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This volume is a result of extensive investigations on approximately two hundred and fifty patients with neurosurgical conditions, normal control individuals, normal individuals under experimental stresses, neuropsychiatric patients and individuals with closed head injuries. In these investigations a battery of twenty-seven behavioral indicators was developed and employed for the first time. Mr. Halstead presents a new conception of adaptive intelligence, which differs considerably from the theories on which standard intelligence tests are based. He has combined new instruments and quantitative methods with the techniques of factor analysis to isolate the basic factors of higher mental processes.
On the basis of his studies, the author evolves a four-factor theory of biological intelligence. It consists of (1) a central integrative field factor C which represents the organized experiences of the individual. It is a region of coalescence of learning and adaptive intelligence. (2) A factor of abstraction A which the author considers the fundamental growth principle of the ego. This factor concerns a basic capacity to group to a criterion, as in the elaboration of categories, and involves the comprehension of essential similarities and differences. (3) A power factor P which reflects the undistorted power factor of the brain. It