Intelligence testing is most commonly done for schoolchildren. The younger a child is, the less reliably his intelligence can be measured. The intelligence of a baby is difficult to measure, because he cannot communicate and cannot understand that he is taking a test. Nevertheless, scientists have developed indirect means of measuring the intelligence of babies as young as six months old.
IQ and Intelligence
The IQ is a number that expresses a person's intelligence relative to his peers. In children, these peers are other children of the same age, while adults are compared with all other adults regardless of age. People whose intelligence exceed that of their peers in one area, such as spatial ability, are likely to exceed their peers in other areas of intelligence as well. Additionally, a smart child usually grows up to be a smart adult. If not for this stability, the IQ would be a nearly meaningless measure of intelligence.
Intelligence and Infants
The results of infant intelligence tests are too approximate to justify reducing the results to a single number. Infant scores also fail to exhibit the stability of IQ scores for older children, meaning that an infant's intelligence is more changeable over time that that of an older child or an adult. Nevertheless, the results of infant intelligence tests do provide reliable estimates of the infant's later performance in school, reports the New York Times, and it is useful to compare the intelligence of babies with their peers.
The Fisher-Price Test
Fisher-Price, the toy manufacturer, hired child development psychologist Dorothy Einon to create an infant intelligence test that can be administered by parents. It consists of 10 questions designed to identify behaviors that indicate intelligence, such as whether the infant recognizes names or can play "pat-a-cake." The results can be compared to average results for her peers to determine if she is above average, average or below average.
The Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence
Psychologist Joseph Fagan developed a test of infant intelligence to be administered by psychologists. The child is first shown several items, and then allowed to relax for awhile after the items are removed from his view. The items are shown to him again, and a psychologist measures the time the child looks at each one. If the child's gaze at a particular item is extended, it suggests that he is experiencing it as novel because he forgot looking at it the first time. The fewer items he forgets, the better his memory is, and the more intelligent he is likely to be.
Uses
Human intelligence is based on genetic endowments and early childhood development. As such, the intelligence of an infant is far more malleable than the intelligence of a school-age child. If an infant exhibits deficiencies in a particular area, early intervention has a better chance of correcting it than it would if intervention took place years later. Likewise, the talents of gifted infants can be cultivated from an early age. Fagan foresees that infant intelligence testing will help divert resources to gifted children from disadvantaged homes.
