Unit 11 - Intelligence & Testing

Intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

general intelligence (g)

a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

savant syndrome

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

grit

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

aptitude test

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

mental age

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

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

Standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

Flynn effect

the worldwide phenomenon that shows intelligence test performance has been increasing over the years

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

construct validity

the extent to which variables measure what they are supposed to measure

Predicitve validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

cross-sectional study

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

longitudinal study

research in which the same people are restudied and retested over a long period

cohort

A population group unified by a specific common characteristic, such as age, and subsequently treated as a statistical unit.

growth mindset

the idea that our abilities are malleable qualities that we can cultivate and grow

fixed mindset

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

stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype