Unit 11

intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 607)

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 607)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 608)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 608)

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 609)

grit

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 610, 834)

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 612)

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 618)

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca × 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100, with scores assigned to relative performance above or below average. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 618)

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 619)

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 619)

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 620)

standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 621)

normal curve (normal distribution)

a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (about 68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 59, 621)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 622)

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. (See also content validity and predictive validity.) (Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 53, 622)

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 622)

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. (Also called criterion-related validity.) (Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 345, 622)

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 626)

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 626)

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life. (Formerly referred to as mental retardation.) (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 629)

Down syndrome

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 629)

heritability

the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e pp. 129, 632)

stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. (Myers Psychology for AP 2e p. 642)