This article provides an example of the use of historical issues associated with intelligence testing to teach about the nature of measurement in psychology and includes pedagogical questions for the classroom. Students learning about research may assume that the ways psychologists measure constructs are permanent and immutable. However, using intelligence as the focus, this article shows how its measurement evolved, reflecting contemporaneous theories and assumptions. The initial sensory and psychophysical measurements designed by Cattell (1890) to measure mental ability were logically defensible in his era and gained temporary acceptance by many psychologists. Currently, standardized tests reflect the biases of later psychologists. The article highlights reasons for such changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (from the journal abstract)
...MoreDescription On teaching about the historical issues surrounding intelligence testing to discuss the changing nature of measurement in psychology as related to shifts in theoretical understanding.
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