Intelligence

Some people are cleverer than others. This everyday observation is the subject of an academic field that is often portrayed as confused and controversial, when in fact, the field of intelligence holds some of psychology's best-replicated findings. This Very Short Introduction describes what psychologists have discovered about how and why people differ in their thinking powers. Drawing on large scale data Ian Deary considers how many types of intelligence there are, and how intelligence changes with age. Along the way he tackles some of the most burning questions surrounding intelligence, such as whether larger brains are cleverer, and how genes and environments contribute to people's intelligence differences. He also considers the new field of cognitive epidemiology, which draws links between intelligence and better health, less illness, and longer life, and asks whether intelligence is increasing. In this new edition Deary also addresses the controversial question of whether men and women differ in intelligence. Throughout he provides a clear description of the data we can use to answer these questions and more. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Some people are cleverer than others. This everyday observation is the subject of an academic field that is often portrayed as confused and controversial, when in fact, the field of intelligence holds some of psychology's best-replicated findings. This Very Short Introduction describes what psychologists have discovered about how and why people differ in their thinking powers. Drawing on large scale data Ian Deary considers how many types of intelligence there are, and how intelligence changes with age. Along the way he tackles some of the most burning questions surrounding intelligence, such as whether larger brains are cleverer, and how genes and environments contribute to people's intelligence differences. He also considers the new field of cognitive epidemiology, which draws links between intelligence and better health, less illness, and longer life, and asks whether intelligence is increasing. In this new edition Deary also addresses the controversial question of whether men and women differ in intelligence. Throughout he provides a clear description of the data we can use to answer these questions and more. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The concept and measurement of intelligence present a curious paradox. On the one hand, scientists, fluent in the complex statistics of intelligence-testing theories, devote their lives to exploration of cognitive abilities. On the other hand, the media, and inexpert, cross-disciplinary scientists decry the effort as socially divisive and useless in practice. In the past decade, our understanding of testing has radically changed. Better selected samples have extended evidence on the role of heredity and environment in intelligence. There is new evidence on biology and behavior. Advances in molecular genetics have enabled us to discover DMA markers which can identify and isolate a gene for simple genetic traits, paving the way for the study of multiple gene traits, such as intelligence. Hans Eysenck believes these recent developments approximate a general paradigm which could form the basis for future research. He explores the many special abilities—verbal, numerical, visuo-spatial memory—that contribute to our cognitive behavior. He examines pathbreaking work on "multiple" intelligence, and the notion of "social" or "practical" intelligence and considers whether these new ideas have any scientific meaning. Eysenck also includes a study of creativity and intuition—as well as the production of works of art and science—identifying special factors that interact with general intelligence to produce predictable effects in the actual world. The work that Hans Eysenck has put together over the last fifty years in research into individual differences constitutes most of what anyone means by the structure and biological basis of personality and intelligence. A giant in the field of psychology, Eysenck almost single-handedly restructured and reordered his profession. Intelligence is Eysenck's final book and the third in a series of his works from Transaction.

Now in its Tenth Edition, Mark Lowenthal′s book is the go-to resource for understanding the intelligence community.