n of intelligence emphasizes three characteristics of
the thought process: (1) Its tendency to take and maintain a definite
direction; (2) the capacity to make adaptations for the purpose of
attaining a desired end; and (3) the power of auto-criticism.[11]

[11] See Binet and Simon: "L'intelligence des imbeciles," in _L'Annee
Psychologique_ (1909), pp. 1-147. The last division of this article is
devoted to a discussion of the essential nature of the higher thought
processes, and is a wonderful example of that keen psychological
analysis in which Binet was so gifted.

How these three aspects of intelligence enter into the performances with
various tests of the scale is set forth from time to time in our
directions for giving and interpreting the individual tests.[12] An
illustration which may be given here is that of the "patience test," or
uniting the disarranged parts of a divided rectangle. As described by
Binet, this operation has the following elements: "(1) to keep in mind
the end to be attained, that is to say, the figure to be formed; (2) to
try different combinations under the influence of this directing idea,
which guides the efforts of the subject even though he may not be
conscious of the fact; and (3) to judge the combination which has been
made, to compare it with the model, and to decide whether it is the
correct one."

[12] See especially pages 162 and 238.

Much the same processes are called for in many other of the Binet tests,
particularly those of arranging weights, rearranging dissected
sentences, drawing a diamond or square from copy, finding a sentence
containing three given words, counting backwards, etc.

However, an examination of the scale will show that the choice of tests
was not guided entirely by any single formula as to the nature of
intelligence. Binet's approach was a many-sided one. The scale includes
tests of time orientation, of three or four kinds of memory, of
apperception, of language comprehension, of knowledge about common
objects, of free association, of number mastery, of constructive
imagination, and of ability to compare concepts, to see contradictions,
to combine fragments into a unitary whole, to comprehend abstract terms,
and to meet novel situations.

OTHER CONCEPTIONS OF INTELLIGENCE. It is interesting to compare Binet's
conception of intelligence with the definitions which have been offered
by other psychologists. According to Ebbinghaus, for example, the
essence