Chapter 7-Thinking and Intelligence

What are concepts in psychology?

Mental categories formed to group objects, events, or situations that share similar features or characteristics.

What is a prototype?

The most typical instance of a particular concept.

What is problem solving?

Thinking behavior directed toward attaining a goal that is not readily available.

What is functional fixedness?

The tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual or customary way.

What is insight in problem solving?

The sudden realization of how a problem can be solved.

What does creativity refer to in psychology?

A group of cognitive processes used to generate useful, original, and novel ideas or solutions.

What is the confirmation bias?

The strong tendency to search for information that confirms beliefs while ignoring information that may disprove them.

How is language defined in psychology?

A system that combines arbitrary symbols to produce an infinite number of meaningful statements.

What is intelligence?

The ability to gain knowledge and learn from experience.

Who developed the first systematic intelligence test?

Alfred Binet.

What is mental age?

A measurement of intelligence expressed in terms of a given age.

What does intelligence quotient (IQ) measure?

General intelligence derived by comparing an individual's score to others in the same age group.

Who developed the WAIS intelligence tests?

David Wechsler.

What population does the WAIS test specifically target?

Adults rather than children.

What is an achievement test?

A test designed to measure a person's level of knowledge, skill, or accomplishment in a particular area.

What is an aptitude test?

A test designed to assess a person's capacity to benefit from education or training.

What does standardization mean in testing?

The test is given to a large representative sample of people under uniform conditions to establish norms.

What does reliability in a test refer to?

The ability to produce consistent results when administered on repeated occasions under similar conditions.

What does validity in a test refer to?

The ability to measure what it is intended to measure.

What percentage of the population is likely to score above 145 or below 55 on an intelligence test?

Approximately 1 percent.

What factors determine intelligence according to most psychologists?

Both heredity and environment.

What distinguishes identical twins in intelligence studies?

They share exactly the same genes, so any differences must be due to environmental factors.