeckT.WillsonR.J. (1972). Perceptual indices of performance: The measurement of ‘inspection time’ and ‘noise’ in the visual system. Perception, 1, 263–295.
96.
VygotskyL.S. (1978). Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press.
97.
WerbeloffM.TaylorT.R. (1983). Test administrator's manual for the High Level Figure Classification Test. Johannesburg: Human Sciences Research Council.
98.
WoodrowH. (1938). The relationship between ability and improvement with practice. Journal of Educational Psychology, 29, 215–230.
