Review of Davis-Eells test of general intelligence or problem-solving ability

Abstract

Reviews the book "Davis-Eells test of general intelligence or problem-solving ability" by A. Davis and K. Eells (1953). These scales represent the culmination of an enormous amount of effort on the part of the "Chicago" group to develop tests which are interesting to children, free from cultural status bias, and not dependent upon schooling and specific training. In order to eliminate reading ability as a source of variance, pictorial items (drawings) are used, with oral presentation of the problem posed by each item. The test administrator is urged to maintain a "games" rather than a "test" atmosphere. The authors propose to replace the vague term "intelligence" by the more descriptive term "problem-solving ability." To this the reviewer would have no objection provided evidence were marshaled to show something of the generality of problem-solving ability. The reviewer also wonders about the reliability of the test. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)