Chapter Eleven Flashcards
Factor Analysis
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.
Developed by Charles Spearman.
Intelligence
Mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
General Intelligence (G)
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
Primary Mental Abilities
7 clusters identified by L. L. Thurstone.
- Word fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numerical ability, inductive reasoning, memory
Howard Gardner
Supports Thurstone’s idea that intelligence comes in multiple forms (believes there are 8). Notes that brain damage may diminish one type of ability but not others.
Savant Syndrome
A condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as computation or drawing.
-4/5 with this are male & many have autism (a highly male condition)
Triarchic Theory
Robert Sternberg identifies 3 intelligences as opposed to Gardner’s 8.
- Analytical (academic problem solving) Intelligence
- Creative Intelligence
- Practical Intelligence
Social Intelligence
The ability to comprehend social situations and manage oneself successfully
Coined by Nancy Cantor and John Kihlstrom.
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.
Coined by John Mayer and Peter Salovey
Creativity
The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
Convergent Thinking
Thinking in terms of only one right answer.
Damage to the left parietal lobe affects this type of thinking.
Divergent Thinking
Thinking in terms of multiple solutions.
Damage to some areas of the frontal lobes affects this type of thinking.
Reification
Viewing an abstract immaterial concept as if it were a concrete thing
Neural Plasticity
The ability during childhood and adolescence to adapt and grow neural connections in response to the environment.
Intelligence Test
A method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores
Mental Age
A measure of intelligence test performance designed by Frenchman Alfred 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.
Stanford-Binet
The widely used American revision (by Lewis Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s intelligence test
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
IQ = mental age / chronological age x 100
On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100
Aptitude Test
A test designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.
Achievement Test
A test designed to assess what a person has learned.
Aptitude tests _____, achievement tests _____.
Predict; Reflect
Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
The most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests
To be widely accepted, psychological tests must be ___, ___, and ___.
Standardized, reliable, valid
Standardization
Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group.
Normal Curve
The symmetrical bell-shaped curve that scribes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, with fewer and fewer scores lying near the extremes.
Flynn Effect
The worldwide phenomenon of improving intelligence test performance
Reliability
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 test, or on retesting.
Validity
The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
Content Validity
The extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks)
Criterion
The behavior that a test is designed to predict; thus, the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity
Predictive Validity (AKA Criterion-Related 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
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
A condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome 21 in one’s genetic makeup
Mainstreaming
Being integrated into a regular classroom
Stereotype Threat
A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
