According to hierarchical model of intelligence, Level II is known as:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 1

The correct answer is Option (1) → Cognitive competence

Option (1) Cognitive competence — Correct. Arthur Jensen’s hierarchical model places intelligence at two levels. Level II, called cognitive competence, covers higher-order skills that transform the input to produce an effective output.

Option (2) Associative learning — Incorrect. This is Level I of the same model. Here the output is more or less similar to the input, as in rote learning and memory.

Option (3) Knowledge acquisition — Incorrect. It is one of the components in Sternberg’s triarchic theory (componential intelligence): learning how to do things and gathering new information. It is not a level in Jensen’s model.

Option (4) Performance component — Incorrect. Also from Sternberg’s componential intelligence, it means actually doing the task once it has been planned. Jensen’s model has no such level.

Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 21-05-2025 (Slot 1).

NCERT (2025-26): “Theories of Intelligence … Arthur Jensen proposed a hierarchical model of intelligence consisting of abilities operating at two levels, called Level I and Level II. Level I is the associative learning in which output is more or less similar to the input (e.g., rote learning and memory). Level II, called cognitive competence, involves higher-order skills as they transform the input to produce an effective output.…”

“Triarchic Theory of Intelligence … First is the knowledge acquisition component, which is responsible for learning and acquisition of the ways of doing things. The second is the meta or a higher order component, which involves planning concerning what to do and how to do. The third is the performance component, which involves actually doing things.”