A THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE AS PROCESSING Implications for Society

Defining intelligence as processing allows one to predict intelligence from infancy, discover causes of mental retardation, test the intelligence of people with disabilities, develop culture-fair tests of intelligence, and demonstrate that groups that differ in IQ do not necessarily differ in intelligence. An early estimate of intellectual disability allows a child to qualify quickly for remedial programs. Economic and emotional benefits would ensue from discovering and eliminating the causes of a small percentage of cases of mental retardation. The measurement of intelligence as processing reveals intellectual strengths that may otherwise be masked by physical or emotional disability or by cultural circumstances. Cultures may differ in the types of knowledge their members have but not in how well they process. Cultures may account for racial differences in IQ.