Chapter 11 Flashcards
Reification
Viewing an abstract, immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing
Intelligence
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 on a test that measure common ability (G-Factor: general mental ability)
Charles Spearman
First intelligence factor (G-Factor)
Helped develop the factor analysis approach
Believed that if you were intelligent you would posses all the traits
General intelligence
Factor that according to Spearman and others underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test
L.L. Thurstone
Intelligence comes in different packages: seven areas
Believed factor analysis revealed seven independent mental abilities
(Word Fluency, Verbal Comprehension, Spatial Ability, Perceptual Speed, Numerical Ability, Inductive Reasoning, and Memory)
Howard Gardner
Believed intelligence comes in multiple forms; notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability but not others (people with savant syndrome excel in abilities)
Savant Syndrome
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing
Robert Sternberg
Triarchial Theory, three intelligences rather than eight
Analytical Intelligence, Creative Intelligence, and Practical Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions
Creativity
the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
Intelligence Test
a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.
Alfred Binet
Given credit for devising the first intelligence test
Mental Age
a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance
Lewis Terman
Revision of the IQ test, new age norms and extending the upper end of the tests range from teens to adults; Stanford-Binet
Stanford-Binet
the widely used American revision of Binet’s original intelligence test
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100
Aptitude Tests
a test designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn
Achievement Tests
test designed to assess what a person has learned
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance subtests
Standardization
defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group
Flynn Effect
The substantial increase in average scores on intelligence tests all over the world
Normal Curve
symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes
Reliability
the extent to which a test yields consistent result, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting
Vaildiity
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
Content Vailidity
the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest
Criterion
the behavior that a test is designed to predict; thus the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity
Predictive Validity
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
Mental Retardation
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
condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup
Stereotype Threat
a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
