
Terman published the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Scale in 1916 and revisions were released in 1937 and 1960. Original work on the test had been completed by Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon of France. Terman promoted his test – the "Stanford-Binet" – as an aid for the classification of developmentally disabled children.
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What did Lewis Terman add to Alfred Binet's intelligence test?
Lewis Terman's approach to intelligence testing was an updated version of Binet's. Terman also used cognitive ability, decision making, and verbal skills in his testing; however, he added mathematics, attention span, and processing skills.
What did Louis Terman do?
Lewis Terman, in full Lewis Madison Terman, (born January 15, 1877, Johnson county, Indiana, U.S.—died December 21, 1956, Palo Alto, California), American psychologist who published the individual intelligence test widely used in the United States, the Stanford-Binet test.
Who was Lewis Terman and what did he study?
He was noted as a pioneer in educational psychology in the early 20th century at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. He is best known for his revision of the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales and for initiating the longitudinal study of children with high IQs called the Genetic Studies of Genius.
Why did Lewis Terman revise Binet's original intelligence test for usage in the United States?
Why did Lewis Terman revise Binet's original intelligence test for usage in the United States? The age norms did not work well with American children. A method of assessing test reliability which involves administering two or more forms of the same test is ________ reliability.
What were the results of Terman's study?
What he found was that his high IQ subjects (which he referred to as "Termites") tended to be healthier, taller, and more socially adapted than other kids. Based on his results, Terman suggested that gifted children should be identified early, offered tailored instruction, and have access to specially-trained teachers.
How does Lewis Terman define intelligence?
A focus of his work was the measurement of abstract thinking. Terman noticed that individuals of greater intelligence had increased capacity to engage in abstract thinking. Terman essentially defined intelligence as the quotient of one's ""mental age"", or measurable cognitive abilities, over their chronological age.
When did Lewis Terman create the IQ test?
To denote it, he selected the term "intelligence quotient." In 1916, Terman sprang his test on America. He released The Measurement of Intelligence, a book that was half instruction manual and IQ test, half manifesto for universal testing.
What was the average IQ of the people in Terman's study?
In 1921, Lewis M. Terman, professor of psychology in Stanford University, initiated the study and its sample was comprised of 1,528 children (11 years old, on average), all with IQs of 135 or above—placing them in the top 1% of the population at the time.
Is known as the father of intelligence test Cattell Binet Terman?
Solution. Binet is known as the 'Father of Intelligence Test'.
What was the importance of Binet's test of intelligence?
The Stanford-Binet® test, also known as the SB®-5, is one of the IQ tests for kids that measure their cognitive abilities and intelligence. It is widely recognized for its value and significance in determining if a child is gifted as well as identifying any learning disabilities.
What are the differences between the Stanford-Binet test and the Wechsler tests of intelligence?
The Stanford-Binet test reflected mostly verbal abilities, while the Wechsler test also reflected nonverbal abilities. The Stanford-Binet has also been revised several times and is now similar to the Wechsler in several aspects, but the Wechsler continues to be the most popular test in the United States.
Why did Binet and Simon designed a test of intellectual abilities?
Binet and Simon designed a test of intellectual abilities in order to: c. identify children likely to have difficulty learning in school.
When did Lewis Terman create the IQ test?
To denote it, he selected the term "intelligence quotient." In 1916, Terman sprang his test on America. He released The Measurement of Intelligence, a book that was half instruction manual and IQ test, half manifesto for universal testing.
What formula did Terman create express intelligence?
Terman maintained the concept of mental age in devising his formula for calculating the intelligence quotient (IQ). The formula is IQ = mental age/chronological age multiplied by 100. Thus if the child's mental age equals her chronological age, her IQ will equal 100.
Who invented IQ formula?
The first IQ tests The German psychologist William Stern (1871-1938) introduced the idea of intelligence quotient, or IQ. This entailed a formula for mental age that could be assessed by a test, such as the one devised by Binet, divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100.
