A CONTEXTUALIST VIEW OF THE NATURE OF INTELLIGENCE

A contextualist view of intelligence is presented and discussed. The presentation and discussion are divided into four main parts. First, I define and explicate just what I mean by a contextualist view of intelligence. Second, I consider some common criticisms of the contextual view, and respond to these criticisms at the same time that I elaborate upon the contextual view. Third, I consider how intelligence can be specifically defined, measured, and trained within a given socio-cultural milieu. Finally, I draw some conclusions about intelligence and the contextual approach to it. In particular, it is claimed that this approach is compatible with a variety of kinds of theorizing (e.g., psychometric and cognitive) but that it enables one to escape from certain vicious circularities that have plagued intelligence research when it has not been placed in a contextual perspective.