Primary mental abilities

Louis L. Thurstone (1887-1955) didn't approach intelligence as a single, general ability; his theory focused on seven different primary mental abilities:

• Associative memory: The capacity to memorize and recollect.
• Numerical ability: The capacity to solve arithmetic problems.
• Perceptual speed: The capacity to see differences and similarities among objects.
• Reasoning: The capacity to find rules.
• Spatial visualization: The capacity to visualize relationships.
• Verbal comprehension: The capacity to define and understand words
• Word fluency: The capacity to produce words rapidly.