APP Cognition Vocab 2

Modules 60-64

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks)

criterion

the behavior (such as future college grades) that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to predict; thus, the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity

metacognition

thinking about thinking

psychometrics

area of psychology that uses psychological tests to measure the mind and mental processes

Francis Galton

interested in link between heredity and intelligence; founder of the eugenics movement

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

Carol Dweck

reports that believing intelligence is biologically set and unchanging can lead to a "fixed mindset"; advocate of growth mindset

theory of multiple intelligences

Howard Gardner's theory of eight intelligences used to solve problems or solve culturally significant products

Robert Sternberg

psychologist; believed there were three types of intelligences: analytical, creative, and practical

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

Stanford-Binet

the widely used America revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test

Alfred Binet

psychologist; created first intelligence test for Parisian school children - created concept of mental age

Lewis Terman

psychologist; worked at Stanford, revised Binet's IQ test and established norms for American children

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

David Wechsler

psychologist; developed tests similar to the Stanford-Binet IQ test, aimed at both adults and children

WAIS

Weschler Adult Intelligence Test the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests

WISC

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, an adaptation of the WAIS for kids

norms

in test construction, established standards of performance

standardization sample

the group of people helping to standardize a test

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score, the square root of the variance

z score

a measure of how many standard deviations you are away from the norm (average or mean)

Flynn effect

the worldwide phenomenon that shows intelligence test performance has been increasing over the years

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

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is suppose to (see also content validity and predictive validity)

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; varies from mild to profound

Down syndrome

a condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one's genetic makeup

stereotype threat

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

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 score and the criterion behavior (also called criterion-related validity)

face validity

the degree to which an assessment or test subjectively appears to measure a variable

grit

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

cohort

A population group unified by a specific common characteristic, such as age, and subsequently treated as a statistical unit.

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

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 one's total score

general intelligence (g)

a general intelligence factor that according to Spearman and others underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measure by every task on an intelligence test

Charles Spearman

psychologist; believed there was a general intelligence, or g factor that underlies the various clusters in factor analysis

L.L. Thurstone

psychologist; proposed that intelligence consisted of 7 different primary mental abilities

Howard Gardner

psychologist; devised theory of multiple intelligences: logical-mathematic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, linguistic, musical, interpersonal, naturalistic

triarchic theory of intelligence

Robert Sternberg's theory that describes intelligence as having analytic, creative and practical dimensions

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

emotional intelligence

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

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn (the AT part of SAT)

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes; most scores fall near the average, and few and fewer scores lie near the extremes