Alfred Binet

Alfred Binet

Alfred Binet (July 8, 1857 – October 18, 1911), French psychologist and inventor of the first usable intelligence test, the basis of today's IQ test.

Born in Nice, Binet was a French psychologist who published the first modern intelligence test, the Binet-Simon intelligence scale, in 1905. His principal goal was to identify students who needed special help in coping with the school curriculum. Along with his collaborator Theodore Simon, Binet published revisions of his intelligence scale in 1908 and 1911, the last appearing just before his untimely death. A further refinement of the Binet-Simon scale was published in 1916 by Lewis M. Terman, from Stanford University, who incorporated the German psychologist William Stern's proposal that an individual's intelligence level be measured as an intelligence quotient (I.Q.). Terman's test, which he named the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale formed the basis for one of the modern intelligence tests still commonly used today. They are all colloquially known as IQ tests.

Life

Alfred Binet began studying medicine after receiving a law degree in 1878. During his time in medical school, Binet became interested in the idea that intelligence could be explained by the laws of association, which was introduced by John Stuart Mill. As a result of Mills’ influence, Binet began to read psychological textbooks without ever receiving a formal education in psychology. In 1884 Binet married Laure Balbiani. Together, the couple had two daughters, Madeleine and Alice born in 1885 and 1887, respectively. Binet used his daughters to begin his study of the cognitive processes. The research involving Madeleine and Alice assisted Binet in understanding the concepts of suggestibility and attention. Because of his research with his daughters, Binet began writing papers on his work and personal thoughts.

Work

Binet published his first article on hypnosis in 1880, although the article was poorly received because many believed it to be plagiarized. Subsequently, in 1883, Binet took a position in a Parisian hospital working in Jean-Martin Charcot’s laboratory. Charcot’s research was focused on hypnosis. While working with Charcot, Binet had four of his articles published. Because Binet failed to receive acknowledgment from other professionals in the field of psychology, Binet decided to abandon hypnosis in favor of psychological development. It was Binet’s research in developmental studies using his daughters, which led him towards the study of intelligence. In 1892, Binet was awarded a doctorate in natural sciences from Sorbonne. Binet became the director of Sorbonne in 1894, and it was there where he met Theodore Simon, who began doing doctoral research under the supervision of Binet. Along with Henri Beaunis, Binet founded the first French journal of psychology in 1895. Sir Francis Galton was one of the first researchers to record individual differences using standardized tests, which interested Binet. Binet published an article in 1903 based on the results of standardized tests he used on his daughters. The work with Binet’s daughters was later developed into the study of personality types.

Binet and Chess

In 1894, Binet conducted one of the first psychological studies into chess. It investigated the cognitive facilities of chess masters. Binet hypothesised that chess depends upon the phenomenological qualities of visual memory but after studying the reports by master participants, it was concluded that memory was only part of the chain of cognition involved in the game process. The players were blindfolded and required to play the game from memory. It was found that only masters were able to play successfully without seeing the board for a second time and that amateur or intermediate players found it to be an impossible task. It was further concluded that experience, imagination and memories of abstract and concrete varieties were required in grand master chess. The line of psychological chess research was followed up in the 1950s by Reuben Fine and in the 1960s by Adriaan de Groot.

Binet and Intelligence Tests

In 1904 the French government asked a psychology group to develop an assessment test to identify special needs children. In 1905, Binet and Simon created a test called the New Methods for Diagnosing Idiocy, Imbecility, and Moron Status. Binet and Simon created the Binet-Simon scale to rate the children’s performance on the test. The test included multiple tasks that would determine the ability of children based on the child’s age. One of the easiest tasks on the test was to follow an object with one's eyes; one of the more challenging tasks was to repeat a long sequence of random numbers from memory. The test was originally used on a sample of 50 children who performed at an age-typical level. In order to score the test, Binet and Simon would rate the child’s performance in comparison to the performance of other children who were age-typical. For example, a 15-year-old who completed all the tasks that other 15-year-olds completed, would have a mental age of 15. Likewise, if a 15-year-old completed all the tasks that 18-year-olds completed, that 15-year-old would have a mental age of 18. By 1908 Binet and Simon revised their intelligence scale because they believed intelligence increased with age. The new test included a mental age compared to chronological age. The final revision of the intelligence test was completed in 1911, however, Binet passed away before this revision was completed.

Legacy

Because Binet was never formally trained at a university, his work in intelligence is considered extraordinary. Binet consistently warned that intelligence could never be accurately determined by a single test. Additionally, Binet emphasized that intelligence is subjective; a person may score significantly above average in one area of the test but fail in another area. Binet also argued that individuals learn at varying rates, and that people could be influenced by outside factors such as their peers, proving intelligence is not determined by genetics alone. Interestingly, when Binet’s intelligence tests came to the United States, it was used in the exact manor which Binet advised against. Children of various racial and economic backgrounds were compared with one another, and the results of the test were used to make generalizations about groups of people. In this case, Binet would argue, a child from a wealthy, college educated family would have greater environmental influences, like having books in the home, which would improve their performance on intelligence tests. Overall, Binet pioneered the study of intelligence and created the groundwork upon which future studies into intellect would build.

Publications

La psychologie du raisonment; Recherches expérimentales par l'hypnotisme (1886; English translation, 1899), his first book.
Perception intérieure (1887).
Etudes des psychologie expérimentale (1888).
Les altérations de la personnalité (1892; English translation, 1896).
Introduction à la psychologie expérimentale (1894; with co-authors).
On Double Consciousness (1896).
La fatigue intellectuelle (1898; with co-author Henri).
La Suggestibilité (1900).
Etude expérimentale de l'intelligence (1903).
L'âme et la corps (1905).
Les révélations de lécritique d'après un contrôle scientifique (1906).
Les enfants anormaux (1907; with co-author Simon).
Les idées sur les enfants (1900).

He was one of the editors of L'année psychologique, a yearly volume comprising original articles and reviews of the progress of psychology.

External links

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