Chapter 11

Question 1

intelligence

Answer 1

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Question 2

Reification

Answer 2

Viewing an abstract, immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing. (She has an IQ of 120, reifying IQ as a thing someone has)

Question 3

Factor Analysis

Answer 3

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one’s total score.

Question 4

Charles Spearman

Answer 4

helped develop factor analysis, believed there is also a general intelligence, or g factor that underlies the various clusters.

Question 5

General Intelligence (g)

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

L. L. Thurstone

Answer 6

Rejected g-factor. Didn’t rank his subjects on a single scale of general aptitude. Argued that factor analysis revealed seven independent mental abilities.

Question 7

Howard Gardner

Answer 7

Stated that people have specific intellectual potentials, or “intelligences”, each involving a set of problem-solving skills. (Linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal (self), interpersonal (for other people), naturalist)

Question 8

Robert Sternberg

Answer 8

triarchic theory distinguished three intelligences: analytical (academic problem-solving) intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence.

Question 9

Savant Syndrome

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Emotional Intelligence

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Creativity

Answer 11

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

Question 12

Intelligence tests

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Alfred Binet

Answer 13

started the modern intelligence-testing movement by developing questions that helped predict children’s future progress in the Paris school system. (determining which students need to be placed in special education classrooms)

Question 14

Mental Age

Answer 14

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically correspond to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 9-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

Question 15

Lewis Terman

Answer 15

A standford University professor, Terman revised Binet’s original IQ test by establishing new age norms and extending the upper end of the test’s range from teenagers to “superior adults” supported the nature side of the debate.

Question 16

Standford-Binet

Answer 16

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.

Question 17

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Answer 17

defined originally as the ration 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.

Question 18

Aptitude Tests

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Achievement Test

Answer 19

a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

Question 20

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Answer 20

The WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

Question 21

Standardization

Answer 21

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group.

Question 22

The Flynn Effect

Answer 22

Intelligence test performance has been improving.

Question 23

Normal Curve

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Reliability

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Validity

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Content Validity

Answer 26

The extent to which test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tests)

Question 27

Criterion

Answer 27

the behavior (such as future college grades) that a test (such as SAT) is designed to predict; thus, the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity

Question 28

Predictive Validity

Answer 28

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)

Question 29

Mental Retardation

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

Down Syndrome

Answer 30

A condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup.

Question 31

Stereotype Threat

Answer 31

A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.