A point scale for measuring mental ability / by Robert M. Yerkes, James W. Bridges and Rose S. Hardwick.

Robert Yerkes

Date:: 1915

Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A point scale for measuring mental ability / by Robert M. Yerkes, James W. Bridges and Rose S. Hardwick. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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f Xv CHAPTER 3 RELATION OF THE POINT SCALE TO THE BINET-SIMON SCALE The question may be asked, ‘‘ Why a new scale for pre- adolescents when we already have the Binet?’’ Or, more definitely, ‘‘Is not the Binet Seale satisfactory, and, if not, what are its defects? Even if it does fall short of the ideal, is it not true that the work already done to- wards perfecting it, and especially towards standardiza- tion, has been so great that it is poor judgment to make a fresh beginning?’’ And, finally, ‘‘What grounds are there for expecting better results from a point scale?”’ In answer to the first question it must be said that, while the Binet Seale has proved exceedingly valuable, it does fall short of being satisfactory. Many criticisms have been urged against one or an- other detail of procedure or of material, but these may be set aside for the present. Such defects can doubtless be remedied if the fundamental principles are acceptable. The two underlying principles of the Seale are, first, the arrangement of tests in groups corresponding to years of chronological age—and the consequent express- ing of results as ‘‘mental age’’; and, second, the related principle of the ‘‘all-or-none’’ method of scoring. The age arrangement of the Binet Scale assumes that the mental development of all normal individuals pro- ceeds by similar stages, that the correlation between different functions is the same for all individuals at a given stage, and that each stage of mental development corresponds, in turn, to a certain physical age. It fur- ther assumes that the development of Paris school chil- dren follows this normal course.

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