AP Psychology Unit 11 Vocab

intelligence

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

app: smartness

intelligence test

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

app: IQ test2

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.

app: A person might be a very skilled runner, but this does not necessarily mean that they will also be an excellent figure skater.

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.

app: breaking up general intelligence into different areas of intelligence

savant syndrome

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

app: someone is really good at art but can’t do much else

grit

in psychology, grit is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

app: fortitude

emotional intelligence

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

app: needed in relationships

mental age

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

app: 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 American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.

app: standard IQ test

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.

app: math behind IQ tests

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

app: school tests essentially

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.

app: potential test

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test

app: contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

app: average

normal curve

the symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes.

app: Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

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.

app: accuracy

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

app: correctness

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.

app: are you testing for the right thing

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.

app: Also called criterion-related validity

cohort

a group of people from a given time period.

app: chronological people sample

crystallized intelligence

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

app: solidified

fluid intelligence

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

app: creativity

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.

app: Formerly referred to as mental retardation

Down syndrome

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

app: down with the syndrome

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.

app: nature

stereotype threat

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

app: not wanting to be stereotyped

Charles Spearman

(1863–1945) British psychologist known for his work in the field of psychometrics, the science of measuring mental abilities and processes.

app: development of the statistical technique known as factor analysis and for his theory of intelligence, often referred to as the two-factor theory or the g factor theory.

L. L. Thurstone

(1887–1955)American psychologist known for his contributions to psychometrics, the measurement of psychological attributes.

app: development of the multiple-factor theory, which challenged Charles Spearman's theory of a single general intelligence (g factor).

Howard Gardner

American developmental psychologist. Born on July 11, 1943, Gardner is a professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

app: Theory of multiple intelligences

Robert Sternberg

American psychologist known for his research in cognitive psychology, intelligence, creativity, and wisdom. Born on December 8, 1949, Sternberg has made significant contributions to understanding human intelligence and cognition.

app: triarchic theory of intelligence

Francis Galton

(1822–1911) a British polymath who made significant contributions to various fields, including psychology, statistics, genetics, and anthropology. He is often regarded as one of the pioneers of modern psychology and the founder of the eugenics movement.

app: human intelligence and the study of individual differences. He introduced the concept of "nature versus nurture" and conducted influential research on the heritability of intelligence.

Alfred Binet

(1857–1911) a French psychologist who made significant contributions to the fields of psychology, education, and psychometrics.

app: pioneering work in the development of intelligence testing.

Louis Terman

(1877–1956) an American psychologist known for his work in intelligence testing and for his development of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales. He was a prominent figure in the field of psychology during the early to mid-20th century.

app: his adaptation of the Binet-Simon Intelligence Test, which he revised and standardized for American children, thus creating the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales.

David Wechsler

(1896–1981) a pioneering American psychologist known for his work in the field of intelligence testing.

app: developing the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

Carol Dweck

American psychologist known for her research on motivation, personality, and development, particularly her work on the concept of mindset. Born on October 17, 1946, Dweck is currently the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University.

app: her pioneering research on the theory of mindset