8.16-8.22: How Thinking Varies: Intelligence Flashcards
The capability to think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, reason, plan, solve problems, learn from experience, and acquire new knowledge
Intelligence
A statistical technique developed by Charles Spearman that involves analyzing the interrelations among different tests to look for the common factors underlying the scores
Factor analysis
A general mental ability that Charles Spearman hypothesized is required for virtually any mental test
General intelligence (g factor)
A component of general intelligence that involves the ability to deal with new and unusual problems
Fluid intelligence
A component of general intelligence that involves accumulated knowledge and skills
Crystallized intelligence
A syndrome in developmentally disabled individuals that involves the presence of unusual talents that contrast with low levels of general intelligence
Savant syndrome
A number that represents the average age at which children perform closest to a given child’s score on an intelligence test
Mental age
A measure of intelligence that is calculated by dividing a child’s mental age by his or her chronological age and then multiplying by 100
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
A test that is designed to measure how much a person has learned over a certain period of time
Achievement test
A test designed to measure a person’s potential to learn new skills
Aptitude test
An intelligence test composed of many subtests that can be combined into a single composite to capture overall ability. Scores on separate subtests of the exam can be used to identify relative strengths and weaknesses that are useful to educators and therapists
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
A process of making test scores more meaningful by defining them in relation to the performance of a pretested group
Standardization
The extent to which a test or measure produces consistent results
Reliability
The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
Validity
A concern that one’s performance or behavior might confirm a negative stereotype about one’s group
Stereotype threat
Persistent differences in the performance of certain groups of people, usually based on characteristics like race or gender
Achievement gap
A measure that describes, for a given population in a given environment, what proportion of the variance of a trait is due to genetic differences
Heritability
A cycle by which others’ beliefs or our own can affect behavior in ways that make the beliefs true
Self-fulfilling prophecy (or Pygmalion effect)
A set of attitudes or beliefs that shape how a person perceives and responds to the world. In the domain of intelligence, a mindset may be an implicit belief about where intellectual ability comes from
Mindset
