How did Alfred Binet create the first intelligence test? Fortunately, for the millions of children with learning disorders, Binet had spent "quality time" with his daughters. He asked them questions and queried how they solved them. This led to an understanding of individual differences in mental performance, and most importantly, that not all thought processes followed the same course.Using these observations, along with a smattering of good-old-fashioned logic, Binet was able to argue against the prevailing view that 'lack' of intellect in certain fields was an "illness". His discovery of different kinds of memory led to a government appointment to develop tests intended to identify areas of weakness in school children. In association with Theodore Simon, Binet identified developmental achievements levels expected of normal children. The mental age criteria that were the basis of these tests remain a benchmark in assisting children demonstrating poor performance in specific areas.

Unfortunately, Binet died only five years after the first use of his test, and the necessary revisions and refinements were left largely to others (see our comments on Terman). Did you know? The antecedents in Binet's career show how some (strange) career decisions can lead to changes that are for the better. His first degree was in law. Thereafter, Binet worked with Charcot in the (then emerging) field of hypnosis. It is also reputed that Binet studied phrenology, and had great sympathy with the physiognomists (i.e., philosopher-come-psychologists that assumed there was a direct correlation between humans resemblance to animals and their personality).