Who started the IQ test?
psychologist Alfred Binet1 But it wasn't until psychologist Alfred Binet was asked to identify which students needed educational assistance that the first intelligence quotient (IQ) test was born. Although it has its limitations, Binet's IQ test is well-known around the world as a way to assess and compare intelligence.
What was Lewis Terman's contribution to psychology?
Lewis Terman played an important role in the early development of educational psychology and his intelligence test became one of the most wide ly used psychological assessments in the world .
What did Terman find about IQ?
What he found was that his high IQ subjects (which he referred to as "Termites") tended to be healthier, taller, and more socially adapted than other kids.
What did Terman do?
Terman published a number of books and articles that detailed the research he conducted looking at intelligence and IQ testing. Some of these include:
What did Terman suggest about gifted children?
Based on his results, Terman suggested that gifted children should be identified early, offered tailored instruction, and have access to specially-trained teachers. Terman found that while many of his high IQ subjects were very successful, not all fared as well and most actually turned out no better than the average. He did find that those who ended up being the most successful tended to rate higher on self-confidence, perseverance, and goal-orientation as children.
What degree did Terman get?
Aided by loans from his family, Terman completed his BS, BP and BA degrees at Central Normal College from 1892 and 1898.
What was Terman's thesis?
Terman's Ph.D. thesis centered on mental tests that could be used to distinguish gifted students from those that were cognitively impaired. He developed tests that measured complex cognitive abilities and included measures of creativity, mathematical ability, memory, motor skills, logic, and language mastery.
What is the Stanford-Binet?
After becoming a professor at Stanford, he worked on revising the original Binet-Simon scales for use with American populations. His updated version of the test became known as the Stanford-Binet and went on to become the most widely used IQ test. In addition to revising the original test, he also began using a formula that involved taking mental age, dividing it by chronological age, and multiplying it by 100 to come up with what is known as the intelligence quotient or IQ.
When did Terman publish the Measurement of Intelligence?
In 1916 , Terman sprang his test on America. He released The Measurement of Intelligence, a book that was half instruction manual and IQ test, half manifesto for universal testing. His little exam, which a child could complete in a mere 50 minutes, was about to revolutionize what students learned and how they thought of themselves.
How many people took the Stanford-Binet test?
More than 1.7 million draftees took his tests, broadening public acceptance of widespread IQ testing. The Stanford-Binet made Terman a leader in a fervent movement to take testing far beyond the schoolhouse and Army base.
How many children did Terman study?
Using the Stanford-Binet and other tools, his assistants scoured elementary schools in Los Angeles, San Francisco and the East Bay, identifying a core group of 643 children with IQs of 135 or higher. Terman also enrolled subjects from earlier studies, along with hundreds of young people identified by volunteer testers or recommended by principals. He included the siblings of many participants, and even signed up his son and daughter.
Why did Terman think Edward was gifted?
But the Stanford professor believed Edward deserved a break because he was "gifted"—a word Terman coined to describe the bright kids he devoted his life to researching. Edward's high score on an IQ test had qualified him for Terman's pathbreaking Genetic Study of Genius.
What was Terman obsessed with?
Terman was obsessed with intelligence. He had deep sympathy for the gifted, identifying with their yearnings and frustrations. This likely traced back to his childhood in rural Indiana, where he was the 12th of 14 kids in a prosperous farming family.
What is the value of the Terman archives?
Yet the archives have a value that Terman never envisioned: they provide an unmatched record of lives that spanned almost all of the 20th century. Researchers have pored over the Terman files to explore historical phenomena (did World War II veterans suffer lingering effects of combat?) as well as broader questions (does personality influence life span?). Social scientists have called the archives a national treasure because they tell the life stories of so many Americans.
Why is Terman's personal involvement so foolish?
From a scientific standpoint, Terman's personal involvement seems foolish because it probably skewed his results. "It's what you'd expect a mentor to do, but it's bad science," Hastorf says. As a conscientious researcher whose work got him elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Terman should have known better—but he wasn't the first or last to slip. Indeed, the temptation to meddle is an occupational hazard among longitudinal researchers, says Glen Elder Jr., a sociologist at the University of North Carolina. A certain degree of intimacy develops, he explains, because "we're living in their lives and they're living in ours."
