AP Intelligence Unit

intelligence test

A test designed to measure a person's general mental ability

aptitude tests

A test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

achievement tests

A test designed to assess what a person has learned

standardization

uniform procedures used in the administration and scoring of a test

test norms

provide information about where a score on a psychological test ranks in relation to other scores on that test

percentile score

indicates the percentage of people who score at or below the score one has obtained

reliability

Extent to which a test yields consistent results

correlation coefficient

A numerical index of the degree of relationship between two variables.

validity

Ability of a test to measure what it is supposed to measure

content validity

Degree to which the content of the test is representative of the domain it's supposed to cover.

construct validity

Extent to which scores suggest that a test is actually measuring an ABSTRACT theoretical idea (such as anxiety, personality, introversion, etc.).

Sir Francis Galton

Nature vs. Nurture

Coined the term Eugenics. (A belief that you can breed better human beings)

Alfred Binet

Created intelligence test to pick out kids who had trouble learning in school, used mental age, stilled used today, although revised

mental age

A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Lewis Terman

American psychologist who translated and adapted the Binet-Simon intelligence test for use in the United States; became known as Stanford-Binet IQ test

Intelligence Quotient

-defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (this, IQ = ma/ca x 100

David Weschler

he established an intelligence test especially for adults. It became the WAIS. Used a normal distribution

g factor (general intelligence)

a general mental ability that, according to Charles Spearman, underlies multiple specific skills, including verbal, spatial, numerical and mechanical.

fluid intelligence

One's ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to peak in adolescence

crystallized intelligence

One's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

normal distribution

symmetric, bell-shaped curve that represents the pattern in which many characteristic are dispersed in the population

twin studies

a common method of investigating whether nature or nurture affects behavior

stereotype threat

The apprehension experienced by members of a group that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype

creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

convergent thinking

Narrowing down a list of alternatives to converge on a single correct answer

divergent thinking

generating many possible solutions to a problem/question

growth mindset

belief that qualities can change/improve through effort

fixed mindset

the idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot change

test-retest reliability

a method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions

multiple intelligences

The idea that human intelligence is comprised of a varied set of abilities rather than a single, all-encompassing one.

Flynn effect

the worldwide phenomenon that shows intelligence test performance has been increasing over the years due to environmental factors

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

Twin IQ Studies

identical twins reared together have more similarities than identical twins reared apart but they are more similar than regular siblings.

triarchic theory of intelligence

Sternberg's theory of intelligence; three facets of intelligence: practical, creative, and analytical

normal distribution curve

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.

stereotype threat

the apprehension experienced by members of a group that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype

stereotype lift

awareness of positive expectations can actually improve performance on tasks

construct validity

The extent to which there is evidence that a test measures a particular hypothetical construct.

split-half reliability

A measure of reliability in which a test is split into two parts and an individual's scores on both halves are compared.

predictive validity

the extent to which a score on a scale or test predicts scores on some criterion measure

Standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score