Intelligence & Testing Flashcards

Aptitude Test

A test designed to predict a person's ability to learn a new skill. (e.g., SAT, LSAT).

Achievement Test

A test designed to assess what a person has learned. (e.g., AP Exam, chapter test).

Standardization

Defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparing them to the performance of a pretested group.

Reliability

The consistency of a test in producing similar results over time.

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.

Predictive Validity

The success of a test in predicting the behavior it is designed to predict.

Stanford-Binet

The widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

The most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) sub-tests.

Mental Age

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

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100 (MA/CA x 100).

Deviation IQ

A score based on a statistical comparison of an individual's performance to the average performance of others of the same age.

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Theory that intelligence is composed of 8+ independent intelligences, including linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, and interpersonal.

Robert Sternberg's Triarchic Theory

Theory that intelligence is composed of analytical, creative, and practical intelligence.

Analytical Intelligence (Sternberg)

The ability to solve well-defined problems and think abstractly (academic problem-solving).

Practical Intelligence (Sternberg)

"Street smarts," the ability to adapt to, shape, and select real-world environments.

Creative Intelligence (Sternberg)

The ability to deal with novel situations and generate new ideas.

Savant Syndrome

A condition in which a person with significant mental disabilities demonstrates exceptional, island-like ability in a specific area (e.g., calculation, art).

Down Syndrome

A genetic condition causing intellectual disability due to an extra chromosome 21.

Factor Analysis

A statistical procedure used to identify clusters of related test items and underlying mental abilities.

Spearman's g (General Intelligence)

The idea that a general intelligence factor underlies all specific mental abilities.

Divergent Thinking

Expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking). "How many uses are there for a brick?"

Convergent Thinking

Narrows down solutions to find the single best answer. (Standardized test questions).

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to solve novel problems, think logically, and identify patterns (peaks in young adulthood).

Crystallized Intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills (increases with age).

Cultural Bias

When a test gives an unfair advantage to one cultural group over another.

Heritability Estimate

The proportion of variation among individuals in a population that can be attributed to genes.