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What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought 1st Edition


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An engaging discussion of the important cognitive characteristics missing from IQ tests

Critics of intelligence tests—writers such as Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner, and Daniel Goleman—have argued in recent years that these tests neglect important qualities such as emotion, empathy, and interpersonal skills. However, such critiques imply that though intelligence tests may miss certain key noncognitive areas, they encompass most of what is important in the cognitive domain. In this book, Keith E. Stanovich challenges this widely held assumption.

Stanovich shows that IQ tests (or their proxies, such as the SAT) are radically incomplete as measures of cognitive functioning. They fail to assess traits that most people associate with “good thinking,” skills such as judgment and decision making. Such cognitive skills are crucial to real-world behavior, affecting the way we plan, evaluate critical evidence, judge risks and probabilities, and make effective decisions. IQ tests fail to assess these skills of rational thought, even though they are measurable cognitive processes. Rational thought is just as important as intelligence, Stanovich argues, and it should be valued as highly as the abilities currently measured on intelligence tests.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A compelling argument….What Intelligence Tests Miss illuminates the actions of everyone who affects our lives.”―Scientific American

Scientific American

Durham University, Psychology Department

-- David Over

“In this compellingly readable book Keith Stanovich explains the bold claim that the notions of rationality and intelligence must be distinguished sharply and studied separately. His proposal would deeply change both the field of intelligence testing and the study of individual decision making―and he may well succeed.”―Daniel Kahneman, Princeton University, Nobel Laureate in Economics -- Daniel Kahneman

“In this brilliant and entertaining book, Keith Stanovich shows that intelligence tests, though they have their uses, fail to assess the key components of rational thought and action.”―P. N. Johnson-Laird, author of
How We Reason

-- P. N. Johnson-Laird

"Professor Stanovich has an unparalleled ability to synthesize results from diverse domains of cognitive science in a lively way that is tremendously useful to us non-specialists. This book is not about emotional or multiple intelligence; it's about
intelligence in its most important practical dimensions."―E. D. Hirsch, Jr., author of The Knowledge Deficit and The Schools We Need

-- E. D. Hirsch, Jr. Published On: 2008-05-01

“In this smart and rational book, Keith Stanovich explains the difference between intelligence and rationality. Stanovich, one of psychology’s wisest writers about intelligence, also shows that IQ tests do not measure the full scope of mental ability because they fail to assess rational thought, which is central to happiness and fulfillment. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what makes us truly smart―and why smart people often behave irrationally.”―Carol Tavris, Ph.D., coauthor of Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) : Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts

-- Carol Tavris, Ph.D.

"In this dazzling synthesis about how well and poorly people think and why, Keith Stanovich drives a wedge between intelligence and rationality. This book demonstrates compellingly how rationality is more than intelligence and how those who are intelligent can be dismayingly irrational."―David Perkins, author of The Eureka Effect

-- David Perkins

"Written for the intelligent lay reader as well as the scholar, the book is clear and lively. Scholars will find material on the intelligence-rationality relationship particularly valuable, and research psychologists should take seriously Stanovich's case for developing a standardized rationality quotient (RQ) test. . . . Essential."―B. J. Lovett,
Choice -- B. J. Lovett ― Choice Published On: 2009-06-01

Winner of the 2010 Grawemeyer Award in Education, given by the University of Louisville -- Grawemeyer Award in Education ―
University of Louisville Published On: 2009-01-01

Chosen as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2009 by
Choice Magazine ― Choice Published On: 2010-01-01

About the Author

Keith E. Stanovich is professor of human development and applied psychology, University of Toronto. He lives in Portland, OR.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0300164629
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 23, 2010
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780300164626
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300164626
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #1,748,159 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

About the author

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Keith E. Stanovich
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Keith E. Stanovich is currently Professor of Human Development and Applied Psychology at the University of Toronto. His book, What Intelligence Tests Miss, won the 2010 Grawemeyer Award in Education.

Stanovich is the author of over 200 scientific articles. In a three-year survey of citation rates during the mid-1990s (see Byrnes, J. P. (1997). Explaining citation counts of senior developmental psychologists. Developmental Review, 17, 62-77), Stanovich was listed as one of the 50 most-cited developmental psychologists, and one of the 25 most productive educational psychologists (see Smith, M. C., et al., Productivity of educational psychologists in educational psychology journals, 1997-2001. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28, 422-430). In a citation survey of the period 1982-1992, he was designated the most cited reading disability researcher in the world (Nicolson, R. I. Developmental dyslexia: Past, present and future. Dyslexia, 1996, 2, 190-207).

Stanovich is the only two-time winner of the Albert J. Harris Award from the International Reading Association for influential articles on reading. In 1995 he was elected to the Reading Hall of Fame as the youngest member of that honorary society. In 1997 he was given the Sylvia Scribner Award from the American Educational Research Association, and in 2000 he received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading. Stanovich is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 3, 7, 8, & 15), the American Psychological Society, the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, and is a Charter Member of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading. He was a member of the Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children of National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences.

From 1986-2000 Stanovich was the Associate Editor of Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, a leading journal of human development. His introductory textbook, How to Think Straight About Psychology, published by Allyn & Bacon, is in its Ninth Edition and has been adopted by over 300 institutions of higher education. He is the author of five other books, including What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought (Yale University Press), The Robot's Rebellion: Finding Meaning in the Age of Darwin (University of Chicago Press), Decision Making and Rationality in the Modern World (Oxford University Press), and Progress in Understanding Reading (Guilford Press).