Auditory intelligence: Theoretical considerations and empirical findings

Kurzfassung

In the last few years, auditory intellectual abilities have received increased attention in different fields of research. However, most intelligence models have yet to include an auditory factor. This paper aimed to replicate the general auditory factor and examined whether and how the hierarchical and faceted Berlin Intelligence Structure model (BIS; Jäger, 1982) should be extended by adding an auditory dimension. Two studies included 126 students (Study 1) and a heterogeneous group of 175 adults (Study 2). Participants took a broad auditory intelligence test and the BIS test and provided a self-report of musical training. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed two separate auditory content factors: nonverbal and speech. Auditory nonverbal ability was clearly distinct from academic intelligence, whereas auditory speech ability could be completely subsumed under verbal reasoning.We suggest that auditory ability – as represented by auditory nonverbal tests – needs to be added to the BIS as an additional content dimension.