Chapter 7-Thinking and Intelligence

The mental categories we have formed to group objects, events, or situations, that share similar features or characteristics are called concepts.

Thinking behavior directed toward attaining a goal that is not readily available is called problem solving.
Functional fixedness is the tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual or customary way.
Insight is the sudden realization of how a problem can be solved.

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

The confirmation bias is the strong tendency to search for the information that confirms belief, while making no effort to search for information that might disprove the belief.

A system that combines arbitrary symbols to produce an infinite number of meaningful statements is a definition of language.
Intelligence- is the ability to gain knowledge and learn from experience.

Alfred Binet developed the first systematic intelligence test
A measurement of intelligence in which an individuals mental level is expressed in terms of a given age is a definition of mental age.
A measure of general intelligence that is derived by comparing an individuals score to score of others in the same age group is a definition of intelligence quotient (IQ).

David Wechsler developed the WAIS intelligence tests.

Wechsler’s Intelligence test was specifically designed to test adults rather than children.

A test designed to measure a persons level of knowledge, skill, or accomplishment in a particular area is called an achievement test.
A test designed to assess a persons capacity to benefit from education or training is called an aptitude test.
Standardization means that the test is given to a large representative sample of people under uniform conditions for the purpose of establishing norms.
Scores in a normal distribution should cluster around the average score.
When a test has the ability to produce consistent results when administered on repeated occasions under similar conditions, it is said to be reliable.
When a test has the ability to measure what is intended to measure, it is said to be valid.
Approximately 1 percent of the population is likely to score above 145 or below 55 on an intelligence test.
In relation to the question of what determines intelligence, most psychologists agree that both heredity and environment are important in determining intelligence level.
Identical twins share exactly the same genes and thus any differences between them must be due to environmental factors rather than hereditary differences.