Discuss the work of David Wechsler. What is the current status of intelligence tests?
David Wechsler (1896-1981) was a U.S. psychologist, who changed the pattern of how IQ (intelligence quotient) tests were prepared for the adults. He set up a total score of 100 on which the results were to be compared and evaluated. David developed a new method of calculating intelligence of a person, which was a bit different to the method of Robert Yerkes during World War I.
David resolved some issues of the psychometric tests, which were identified by the Stanford-Binet test and the Army Testing Program. He removed the method of linking the score to the age of the person. Instead, the score was given out of 100.
He developed the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). The Stanford-Binet test was modified to match the scoring pattern of David Wechsler.
Among all the Intelligence tests used at present throughout the world, the WAIS and WISC methods of David Wechsler remains widely popular as well as the Stanford-Binet method of intelligence testing.
It is still a matter of constant research by the psychologists that how to measure IQ of individuals in the most perfect way. The controversy surrounding Nature versus Nurture has subsided at present and the question lies how much both the factors contribute to a person’s intellect and both heredity and environmental factors have been believed to influence intelligence.