Unit 2: Module 2.8ab-254-268: Theories of Intelligence, and Intelligence Assessment

general intelligence (g)

according to Spearman and others, underlies all 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 (Gf)

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age, especially during late adulthood.

crystallized intelligence (Gc)

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

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory

the theory that out intelligence is based on g as well as specific abilities, bridged by Gf and Gc.

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

in psychology, 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 and capacity to learn

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age. Thus, a child who does as well as an average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

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 (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca x 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the WAIS and its companion versions for children are the most widely used intelligence tests; they contain verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

psychometrics

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

standardization

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

normal curve

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

Flynn Effect

the rise in intelligence test performance over time and across cultures.

reliability

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

Validity

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

content validity

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

construct validity

how much a test measures a concept or trait.

predictive 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.