On the law of intelligence

The law of intelligence is presented in test independent form. Mental abilities, physical brain size, and infant motor capacity follow the same law of growth from birth to adolescence. Mental growth is independent of race, SES or the Flynn effect. The vitality of the mental age scale calls for a reexamination of Wechsler s deviation IQ. This paper builds on Yen s method of standardized differences (1986). The main theoretical advance here is to put development back into intelligence testing and to show a universality among different measures of the growth of the human nervous system. 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. This paper suggests a new theoretical structure for psychoeducational measurement and uses it to derive a scale of growth of mental ability. Over the years, many researchers sought the ‘‘law of intelligence,’’ the growth curve of mental ability, a goal to be addressed by this paper (Bloom, 1964; Bock, 1983; Gesell, 1928; Heinis, 1924; Jensen, 1973; Keats, 1982; Thorndike, Bregman, Cobb, & Woodward, 1927; Thurstone, 1925, 1928; Thurstone & Ackerson, 1929; and many others). Remarks on natural laws We consider quantitative relations in physics and psychophysics, fields that are sometimes emulated by mental testers. * Fax: 1-203-432-8247. E-mail address: [email protected]. 0273-2297/$ see front matter 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.dr.2004.04.001 2 W. Lichten / Developmental Review xxx (2004) xxx–xxx ARTICLE IN PRESS