Alfred Binet French psychologist Alfred Binet (1857–1911) is most recognized for his groundbreaking work in the area of Intelligence assessment. Binet, a Frenchman from Nice, started out as a lawyer before switching to psychology. Binet was hired as the head of te Sorbonne's Laboratory of Experimental Psychology in 1890 and carried out studies on memory, attention, and suggestibility there. He was given a mandate by the French government in 1905 to create a system for identifying kids who were in danger of falling behind academically. The Binet-Simon Scale, developed by Binet and his collaborator Theodore Simon, was the first standardized Intelligence test. A child's mental age, or degree of intellectual development in relation to their chronological age, was assessed by the test. Later, the Binet-Simon Scale was modified by various psychologists, such as Lewis Terman, who coined the term "intelligence quotient" (IQ). Binet was a prolific author who produced more than 200 books and essays on a variety of psychological subjects. He was a strong supporter of the application of scientific principles to the study of human behavior and was instrumental in making psychology a recognized branch of science. Binet passed away in 1911 at the age of 54, but his contributions to psychology still have an impact today, notably in the fields of cognitive psychology and Intelligence level testing. Read More Read Less