Intelligence Testing Flashcards
True or False: There are lots of scholarly theories on intelligence that have different measurement implications
True
Describe Francis Galton’s intelligence theory and how he measured intelligence
Intelligence = sensory ability
Measured with sensorimotor and perceptual tests (distinguish differences in weights of cylinders)
THE eugenics dude
Describe Alfred Binet’s intelligence theory and how he measured intelligence
Intelligence = reasoning, judgment, memory, abstraction
Developed first widely used intelligence test (intended to identify French children with developmental disabilities who needed more aid)
What were Louis Terman and Maud Merrill known for?
Worked at Standford University and by adopting Binet’s test, they made it into the broader, more well-known Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
What were the key innovations of the Stanford-Binet test?
- first test with detailed instructions for consistent administration/scoring
- first test to create alternate forms
- adaptive testing design (starts with short-routing tests, then depending on the test-taker responses the examiner chooses the next set of tests to provide the. most information)
Who were the big Eugenics people with intelligence testing and what were they most known for?
- Henry Goddard (big one)
~1st person to use intelligence tests in court
~affected immigrants and POC - Robert Yerkes
~President of APA, started eugenicists committee in
APA
~affected immigrants and POC - Louis Terman
~Coined the term “gifted”
~concerned with sexual and gender deviancy (not in a good way)
~affected POC
Criticisms of intelligence testing
-can’t measure intelligence
-can’t separate intelligence from society/culture
-these measures are weaponized
-not holistic in their approach (overly simplified, missing critical aspects)
Describe David Wechsler’s intelligence theory and it’s factors
Intelligence = global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal with the environment effectively
Factors:
- verbal comprehension
- working memory
- perceptual organization
- processing speed
True or False: Wechler’s theory of intelligence also includes personality, motivation, aesthetic, and moral values
True (just not measured in his test)
Spearman’s theory of intelligence
All intelligence tests correlated with one another to some extent and thus argued there’s a general common factor (g) underlying all intelligence tests
Tests can be more or less saturated with g
True or False: tests with more g measure more specific abilities
False - tests with more g measure overall intelligence
Tests with less g measure specific abilities (which are formed into clusters)
True or False: Spearman’s theory was later developed further to include intermediate-level clusters
True
g broken down into different abilities (math, verbal, etc.) then from there test specific abilites (algebra, geometry, vocab, writing, etc.)
Alternatives to g (and who initially suggested them)
Cattel - Fluid vs crystallized intelligence
Thurstone - proposed 7 independent mental abilities (but still all correlated)
Gardner - multiple intelligences (not well supported, widely criticized)
Emotional intelligence (aren’t good at measuring it)
Is intelligence affected by nature or nurture?
Both.
Hereditary similarities found with intelligence AND family environments affect intelligence
Define the interactionist perspective
Genes provide window of possibility of intelligence, the environment determines where you fall in that window
Is intelligence over time stable or does it change?
Depends on how you’re measuring it
Some cognitive abilities decline with age (physical and mental health play a role)
Other tests show an incline in intelligence over time
What’s the Flynn effect?
When average scores on intelligence seem to rise over time (but it’s not an increase in “true intelligence”)
What was one of the first misuses of intelligence tests in line with eugenics? What was the big deal about it?
The United States military used an IQ test during WWI to sort recruits into officer positions
This disproportionately negatively affected POC and immigrants
How did the intersection of IQ tests and Eugenics influence society?
Created an “intelligence hierarchy of ethnic groups” with white Americans taking the top of the hierarchy
This influenced science and policies to be extremely discriminating
When were the discriminatory uses of IQ tests challenged? And on what grounds?
Following the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement
Based on moral and scientific grounds
True or False: Intelligence tests are still used to diagnose learning disabilities
True
True or False: Many experts advise the use of intelligence tests to diagnose learning disabilities
False
Intelligence tests are good for measuring:
A. reasoning skills
B. problem-solving skills
C. potential
D. B and C
E. A and B
E: A and B
