Chapter 9 - Intro to Psychology

what are the three types of **mental ability** tests? (3)

* intelligence
* aptitude
* achievement

what are the two types of **psychological** tests?

* mental ability tests
* personality tests

what do intelligence tests measure, and what are they designed to assess?

intended to measure general mental ability

designed to assess intellectual potential rather than prior knowledge

what do aptitude tests measure, and what are they designed to assess?

intended to assess specific types of mental abilities

designed to predicts a person’s future performance

what type of test are the SAT and GRE tests an example of?

aptitude tests

what do achievement tests measure, and what are they designed to assess?

intended to measure mastery and knowledge

designed to assess what a person has learned

what type of test is an exam?

achievement test

what does a personality test measure? (4)

intended to measure an individual’s personality, including motive, interests, values, and attitudes

what are the requirements of a good test? (3)

* standardization
* reliability
* validity

what does test standardization mean?

same procedures used in the administration + scoring of a test (same conditions)

what is the importance of test norms (standardization)?

test norms allow psychologists to determine how a person scores relative to other people

what is the “standardization group” or “norm group”?

the group of people that the test norms are based on

what is test-retest reliability (stability reliability)?

the same result on more than one occasion

what are two issues that can effect test-retest reliability? (2)

* **carry over effects:** scores on 2nd administration of the test are influenced by the 1st administration
* **practice effects:** skills improve simply bc ppl have taken the test before

what is a way to minimize carry over effects or practice effects?

**alternate forms reliability:** give parallel or alternate forms of a test on different occassions

what are four types of test validity? (4)

* face validity
* content validity
* criterion-related (predictive) validity
* construct validity

what is face validity?

appears to be measuring what it is supposed to be measuring

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ex. item measuring self-esteem

* a high face validity question would be “do you feel good about yourself?”
* a low face validity question would be “has a wild animal ever effected your life negatively?”

what is content validity?

how well the test covers all relevant parts of the construct it aims to measure

(represents a broad range of content to be measured)

“Is the test fully representative of what it aims to measure?”

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ex. to test mathematical skill, you need to test more than just multiplication

what is triangulation?

thinking about all the ways something might be expressed

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ex. when measuring anxiety, you can ask questions concerning symptoms, behaviours, cognitive effects, situational question)

what is criterion-related (predictive) validity?

ability to predict performance on another measure

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ex. scores on verbal test predicting grades in english

what is construct validity?

evidence that a test measures a particular hypothetical construct (something that you can’t see, measure, weigh, etc.)

“does the test measure the hypothetical concept that it's intended to measure?”

what is reification?

viewing an abstract, immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing

what is intelligence in research studies?

intelligence is whatever the intelligence test measures

what is intelligence to psychologists? (3)

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

how did sir francis galton measure intelligence?

used basic motor and sensory abilities to assess intelligence

what did sir francis galton believe about intelligence?

he believed intelligence was inherited

sir francis galton was the first person to use what?

the correlation coefficient

what did sir francis galton’s contributions to intelligence testing lead to?

selective breeding (eugenics)

what did alfred binet and theodore simon’s test measure?

a child’s “mental age”

what was the purpose of alfred binet and theodore simon’s test?

to identify schoolchildren needing special attention

what did lewis terman contribute to intelligence testing?

he revised binet’s test at standford university and called it the “standford-binet intelligence scale”

how do you calculate the intelligence quotient (IQ) according to the standford-binet intelligence scale?

mental age / chronological age x 100

what did lewis termans test (standford-binet intelligence scale) lead to?

the government used it to reduce immigration

what is the most widely used intelligence test today?

the wechsler adult intelligence scale

what does the wechsler adult intelligence scale place more emhpasis on?

non-verbal reasoning

what did gardner contribute to intelligence testing?

created the theory of multiple intelligences

IQ scores below 70-75 are diagnostic of what?

intellectual disability

IQ scores of 70 indicate what?

6th grade education max, special education is helpful

IQ scores of 20-35 indicate what?

severe impairment, limited speech, poor self-care habits

systematic training can have some benefit

IQ scores above __what__ can be categorized as gifted?

IQ scores above 130

what did winner find when researching individuals with IQs of 175+

he found that they had a difficult time adjusting to life

what is the three-ring conception of eminent giftedness? (3)

giftedness due to a combination of **intelligence**, **creativity**, and **motivation**

what is drudge theory? (3)

claims that exceptional achievement is primarily dependent on dogged **determination**, endless **practice**, and **training**

what is the flynn effect?

worldwide increase in IQ test scores over time

what is the cumulative deprivation hypothesis?

proposes that under conditions of marked social and environmental deprivation, growth and development deficits in children will grow as children grow older.

what is the evidence for environment determining intelligence? (3)

* adoption studies
* siblings raised together vs. apart
* unrelated children raised together\`

what is the evidence that intelligence is hereditary? (2)

* twin studies
* heritability

what is heritability

a measure of how well differences in people's genes account for differences in their traits

what is intelligence determined by? (2)

* genetics are 100% responsible for determining IQ range (potential)
* environment is 100% responsible for determining where the IQ falls on that range

what is spearmans two-factor theory of intelligence?

proposes that intelligence has two components: **general intelligence** ("g") and **specific ability** ("s")

what is thurstone’s multifactor theory of intelligence?

proposed that intelligence consists of seven primary mental abilities:

\-verbal comprehension

\-word fluency

\-number facility

\- spatial visualization

\- associative memory

\- perceptual speed

\- reasoning

what are the three parts of sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence? (3)

* analytical
* creative
* practical

what is savant syndrome?

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill

what is practical intelligence?

ability to solve real life problems as they arise (learning from experience)

what is creative intelligence?

ability to respond to new situations and find new solutions to problems

what is analytical intelligence?

ability to analyze, understand and draw conclusions from given information

what is the entity theory of intelligence?

theory that intelligence is fixed at birth and is not affected by experiences or attempts to change it

what is the incremental theory of intelligence?

theory that intelligence can be changed by effort and seeking out formative experiences