A Comparison of Three Tests of General Intelligence

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the variability in performance of the members of a selected, homogeneous group in a number of accepted tests of general intelligence and to measure the relationship between success in each of these tests and school grades, the measures of academic success. The tests used were the Otis General Intelligence, the Army Alpha, and the Morgan Mental tests. The subjects were students (men) in the junior and senior classes of the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania. An analysis of the results shows that there is less variability in the performance of the individuals of a selected group with the Army Alpha and the Otis test than between Alpha and the Morgan test. The discrepancy in the results of individual members of the group on the different tests of "General Intelligence" leads to the conclusion that the mental ability measured by each of these tests is not the same. The comparison of test results with academic records indicates that none of these three tests can be used to predict the academic standing in the Wharton School. An examination of an unselected group of applicants for entrance might reveal the potential failures. The problem raised is that of determining which of these three tests measures what we call General Intelligence. From Psych Bulletin 20:09:00981. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)