118 PSYCHOLOGICAL METHODS OP TESTING INTELLIGENCE 



ogy of the pupils, but also to the psychology of the 

 teacher. Teachers will vary a great deal in their 

 capacity to undertake this work of estimating intelli- 

 gence, so that for scientific investigations it becomes 

 methodologically essential that tests shall not be com- 

 pared with any sort of estimation of intelligence 

 made by any sort of teacher, but that for this purpose 

 teachers specially trained and specially gifted in 

 psychology must be sought out and instructed spe- 

 cifically in the nature of the task demanded of them. 

 An entertaining as well as instructive inquiry on 

 this subject has been made by Binet (36; 71). 



He sent to numerous elementary school teachers a questionary 

 asking them to state : 1st, to what extent they thought that error 

 might creep in when teachers sought to judge the intelligence of 

 their pupils, and 2d, what method they would pursue in order to 

 arrive at an accurate estimate of intelligence. Binet soon saw 

 that he had thus found an excellent scheme for classifying the 

 intelligence of the teachers. 



The first question was not very well put. The answers simply 

 showed that there were some optimists who thought that they 

 practically never made any mistake in appraising the intelligence 

 of their pupils, while others were ready to admit that they might 

 be mistaken in one case in every three. Not much else came out 

 of this question. 



The answers to the second question were much more fruitful. 

 The greatest variety of ideas concerning the nature of intelligence 

 was exhibited : all possible attempts at defining it were made all 

 the way from the scholastic narrow-mindedness, w r hich conceives 

 intelligence as nothing but the capacity to acquire information, up 

 to the neat formulation of one woman : 



"L'intelligence ne sert pas seulement a apprendre, elle sert 

 surtout & 'faire sa vie.' " And the symptoms on which the teach- 

 ers base their judgment of intelligence! It is declared that heed 

 must be given to heredity, since higher intelligence is to be ex- 

 pected from children of more intelligent parents. It is recom- 

 mended to take note of the facial expression ; the more intelligent 

 child is easily distinguished from the mentally lazy, dull child by 

 his vivacious, open, mobile countenance. Some of the teachers lay 

 stress on observation of their pupils during periods of free play, 

 and would regard as intelligent children that displayed initiative 

 and creative tendencies there. But the chief insistence is laid, as 



