Charles Spearman Created 2026-10-25 Updated 2026-11-05
Charles Spearman investigated correlations among cognitive performances and developed an account of a shared general intelligence factor with task-specific contributions. This helped make intelligence a subject of explicit measurement and statistical modeling. A fitted common factor describes covariation under a model; it is not automatically a uniquely identified biological mechanism. His name is also attached to Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. [ref]
General Intelligence, Objectively Determined and Measured by Charles Spearman. 1904, original correlation analysis and general/specific factor account