Abstract
Frequency distributions obtained on applying intelligence tests to large samples of the school population are analysed, and compared with those given by the formulae for the commoner types of frequency curve. It is noted that the distributions actually observed are more asymmetrical and have longer tails than that described by the normal curve. The best fit is given by a curve of Type IV: this is in fact the type of distribution we should expect if (as has been argued in earlier papers) individual differences in general ability are determined partly by multifactorial and partly by unifactorial inheritance. It follows that the usual assumption of normality leads to a gross underestimate of the number of highly gifted individuals. The conclusions thus drawn are confirmed by a study of data from other sources; and various practical corollaries are deduced.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Burt, C. (1917). The Distribution and Relations of Educational Abilities, London: P. S. King.
Burt, C. (1921). Mental and Scholastic Tests. London: P. S. King. 4th ed. (1962), Staples Press.
Burt, C. (1935). The Subnormal Mind. London: Oxford Univ. Press.
Burt, C. (1957). The distribution of intelligence. Brit. J. Psychol., XLVIII, 161–175.
Clarke, A. M. and A. D. B. (1958). Mental Deficiency. London: Methuen.
Elderton, W. P. (1938). Frequency Curves and Correlation. Cambridge: At the University Press.
Galton, F. (1869). Hereditary Genius. London: Macmillan.
Hollingworth, L. S. (1942). Children Above 180 I.Q. New York: World Book Company.
Mayer-Gross, W., Slater, E., and Roth, M. (1954). Clinical Psychiatry. London: Cassell.
McNemar, Q. (1942). The Revision of the Stanford-Binet Scale. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Penrose, L. S. (1954). The Biology of Mental Defect. London: Sidgwick & Jackson.
Report of the Mental Deficiency Committee (1929). London; H.M. Stationary Office.
Scottish Council for Research in Education (1933). The Intelligence of Scottish Children. London: University of London Press.
Scottish Council for Research in Education (1949). The Trend of Scottish Intelligence. London: University of London Press.
Sheppard, W. F. (1903). New Tables of the probability integral. Biometrika, II, 174–190.
Terman, L. M. (1925). Mental and Physical Traits of a Thousand Gifted Children. Stanford: Stanford. Univ. Press.
Terman, L. M. and Merrill, M. A. (1937). Measuring Intelligence. London: Harrap.
Thorndike, E. L. et al. (1927). Measurement of Intelligence. New York: Teachers’ College, Columbia University.
Yule, G. U. and Kendall, M. G. (1937). An Introduction to the Theory of Statistics. London: Griffin.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1973 H. J. Eysenck
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Burt, C. (1973). Is Intelligence Distributed Normally?. In: The Measurement of Intelligence. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6129-9_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6129-9_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-011-6131-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-6129-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive