Chapter 10

Question 1

Intelligence

Answer 1

The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Question 2

General Intelligence (g)

Answer 2

According to Spearman and others, g underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test. This is the concept that intelligence is ranked on a single scale.

Question 3

Fluid Intelligence (Gf)

Answer 3

Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age, especially during late adulthood.

Question 4

Crystallized Intelligence (Gc)

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Cattle-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory

Answer 5

The theory that our intelligence is based on g as well as specific abilities, bridged by Gf and Gc. We use our g-based fluid intelligence to learn, and we gain crystalized intelligence (specific abilities) in return.

Question 6

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

Answer 6

Gardner has identified 8-9 relatively independent intelligences.

Question 7

Savant Syndrome

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Sternberg’s 3 Intelligences

Answer 8

• Analytical (academic problem-solving) Intelligence- assessed by IQ tests.
• Creative Intelligence- demonstrated in innovative smarts.
• Practical Intelligence- required for everyday tasks.

Question 9

Predictability of a G-score

Answer 9

G scores can predict future income or the achievements of certain degrees. Even so, success is not a one-ingredient recipe.

Question 10

Emotional Intelligence

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Intelligence Test

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Achievement Test

Answer 12

A test designed to assess what a person has learned.

Question 13

Aptitude Test

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Mental Age

Answer 14

A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age. Thus, a child who does as well as an average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8. It was believed that these tests would identify those who needed extra help in school.

Question 15

Standford-Binet

Answer 15

The widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test. This test was used to determine general intelligence (g).

Question 16

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Answer 16

Defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100. These tests were used for placing people into categories, which is not done anymore.

Question 17

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Answer 17

The WAIS and its companion versions for children are the most widely used intelligence tests; they contain verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests. This test yields an overall intelligence score as well as separate scores to identify those who could benefit from special education opportunities for improvement.

Question 18

Standardization

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Normal Curve

Answer 19

The 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. IQ scores form a normal curve.

Question 20

Flynn Effect

Answer 20

The average person’s intelligence score rose three points per decade.

Question 21

Reliability

Answer 21

The extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternative forms of the test, or on retesting.

Question 22

Validity

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Predictive Validity

Answer 23

A type of 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.

Question 24

Low Extreme of IQ

Answer 24

A person with an IQ score of 70 or lower is diagnosed with an intellectual disability.

Question 25

High Extreme of IQ

Answer 25

A person who has an IQ score of 130 or above is considered a genius, and tend to experience success.

Question 26

Labeling IQ in Schools

Answer 26

By labeling one student as mentally challenged and another as gifted, they will fulfill self-expectations and come to be that they stay in their group. This depletes some students of the opportunity to achieve as much as they can.

Question 27

Predictability of IQ

Answer 27

By the age of 4, IQ scores begin to predict later scores. By 11, the prediction is extremely accurate.

Question 28

Cohort

Answer 28

A group of people sharing a common characteristic, such as being from a given time period.

Question 29

Cross-Sectional Study

Answer 29

Research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time.

Question 30

Longitudinal Study

Answer 30

Research that follows and retests the same group of people over time.

Question 31

Intelligence Changes Due to Age

Answer 31

Crystalized intelligence increases up to old age, while fluid intelligence decreases beginning in the early 20s-30s, then rapidly declines after age 75.

Question 32

Hertiability

Answer 32

The proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.

Question 33

Heritability of Intelligence

Answer 33

Estimations of the heritability of intelligence range from 50-80%, meaning when people have different intelligences, we can say that 50-80% of this difference can be attributed to genes. There is no one gene for intelligence.

Question 34

Environment and Intelligence

Answer 34

Because they share an environment and are treated similarly, fraternal twins are somewhat more alike than scores of non-twin siblings. This shows that environment does influence intelligence.

Question 35

Gene/Environment Interactions

Answer 35

Small genetic advantages can trigger social experiences that multiply our original skills. Environmental conditions may also depress physical or cognitive development

Question 36

Gender Differences in Intelligence

Answer 36

Men and women’s intelligence differences are very minor, though each gender slightly excels in different areas. Males tend to be in the extremes more than women do.

Question 37

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Intelligence

Answer 37

Racial and ethnic groups differ in their average intelligence scores, which can be due to a large number of situational factors, and not so much natural intelligence.

Question 38

Bias in Intelligence Tests

Answer 38

Generally, IQ tests are not biased. But when we take them in different cultures, bias may appear.

Question 39

Stereotype Threat

Answer 39

A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. This can cause bias, because juts knowing how your stereotype is expected to perform can affect your own performace.