AP Psychology: Testing and Individual Differences

Standardized Test

One that is administered, scored, and interpreted in the same way no matter when or where it is used

Norms

Established rules of behavior or standards of conduct

Standardization sample

A large group of people that is representative of the entire population of potential test takers and establish the norms

Reliability

Ability of a test to yield very similar scores for the same individual over repeated testings

Validity

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

Aptitude test

Estimates the probability that a person will be successful in learning a specific new skill (ACT test)

Achievement test

A test designed to assess what a person has learned (AP tests)

Intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Fluid intelligence

Ability to acquire knowledge quickly and adapt effectively to new situations.

Crystallized intelligence

Knowledge and skills accumulated from prior experience, schooling, and culture.

Multiple intelligence

Intelligence is more than IQ and everyone has a different recipe of intelligence (assessment)

Triarchic theory of intelligence

Sternberg's theory that there are three kinds of intelligence: analytical, creative, and practical

Emotional intelligence

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

Stanford-Binet IQ test

Standardized test used to test intelligence

IQ = (mental age) / (chronological age) X 100

Wechsler test

advantage over Binet intelligence test both verbal and non-verbal scores

Normal distribution

A bell-shaped curve, describing the spread of a characteristic throughout a population.

Heritability

Ability of a trait to be passed from one generation to the next

Flynn effect

The rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations

Charles Spearman

creator of "g-factor", or general intelligence, concept

Howard Gardner

Theory of multiple intelligence's

Daniel Goleman

Psychologist associated with the study of emotional intelligence

Robert Sternberg

devised the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (academic problem-solving, practical, and creative)

Alfred Binet

developed intelligence tests to identify slow learners to develop remedial programs

Louis Terman

revised Binet's IQ test and established norms for American children.

David Weschler

established an intelligence test especially for adults (Weschler Intelligence Test for Adults)

Creative intelligence

A form of intelligence that involves the capacity to be intellectually flexible and innovative.

Divergent thinking

Trying to expand the range of alternatives by generating many possible solutions.

Factor analysis

Statistical procedure designed to discover the independent elements (factors) in any set of data

G factor

A general ability proposed by spearman as the main factor underlying all intelligent mental activity

Intelligence Quota (IQ)

a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test

Mental age

The chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Intellectual Disability

indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life.

Stereotype threat

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

Down syndrome

A genetic chromosome 21 disorder causing developmental and intellectual delays.

Identical twins

Twins who come from one fertilized egg; twins having the same heredity

face validity

extent to which respondents can tell what the items are measuring

construct validity

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

predicitive 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.

content validity

The degree to which the content of a test is representative of the domain it's supposed to cover.