A southern minister was completing a temperance sermon. With great expression, he said, "If I had all the beer in the world, I'd take it and pour it into the river." With even greater emphasis, he said, "And if I had all the wine in the world, I'd ... Read more of Minister for drinks at Free Jokes.ca | ![]() Privacy |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
IntelligenceCounting Four PenniesSuperior Adult 1: Vocabulary (seventy-five Definitions 13500 Words) Summary Of Changes Dissected Sentences Problem Of The Enclosed Boxes Reading For Eight Memories Keeping The Child Encouraged Giving Similarities Three Things Method Of Arriving At A Revision I Ntelligence Of The Different Social Classes Giving Differences Between A President And A King Making Change Intelligence Tests For Vocational Fitness Average Adult Alternative Test 1: Repeating Twenty-eight Syllables Enumeration Of Objects In Pictures Getting Into Rapport Binet's Conception Of General Intelligence Some Avowed Limitations Of The Binet Tests Comparison Of Lines Counting Thirteen Pennies |
Giving Definitions In Terms Of UsePROCEDURE. Use the words: _Chair_, _horse_, _fork_, _doll_, _pencil_, and _table_. Say: "_You have seen a chair. You know what a chair is. Tell me, what is a chair?_" And so on with the other words, always in the order in which they are named above. Occasionally there is difficulty in getting a response, which is sometimes due merely to the child's unwillingness to express his thoughts in sentences. The earlier tests require only words and phrases. In other cases silence is due to the rather indefinite form of the question. The child could answer, but is not quite sure what is expected of him. Whatever the cause, a little tactful urging is nearly always sufficient to bring a response. In this test we have not found the difficulty of overcoming silence nearly as great as others have stated it to be. In consecutive tests of 150 5- and 6-year-old children we encountered unbreakable silence with 8 words out of the total 900 (150 x 6). This is less than 1 per cent. But tactful encouragement is sometimes necessary, and it is best to take the precaution of not giving the test until _rapport_ has been well established. The urging should take the following form: "_I'm sure you know what a ... is. You have seen a .... Now, tell me, what is a ... ?_" That is, we merely repeat the question with a word of encouragement and in a coaxing tone of voice. It would not at all do to introduce other questions, like, "_What does a ... look like?_" or, "_What is a ... for?_" "_What do people do with a ... ?_" Sometimes, instead of attempting a definition (of _doll_, for example), the child begins to talk in a more or less irrelevant way, as "I have a great big doll. Auntie gave it to me for Christmas," etc. In such cases we repeat the question and say, "_Yes, but tell me; what is a doll?_" This is usually sufficient to bring the little chatter-box back to the task. Unless it is absolutely necessary to give the child lavish encouragement, it is best to withhold approval or disapproval until the test has been finished. If the first response is a poor one and we pronounce it "fine" or "very good," we tempt the child to persist in his low-grade type of definition. By withholding comment until the last word has been defined, we give greater play to spontaneity and initiative. SCORING. As a rule, children of 5 and 6 years define an object in terms of use, stating what it does, what it is for, what people do with it, etc. Definitions by description, by telling what substance it is made of, and by giving the class to which it belongs are grouped together as "definitions superior to use." It is not before 8 years that two thirds of the children spontaneously give a large proportion of definitions in terms superior to use. The test is passed in year V if _four words out of the six_ are defined in terms of use (or better than use). The following are examples of satisfactory responses:-- _Chair_: "To sit on." "You sit on it." "It is made of wood and has legs and back," etc. _Horse_: "To drive." "To ride." "What people drive." "To pull the wagon." "It is big and has four legs," etc. _Fork_: "To eat with." "To stick meat with." "It is hard and has three sharp things," etc. _Doll_: "To play with." "What you dress and put to bed." "To rock," etc. _Pencil_: "To write with." "To draw." "They write with it." "It is sharp and makes a black mark." _Table_: "To eat on." "What you put the dinner on." "Where you write." "It is made of wood and has legs." Examples of failure are such responses as the following: "A chair is a chair"; "There is a chair"; or simply, "There" (pointing to a chair). We record such responses without pressing for a further definition. About the only other type of failure is silence. REMARKS. It is not the purpose of this test to find out whether the child knows the meaning of the words he is asked to define. Words have purposely been chosen which are perfectly familiar to all normal children of 5 years. But with young children there is a difference between knowing a word and giving a definition of it. Besides, we desire to find out how the child apperceives the word, or rather the object for which it stands; whether the thing is thought of in terms of use, appearance (shape, size, color, etc.), material composing it, or class relationships. This test, because it throws such interesting light on the maturity of the child's apperceptive processes, is one of the most valuable of all. It is possible to differentiate at least a half-dozen degrees of excellence in definitions, according to the intellectual maturity of the subject. A volume, indeed, could be written on the development of word definitions and the growth of meanings; but we will postpone further discussion until VIII, 5. Our concern at present is to know that children of 5 years should at least be able to define four of these six words in terms of use. Binet placed the test in year VI, but our own figures and those of nearly all the other investigations indicate that it is better located in year V. Next: The Game Of Patience Previous: Aesthetic Comparison
Viewed 3820 |