ap psych intelligence and its tests

Intelligence

Ability to learn, solve problems, adapt knowledge.

General Intelligence (g)

Underlying factor for all mental abilities.

Factor Analysis

Statistical method identifying clusters of related test items.

Primary Mental Abilities

Includes verbal comprehension, memory, and reasoning.

Fluid Intelligence (Gf)

Reasoning speedily and abstractly; decreases with age.

Crystallized Intelligence (Gc)

Accumulated knowledge and skills; increases with age.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll Theory

Intelligence includes g, Gf, Gc, and specific abilities.

Relative Independent Intelligences

Gardner's eight intelligences beyond traditional measures.

Existential Intelligence

Ability to ponder life's big questions.

Savant Syndrome

Exceptional skill despite limited mental ability.

Analytical Intelligence

Problem-solving ability assessed by intelligence tests.

Creative Intelligence

Innovative thinking and adaptability to new situations.

Practical Intelligence

Skills for everyday tasks with multiple solutions.

Grit

Passion and perseverance for long-term goals.

10-Year Rule

Expert performance requires about 10 years of practice.

Social Intelligence

Understanding and managing social situations effectively.

Emotional Intelligence

Perceiving, understanding, managing, and using emotions.

Perceiving Emotions

Recognizing emotions in faces, music, and stories.

Understanding Emotions

Predicting emotional changes and blends.

Managing Emotions

Expressing emotions appropriately in various situations.

Using Emotions

Facilitating adaptive or creative thinking.

Emotional Awareness

Self-awareness and understanding others' emotional cues.

Educational Impact of Intelligence

Multiple intelligences influence teaching strategies.

Conscientiousness

Trait linked to success and persistence.

Occupational Outcomes of g

Higher g predicts better job performance.

Intelligence test

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

Achievement tests (AP exams)

Designed to assess what you've learned.

Aptitude tests

Designed to predict a person's future performance, what you will be able to learn.

Thinly disguised intelligence tests

Aptitude tests that also support achievement: People who learn quickly are also better at retaining information.

Normal curve

Scores on aptitude tests tend to form a normal, or bell-shaped, curve around an average score (for the Wechsler scale, the average score is 100).

Collectivism

When cultures emphasize the collective welfare of the family, community, and society.

Individualism

When cultures focus on promoting individual opportunity.

Plato

A pioneer in the tradition of individualism, whose writing caused Westerners to ponder how and why individuals differ in mental ability.

Francis Galton

Cousin of Darwin, presuming hereditary genius, founded the horrible eugenics, and contributed to the phrase nature and nurture.

Binet's measure of mental age

Mental age is a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age.

Mental age

A child who does well as an average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

Developmental disabilities

A child with developmental disabilities should score much like a typical younger child.

Intellectually gifted child

The opposite should be true for an intellectually gifted child.

Stanford-Binet

The widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test, adapted for California kids by Lewis Terman.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (IQ = (ma/ca) * 100).

Average performance

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 (like the WISC) are the most widely used intelligence tests; they contain verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

Subtests of WAIS

The 2008 edition of the WAIS consists of 15 subtests, including Similarities, Vocabulary, Block design, and Letter-number sequencing.

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 pretested group.

Normal curve (psychometrics)

The bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes.

Plato

A pioneer in the tradition of individualism; his writing caused Westerners to ponder how and why individuals differ in mental ability.

Francis Galton

Cousin of Darwin; presuming hereditary genius and founded the eugenics movement.

Nature and nurture

A phrase contributed by Francis Galton indicating the interplay of genetics and environment.

Binet's measure of mental age

A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age.

Stanford-Binet

The widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test, adapted by Lewis Terman.

Average performance score

On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

The most widely used intelligence tests that contain verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

WAIS subtests

The 2008 edition of the WAIS consists of 15 subtests, including Similarities, Vocabulary, Block design, and Letter-number sequencing.

Normal curve in testing

The bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes, where most scores fall near the average.

Average Score

For many human attributes, the curve's highest point is the average score.

Intelligence Test Average

On an intelligence test, we give this average score a value of 100.

Score Distribution

About 95% of all people score within 30 points plus or minus 100.

Flynn Effect

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

James Flynn

Named after James Flynn who first calculated the magnitude of the Flynn effect.

IQ Score Increase

Flynn observed that the average person's intelligence test score rose three points per decade.

Countries Observed

Such rising performance has been observed in 49 countries from Sweden to Sudan.

Economic Growth and IQ

Countries that have shown the greatest growth in IQ score over time have also experienced more economic growth.

Reliability

The extent to which a test yields consistent results.

Test Consistency

A reliable test, when retaken, gives consistent scores.

Reliability Testing Methods

Researchers test people many times to check a test's reliability.

Split-Half Method

Agreement of odd-numbered question scores to assess reliability.

Correlation Coefficient

The higher the correlation between the two scores, the higher the test's reliability.

Stanford-Binet, WAIS, WISC

These tests are very reliable after early childhood with correlation coefficients of about +.9.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to measure or predict.

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.

Criterion-Related Validity

Intelligence tests should predict future performance.

SAT Predictive Power

SAT aptitude test scores do predict school grades, but this predictive power peaks in the early school years.

GRE Correlation

The correlation with graduate school performance is an even more modest but still significant +.4.

Narrowed Data Range

When we validate a measure using a wide range of scores but then use it with a restricted range of scores, it loses much of its predictive validity.

Cross-sectional method

Compares different age groups at one time.

Longitudinal method

Follows and retests the same individuals over time.

Mental ability decline

Observed decrease in intelligence with aging.

Intelligence stability

Intelligence remains stable or increases over time.

Cohort

Group sharing a common characteristic, like age.

Correlation coefficient

Statistical measure of relationship strength, e.g., +.66.

IQ at age 11

Predictor of intelligence and longevity later in life.

Health and intelligence link

Higher intelligence correlates with healthier, longer lives.

Intelligence explanations

Factors linking intelligence to health outcomes.

Fluid intelligence (Gf)

Ability to think quickly; declines with age.

Crystallized intelligence (Gc)

Accumulated knowledge; can increase with age.

Social reasoning skills

Older adults excel in perspective-taking and wisdom.

Emotional composure

Older adults manage emotions better in decisions.

Wisdom

Enhanced ability to navigate conflicts with age.

Aging effects on memory

Recall memory declines; vocabulary knowledge increases.

Healthier lifestyle

Intelligent individuals tend to smoke less and exercise.

Prenatal influences

Early events can affect both intelligence and health.

Well-wired body

Fast reaction speeds may enhance intelligence and longevity.

Research methods

Focus on how psychological questions are asked.

Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach quote

"In youth we learn, in age we understand."

Survivor bias

Healthiest participants may skew intelligence study results.

Age 85 intelligence decline

Intelligence decline becomes noticeable after this age.

Heritability

Variation in traits attributed to genetic differences.