Chapter 8: Testing and Individual Differences

standardized

we mean that the test items have been piloted on a similar population of people as those who are meant to take the test and that achievement norms have been established.

psychometricians

(people who make tests) at ETS use the performance of the standardization sample on the experimental sections to choose items for future tests.

Reliability

refers to the repeatability or consistency of the test as a means of measurement.

Split-half reliability

involves randomly dividing a test into two different sections and then correlating people’s performances on the two halves.

equivalent-form reliability

The correlation between performance on the different forms of the test is known as

Test-retest reliability

refers to the correlation between a person’s score on one administration of the test with the same person’s score on a subsequent administration of the test.

Validity

is often referred to as the accuracy of a test.

Face validity

refers to a superficial measure of accuracy.

content validity

Face validity is a type of

Content validity

refers to how well a measure reflects the entire range of material it is supposed to be testing.

Concurrent validity

measures how much of a characteristic a person has now; is a person a good chef now?

Predictive validity

is a measure of future performance; does a person have the qualities that would enable him or her to become a good chef?

Construct validity

is thought to be the most meaningful kind of validity.

Aptitude tests

measure ability or potential

achievement tests

measure what one has learned or accomplished.

Speed tests

generally consist of a large number of questions asked in a short amount of time.

intelligence

is a commonly used term, it is an extremely difficult concept to define.

Fluid intelligence

refers to our ability to solve abstract problems and pick up new information and skills, while crystallized intelligence involves using knowledge accumulated over time.

Charles Spearman

argued that intelligence could be expressed by a single factor.

Howard Gardner

also subscribes to the idea of multiple intelligences.

EQ

which is also known as emotional intelligence.

Daniel Goleman

One of the main proponents of EQ is

Robert Sternberg

is another contemporary researcher who has offered a somewhat nontraditional definition of intelligence.

Sternberg’s triarchic theory

holds that three types of intelligence exist.

Alfred Binet

was a Frenchman who wanted to design a test that would identify which children needed special attention in schools.

mental age

an idea that presupposes that intelligence increases as one gets older.

Louis Terman

a Stanford professor, used this system to create the measure we know as IQ and the test known as the Stanford-Binet IQ test.

IQ

stands for intelligence quotient.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

is used in testing adult

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

is given to children between the ages of 6 and 16

deviation IQ

The Wechsler tests yield IQ scores based on what is known as

heritability

An important term that researchers use in discussing the effects of nature and nurture is

Flynn effect

Performance on intelligence tests has been increasing steadily throughout the century, a finding known as the