Born Louis Leon Thurstone, L.L. Thurstone initially showed interest in mathematics and engineering, even working under famed inventor Thomas Edison. In 1917, he took interest in the psychology of learning and quickly headed to the University of Chicago to receive his Ph.D in psychology.
Thurstone was the primary opponent to Charles Spearman's theories, neglecting the notion of general intelligence and saying instead that human intelligence relied on seven major factors: verbal comprehension, word fluency, spatial visualization, number facility, associative memory, reasoning, and perceptual speed. His mental tests of people with similar IQs found evidence of his seven factors. However, when he applied his tests to heterogenous children, evidence of g was found. Thurstone devised a mathematical explanation for this, though, settling for a compromise that accounted for both theories.
Thurstone was the primary opponent to Charles Spearman's theories, neglecting the notion of general intelligence and saying instead that human intelligence relied on seven major factors: verbal comprehension, word fluency, spatial visualization, number facility, associative memory, reasoning, and perceptual speed. His mental tests of people with similar IQs found evidence of his seven factors. However, when he applied his tests to heterogenous children, evidence of g was found. Thurstone devised a mathematical explanation for this, though, settling for a compromise that accounted for both theories.