Chapter 11 Vocab

Question 1

intelligence test

Answer 1

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

Question 2

intelligence

Answer 2

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

Question 3

general intelligence

Answer 3

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 4

factor analysis

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

savant syndrome

Answer 5

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing. (p. 525)

Question 6

emotional intelligence

Answer 6

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. (p. 528)

Question 7

mental age

Answer 7

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 as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8. (p. 533)

Question 8

stanford-binet

Answer 8

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test. (p. 534)

Question 9

intelligence quotient (iq)

Answer 9

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age(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. (p. 534)

Question 10

achievement tests

Answer 10

tests designed to assess what a person has learned. (p. 535)

Question 11

aptitude tests

Answer 11

tests designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn. (p. 535)

Question 12

wechsier adult intelligence scale (wais)

Answer 12

the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests. (p. 535)

Question 13

standardization

Answer 13

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group. (p. 536)

Question 14

normal curve

Answer 14

(normal distribution) a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes. (pp. 40, 536)

Question 15

reliability

Answer 15

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. (p. 538)

Question 16

validity

Answer 16

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. (See also content validity and predictive validity.) (p. 538)

Question 17

content validity

Answer 17

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest. (p. 538)

Question 18

predictive validity

Answer 18

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 calledcriterion-related validity.) (p. 538)

Question 19

intellectual disability

Answer 19

(formerly referred to asmental 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. (p. 542)

Question 20

down syndrome

Answer 20

a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21. (p. 542)

Question 21

stereotype threat

Answer 21

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. (p. 555)