There are few topics within the world of psychology that raise as much controversy as the study and evaluation of human intelligence The dispute about whether it is possible to measure a person’s intelligence based on a single construct or whether there really is a general intelligence persists to this day.
However, tests that attempt to measure human intelligence are among the most used in any area of evaluation. Being the Raven matrix test, it is one of the acclaimed and used tests for its ease of application and its versatility.
The Raven progressive matrices test is a test that is more than well known and used in the psychological and psychopedagogical field. This test, designed in 1938 by the English psychologist John C. Raven, had the objective of calculating the “G” factor of intelligence and its administration was restricted to officers of the United States Army.
The “G” factor of intelligence refers to the general intelligence that conditions any execution or resolution of problems, and is common to all skills that require an intellectual component. This factor shows a person’s ability to perform intellectual work.
The main characteristic of this test is to encourage analytical reasoning, perception and the ability to abstract. Furthermore, as it is a non-verbal test, it uses comparison between shapes and reasoning by analogy, without the need for the person to have prior culture or knowledge.
Currently there are different versions of this test, which are administered depending on the age and abilities of the person to be evaluated. These three versions are: The general Scale for people between 12 and 65 years old
Test characteristics
There are a series of distinctive characteristics that have made this test one of the most used. These characteristics occur both at the level of administration, as well as objectives and reliability.
1. Objective
Another objective of the Raven Progressive Matrices Test is to measure the person’s educational capacity, which we will explain later, through the comparison of forms and the use of reasoning by analogy; all this independently of the knowledge previously acquired by the subject.
2. Material
It is a test that uses series of abstract and incomplete geometric figures that are presented to the person gradually and with increasing difficulty. The test can be administered using printed cards or also virtually.
3. Administration
Another advantage of this test is that it can be self-administered, as well as administered both individually and collectively.
The application time for this test is between 30 and 60 minutes, however it is usually completed 45 minutes after its start.
4. Reliability and validity
Finally, regarding the reliability and validity of this test, it presents a reliability of 0.87-0.81, while in validity an index of 0.86 was obtained. These data were obtained with the Kuder-Richardson formulas and the Terman Merrill criteria.
In what contexts is this test administered?
The Raven progressive matrices test is used as a basic and applied evaluation instrument, and its administration can be extended to many diverse fields. However, the contexts in which this test is most used are:
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, one of the main objectives of the test is to test and measure the person’s educational capacity.
This eductive capacity refers to the ability of people to find relationships and correlates within information that is presented in a disorganized and poorly systematized way in which these relationships are not immediately evident.
The capacity for eduction is associated with the intellectual ability to compare images and representations, as well as with analogical reasoning without taking into account the cultural level or knowledge that the person possesses.
This ability constitutes the most important spring in high-level cognitive functioning, which is involved in the different abstraction processes. Likewise, if we compare it with other related concepts, the capacity for eduction is the one that most closely resembles fluid intelligence.
What is this test based on? Spearman’s two-factor theory
The English psychologist Charles Spearman established the existence of general intelligence in the year 10904. Based on his research, Spearman indicated that the “G” factor of intelligence was the main one responsible for the general intellectual performance of the person.
Spearman believed that if a person is able to excel in certain cognitive areas or activities, chances are they will also excel in almost all areas. For example, a person with good scores on numerical tests is very likely to also obtain high scores on logic tests or verbal tests.
As a result of this, he developed a theory known as Bifactor Theory, according to which within human intelligence two fundamental parameters can be distinguished: the general factor or “G” factor and the special factor or “S” factor.
The general factor refers to a personal and possibly hereditary quality It consists of a special attribute of the brain that differs from one person to another but remains stable throughout the person’s life.
“S” factor
This factor covers the specific abilities or skills that a person has to deal with any type of task Unlike the “G” factor, this differs depending on the person’s previous education and cannot be extrapolated to other areas.
However, there is no small amount of controversy surrounding these constructs, since some sectors maintain the idea that there cannot be an idea of general intelligence and that this is only a sample of the opportunities that a person has had to learn certain skills. or acquire certain knowledge.
