vocabulary

1) 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.

• Association (Filter): Factor Analysis will be associated with a filter. Not only do they both start with the letter f, but they also consist of a process that involves separating. Factor analysis is a procedure that identifies groups of related items on a test. A filter is weirdly similar. A filter also separates things that have similar characteristics such as solids and liquids.

2) Savant Syndrome - A condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

• Association (Miracle): Some of the definitions of the word miracle are very similar to savant syndrome. A miracle is a surprising but welcome event not explicable by natural or scientific laws. Just like a miracle, savant syndrome is a condition in which a person with limited mental ability has an exceptional skill. Both a miracle and savant syndrome are surprising but welcome. Because savant syndrome is a phenomenon, it technically isn't explicable by science or laws as well.

3) Stanford-Binet: The widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test. 

• Association (Movie remake): The Stanford-Binet test is like a movie remake as Terman took Binet’s original French test and adapted it for an American audience. Just as a movie remake keeps the central plot but updates the characters and setting to align with modern preferences, Terman made adjustments to make the test more suitable for American audiences. The core idea of measuring intelligence remained (central plot), but the revision ensured it was more relevant to a different culture (updated characters and plot). 

4) Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS): The WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests. 

• Association (Apple iPhone): The WAIS is similar to an Apple iPhone. Just as Apple iPhones are the most commonly used smartphone, the WAIS is the most commonly used intelligence test. In addition, Apple iPhones can be used for calling/communicating with others (verbal subtests) but they can also be used to play games/entertainment (performance subtests), similar to how the WAIS contains verbal and performance subtests.
  

5) 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.

• Association (Special education program): These programs are designed to help individuals with limited mental disability, as indicated by an IQ of 70 or below. It can help them adapt to daily life activities and provide mild (basic skills) to profound (full-time assistance to life skills).

6) Stereotype threat: A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

• Association (Women in a male-dominated field): When a female applies for a job in a male-dominated field, such as engineering, she may experience stereotype threat if she is aware of the stereotype that women are not skilled or capable in these fields. This may affect her confidence and performance, although she is fully capable of the position. 

7) Intelligence Test - A method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

• Association (IQ test): An intelligence test is similar to an IQ test therefore it will be associated with it. An IQ test measures an individual's mental ability which is what intelligence tests essentially do. The scores from people's IQ tests are used for comparison just like intelligence tests.

8) Intelligence - Mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

• Association (Wisdom): Because wisdom and intelligence have the same basic foundation in their definition, they will be associated together. Intelligence is a quality that consists of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge when adapting to new situations. Wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and judgment. They are both related to each other but wisdom can be looked at as having intelligence which shows their correlation.

9) 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.

• Association (Dementia): Dementia is a group of thinking and social symptoms that interfere with daily functioning. Dementia can cause the decline of cognitive skills. Older people who have dementia can have similar cognitive skills as children. Mental age is a measure of intelligence test performance and can measure cases like dementia. Therefore, these two words can be associated with one another.

10) Achievement tests: Tests designed to assess what a person has learned.

• Association (Mile markers): Achievement tests resemble mile markers. Just as a mile marker helps travelers assess their progress on their road trip, achievement tests measure the progress one has made in learning. Both act as markers indicating how much ground has been covered and how much remains to be done. 

11) Standardization: Defining meaningful scores by comparison, with the performance of a pretested group. 

• Association (Flight times): Airlines standardize departure and arrival times to give travelers expectations for when flights should occur. Similarly, a test (standardized departure/arrival times) is pre-tested on a group (previous flight times) to establish a standard score or performance level (expected time). Just as flight times (tests) are judged in comparison to a standardized flight schedule (pre-tested group), test scores are assessed in comparison to the established standard.

12) Normal curve: The symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

• Association (Funnel): Just as a funnel organizes items, the normal curve represents how the majority of people fall near the average. Similarly, in a funnel, most items gravitate towards the center/middle representing the majority of scores that fall near the center in a normal curve. As the funnel narrows, fewer items are found near the extremities of the funnel just as fewer scores fall at the extremes of a normal curve. Once the funnel dumps the items out into the desired container, the items form a symmetrical bell-shaped curve similar to the one a normal curve showcases. 

13) Reliability: The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or retesting.

• Association (GPS):  A GPS signal usually provides consistent and accurate location data, similar to the reliability of consistent results. However, external factors–such as tunnels, tall buildings, or signal interference–can disrupt the GPS signal, causing it to provide inconsistent locations and results. 

14) Validity: The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

• Association (Thermometer): A thermometer is designed to measure temperature accurately. When used to check the temperature of water, the thermometer should provide consistent readings that reflect the water’s actual temperature. This is similar to the concept of validity because the thermometer’s ability to measure the precise temperature is intended to demonstrate its effectiveness in fulfilling its purpose.

15) Down syndrome: A condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. 

16) 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. 

• Association (Logic): Logic is reasoning. Just like general intelligence, logic is a general way of solving a problem. General intelligence is the factor that underlies specific mental abilities. So it is the basic factor for mental abilities. Logic is also an underlying factor that allows people to conduct mental abilities. Therefore, logic and general intelligence are associated together.

17) Emotional Intelligence - The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

• Association (Empathy): Emotional intelligence is like empathy. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. Empathy requires the use of emotions and it shows that a person can understand the emotions of others. Empathy also shows that a person can perceive emotions because they detect and understand them. Because of their similarities, they will be associated together.

18) Intelligence quotient (IQ): Defined originally as a ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca  x 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100. 

• Association (Speed checker): The intelligence quotient can be compared to a speed checker and closely functions as a speed checker for the mind by checking how quickly one’s cognitive abilities develop according to age. Much like a speed checker compares a car’s speed (mental age) to the speed limit (chronological age), IQ compares a personal mental age to their chronological age. This ratio helps determine if someone’s mental development is on track or ahead of schedule, just as a speed checker shows if a car is going too fast or too slow. 

19) Aptitude tests: Tests designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn. 

• Association (Weather forecast): A weather forecast is similar to an aptitude test in that they both offer insight into future possibilities based on current data. Aptitude tests measure a person’s future capacity to learn based on current performance, similar to how a weather forecast predicts weather based on current weather conditions. Both aim to provide a glimpse of what might come next, whether it's a person’s potential in learning or the potential weather. 

20) Content validity: The extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.

• Association (Math test): A standardized math test is similar to content validity because the test covers all relevant areas of math to truly assess a student’s overall math ability. If the test only includes questions on one specific topic it wouldn’t sample the full range of mathematical skills that are of interest. To have a high content validity, the math test must include questions from all areas of the curriculum, ensuring it reflects the full scope of math knowledge the test is intended to measure. 

21) 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.

Association (BP monitors): Blood pressure monitors (tests) are designed to measure blood pressure and help predict health risks such as hypertension, heart disease, or stroke (predicts the behavior it is designed to predict). The correlation between blood pressure readings (test results) and health outcomes like hypertension, heart disease, or stroke (criterion behavior) can be assessed. In other words, if higher blood pressure readings correlate with these outcomes, it proves that the monitor is effectively predicting what it is supposed to predict.