individual differences year 2 Flashcards
what are psychometric tests?
a test that expresses a psychological construct in a numerical form (eg an IQ test)
what was the aim of Yerkes?
during WW1, Yerkes wanted the APA to get involved in contributing psychological expertise to the war to demonstrate the scientific nature of Psychology
he formed a committee which designed tests to measure intelligence
the aim was to identify army recruits to match them to positions within the army
what was the aim of Gould?
to critically evaluate the cultural bias and validity of Yerkes’ intelligence tests using a review article
sample of Yerkes?
1.75 million US army recruits during WW1
white and Black Americans and European immigrants
what was the army alpha test in yerkes?
this test was designed for literate recruits and could be given to large groups
an 8 part test which included analogies, number sequences, multiple choice questions and other IQ questions
what was the Army Beta Test?
for illiterate recruits or for people who failed the Army Alpha Test
had 7 parts and consisted of picture completion tasks/ maze running
the instructions were written in English– 3 parts of the test required written answers, which is not exactly suitable for illiterate people
what was the individual examination in yerkes?
if recruits failed the other two tests, they were supposed to be given an individual spoken examination. This however rarely happened
how were the tests in yerkes scored
recruits were given a grade from A+ to E- which indicated their suitability for the army
men scoring below a C were not suitable to be an officer in the US Army and were described as having ‘low average intelligence’
what were the findings of Yerkes?
average mental ages found:
- white americans = 13 (just above the level of a moron)
- russians = 11.34
- Black Americans = 10.4
what was the impact of yerkes’ intelligence tests?
the Immigration Restriction Act was passed in 1924
people from countries which had scored poorly on the intelligence tests were no longer welcome in the USA
it is estimated that around 6 million people were banned from entering the US between the end of these tests and before WW2
many people would have wanted to leave Europe and move to the US once the Nazi governments enacted policies of ‘racial purity’
what were gould’s criticisms of Yerkes’ intelligence tests?
said the recruits may have been in fear
the tests were culturally biased. immigrants were instantly disadvantaged
the Beta test required the use of a pencil– many of the men had never even held a pencil before
many of the black men had been segregated in school or recently moved to the USA
conclusions of Gould?
yerkes IQ tests did not measure intelligence
the tests themselves did not produce valid results
race does not affect intelligence. it is likely down to both nature and nurture but not race (Van Leeuwen’s heritability estimate was thought to be 67%)
what was the research method of gould?
review article
what is psychopathy?
psychopaths make up about 1% of the general population
they do not respond to emotional cues in the same way as the rest of us
emotional deficit
appear selfish
manipulative– can fake emotions
little to no conscience
no deficits in intelligence
how is psychopathy measured?
by using a checklist devised by Robert Hare
Called the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)
has been used over the last 20 years
uses 20 criteria, each scored from 0 to 2 for a maximum score of 40
there are 2 categories, known as factors
the clinical diagnostic cut-off for psychopaths is a score of 30 or above
