Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: The positive manifold of intelligence has fascinated generations of scholars in human ability. In the past century, various formal explanations have been proposed, including the dominant g-factor, the revived sampling theory, and the recent multiplier effect model and mutualism model. In this article we propose a novel idiographic explanation. We formally conceptualize intelligence as evolving networks, in which new facts and procedures are wired together during development. The static model, an extension of the Fortuin-Kasteleyn model, provides a parsimonious explanation of the positive manifold and intelligence's hierarchical factor structure. We show how it can explain the Matthew effect across developmental stages. Finally, we introduce a method for studying growth dynamics. Our truly idiographic approach offers a new view on a century-old construct, and ultimately allows the fields of human ability and human learning to coalesce.
Institutions: University of Amsterdam, ACT
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,900
OpenAlex ID: W2901490834