Intelligence: A New Look

by Hans Jürgen Eysenck

Advances in molecular genetics have enabled the discovery of DNA markers which can identify simple genet ic traits such as intelligence. In this book Hans Eysenck ex plains the concepts and measurement of intelligence. '

Genres: Psychology

227 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1998

About the author

= Hans J. Eysenck = H.J. Eysenck
Hans Jürgen Eysenck (/ˈaɪzɛŋk/; 4 March 1916 – 4 September 1997) was a psychologist born in Germany, who spent his professional career in Great Britain. He is best remembered for his work on intelligence and personality, though he worked in a wide range of areas. At the time of his death, Eysenck was the living psychologist most frequently cited in science journals

Reviews

[Emil O. W. Kirkegaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful enough summary of material, but Eysenck did not bother much with fact checking but seems to have dictated from memory. This resulted in a bunch of errors one would have easily spotted. The book also reuses part of his Genius book, and overly so. Jensen's older book is better https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9..., and so is Ritchie's newer summary https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/sho..., also brief and entertaining.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book written for the general audience in mind, I have learned a few things. One of the biggest complaints from the public I hear about IQ and intelligence is how they were able to increase their IQ by practicing IQ tests, so it all must be a hoax. Psychologists refer to test practicing as test sophistication (Pg. 103) I give the definition from the website Oxford Reference. Test Sophistication is “Knowledge of how to respond advantageously to psychological tests, acquired as a testing effect by a person through extensive experience of taking similar tests.” The author Eysenck, is not a fan of Stephen Gould, or his book The Mismeasure of Man, as he refers to it as a “distorted view of what Psychologists think” (Pg. 3) and “has more factual errors per page than any book I have ever read” (Pg. 10) My one complaint I have is how the author glorifies Francis Galton’s achievements of being able to learn books, arithmetic, and languages as a child (Pg. 125 - 127) but fails to mention his struggles at Cambridge University while pursuing an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Medical school after. Galton was able to leave medical school without finishing after his father died and he inherited his large fortune. All of this can be found in the book Extreme Measures: The Dark Visions and Bright Ideas of Francis Galton. Yes, Galton was a genius and original thinker, but learning things did not always come easy for him or he would have graduated top of his class in math and medical school. In fact, it was while at university that Galton discovered people had different levels of intelligence. He realized that those who graduated at the top did so without as much effort as those who finished below them (higher IQ).