Chapter 10 Flashcards
(23 cards)
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological (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.
Aptitude Tests
a test designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.
Achievement Tests
a test designed to assess what a person has learned.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
the most widely used intelligence tests; contains verbal and performances (nonverbal) subtests.
Standardization
defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.
Normal curve
normal distribution - symmetrical, bell-shaped, that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean/average (68% fall within one standard deviation of it), and fewer and fewer 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, or on retesting.
Validity
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. Also called content validity and predictive validity.
Content validity
the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks).
Stereotype threat
a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on 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 scores and the criterion behavior (also called criterion-related validity).
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 a person’s total score.
General intelligence (g)
according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.
Savant syndrome
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.
Mental retardation
also called 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 copy of chromosomes.
Creativity
the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.
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.
Emotional intelligence
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.
Intelligence test
a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.
Mental stage
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 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 Standford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.