What did Binet say about intelligence?
Binet stressed the limitations of the test, suggesting that intelligence is far too broad a concept to quantify with a single number. Instead, he insisted that intelligence is influenced by many factors, that it changes over time, and that it can only be compared in children with similar backgrounds.
What did Binet and Simon discover?
Binet and his colleague, Theodore Simon, began developing questions that focused on areas not explicitly taught in schools , such as attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Using these questions, Binet determine d which ones served as the best predictors of school success.
What did Binet think about the concept of mental age?
Based on this observation, Binet suggested the concept of mental age, or a measure of intelligence based on the average abilities of children of a certain age group.
Why was it important to Binet to help?
The government had passed laws requiring that all French children attend school, so it was important to find a way to identify children who would need specialized assistance .
How to calculate IQ?
The IQ score was calculated by dividing the test taker's mental age by his or her chronological age and then multiplying this number by 100.
What are the four areas of intelligence?
The test provides scores in four major areas of intelligence: a verbal comprehension scale, a perceptual reasoning Scale, a working memory scale, and a processing speed scale . The test also provides two broad scores that can be used as a summary of overall intelligence.
Why was the Army Alpha test designed?
The Army Alpha was designed as a written test, while the Army Beta was made up of pictures for recruits who were unable to read or didn't speak English. The tests were administered to over 2 million soldiers 1 in an effort to help the Army determine which men were suited to specific positions and leadership roles.
What did Terman use his findings for?
At least in the early stages of his career, however, Terman used such findings to support his advocacy of eugenics, the controlled selective breeding of humans to cultivate desirable and supposedly genetically transmitted intellectual, emotional, and physical traits.
What is the Stanford-Binet IQ test?
race: Race and intelligence. Lewis Terman and his colleagues at Stanford University developed the Stanford-Binet IQ (intelligence quotient) test, which set the standard for similar tests produced by other American psychologists.…. human intelligence.
What is an encyclopedia editor?
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. ...
When did Terman become a professor?
Terman joined the faculty of Stanford University in 1910, where he became professor of education in 1916, the year he published The Measurement of Intelligence, a guide for his Stanford revision and enlargement of the earlier Binet-Simon intelligence scale developed in France.
Who took the IQ test?
human intelligence: The IQ test. …taken to Stanford University by Lewis Terman, whose version came to be called the Stanford-Binet test. This test has been revised frequently and continues to be used in countries all over the world.….

Lewis Terman Background
The Intelligence Quotient
- In his research, Terman focused on mental testing while revising Alfred Binet’s scale of intelligence [3]. It was published in 1916 as the famous ‘Stanford-Binet’ scale of intelligence. One of the main innovations of the test was the inclusion of theIntelligence Quotient, which had not been used in mental tests before. Revisions of Terman’s work we...
Genetic Studies of Genius
- Also, Terman helped to develop ‘National Intelligence Tests’ for children aged three to eight. The tests were ready for use in the 1920s, and Terman then helped to establish intelligence tests in schools so that students could be classified into homogeneous ability groups, in what became termed a tracking system. Further, Terman became a leader in the development of group achiev…
Eugenics
- Terman came to believe that IQ was, in addition to dependent on education, highly heritable. Terman’s work in addition to other openly eugenic psychologists and education scholars contributed to long standing policies and practices of racial school segregation. The suggestions of a significant role for genetics in IQ led Terman to later join the Human Bettermen…
Lewis Terman's Influence on Psychology
Early Life
Career and Research
Terman's Genius Study
Select Publications
Contributions to Psychology
- Lewis Terman played an important role in the early development of educational psychology and his intelligence test became one of the most widely used psychological assessments in the world. He advocated for support and guidance for kids identified as gifted in order to nurture their talents and abilities. Yet Terman's legacy is tainted by one of th...