Mental Abilities Flashcards

Question

Ratio IQ

Answer 1

mental age divided by chronological age multiplied by 100 Allows comparison of intellectual performance across age levels difficult to apply to adults - assumes linear increase

Answer 2

Standard Deviation of 1, mean of 0

Answer 3

Raw scores > Z-scores > Deviation IQ scores

Answer 4

scores means the same thing regardless of the comparison group scores <100 and >100, reflect how far your score deviates from the average

Answer 5

15 subtests in four areas of cognitive ability Give standard age scores (SAS), mean = 100, SD = 16 verbal, quantitative, abstract/visual reasoning and short-term memory

Answer 6

Number of correctly answered items: say there were 20 items and you failed 5 you would then have a score of 15. This score is later converted to a scaled score

Answer 7

Usually start at a point suggested by examinee’s age Basal level = four items passed in a row Ceiling level = three or more out of four consecutive items failed (discontinue)

Answer 8

Prototypical test of fluid intelligence (non-verbal) (Gf) Deduce the “rule” and fill in the missing blank (pattern)

Answer 9

linear relationship between two variables -1

Answer 10

as scores one one variable increase, scores on the other variable also tend to increase

Answer 11

Negative: as scores on one variable increase, scores on the other variable tend to decrease

Answer 12

find underlying factors that explain the pattern of correlations within scores all mental abilities correlate with each other to some extent - multiple clusters of stronger correlations Organises Primary Mental Abilities (PMAs) into more general cognitive abilities

Answer 13

general intelligence factors - good predictor of performance in real life

Answer 14

they all correlate (positive) with each other to some extent

Answer 15

Verbal comprehension Inductive reasoning Numerical fluency Word fluency Spatial ability Memory Perceptual speed

Answer 16

The ability to grasp relations between things; deal with novelty Non-verbal abilities, inductive and deductive reasoning Culture free (in theory, but not in practice - assessment?)

Answer 17

Acquired knowledge and skills Requires exposure to culture, formal/informal education May require some investment in fluid intelligence

Answer 18

Induction sequential reasoning quantitative reasoning temporal tracking figural reasoning

Answer 19

verbal comprehension cognition of semantic relations general information reading comprehension spelling ability verbal closure phonetic coding foreign language aptitude

Answer 20

Fluid rises to young adulthood, then falls off in old age Crystallised rises and plateaus, roughly speaking

Answer 21

How well we can measure the ability or trait of interest Is our test accurate? - reliability Is our test measuring what we think it's measuring? -validity Whether the answer is used in an appropriate way (is our use of the test valid?) - Validity

Answer 22

If a test is reliable it should be able to distinguish between people who differ on the construct - not influence by random fluctuations

Answer 23

Any observed score has two components: The true score (the real level of ability) And some error component (random variance) X = T + E

Answer 24

Test **Construction** (e.g., choice of items/stimuli; content of the test) Test **Administration** (e.g., variability in examiner; variability in examinee, examiner mood) Errors in **Scoring** (e.g., failure to use ‘rubric’ consistently) **Interpretation** Subjectivity (e.g., evaluation of response)

Answer 25

The actual “measuremnt” Consists of True score and Error

Answer 26

the ideal measurement What we strive for Is constant for an individual

Answer 27

Errors in measurement Is random Noise Unrelated to the true score (i.e., the “real” score) Cannot be eliminated completely

Answer 28

estimate it from taking multiple measurements If we could repeat the measure my indefinitely the long term mean = the true score (doesn't actually work because individuals would get better at the test and obscure the result)

Answer 29

Test-retest reliability Equivalent forms of reliability Cronbach’s Alpha

Answer 30

reflects the extent to which all items measure the same thing. If 𝜶 is high (close to 1) there is a strong positive correlation which means you are measuring the same things in both sections of the test.

Answer 31

Coverage of the “Domain” of behaviour Define the boundaries and structure of Domain

Answer 32

Boundary: what is considered part of the domain and what's not Structure : test contents reflect the structure of the domain.

Answer 33

How well defined is the construct measured by this test? convergent: Is the construct related to other theoretically similar constructs/tests discriminant: Is the construct independent of other, unrelated, psychological constructs?

Answer 34

Step 1: Work out what it is we want to measure Step 2: Work out what it looks like Step 3: Devise tests and scores Step 4: Work out how it is structured Step 5: Assess whether our test is valid and reliable

Answer 35

Prominent people have prominent relatives The offspring of these families have better access to jobs and education (nepotism) Opposed to them being actually gifted. Eugenics

Answer 36

if a trait is affected by genetic factors, individuals that are more similar genetically should be more similar with respect to that trait

Answer 37

Genetic relatedness is usually closely linked to environmental similarity doesn't seperate hereditary from environment

Answer 38

Genetically similar people raised in different environments - Similarity can be (more likely) attributed to genetic factors Genetically unrelated people raised in the same environment - Similarity can be attributed to shared environment

Answer 39

socio-economic status family climate Geography Nutrition

Answer 40

Pregnancy siblings order parental preference peers, school Illnesses

Answer 41

if correlation is lower than for MZ, can attribute that to genetic influence If correlation is lower than MZ reared together, can attribute that to environment

Answer 42

proportion of the total variation in a given characteristic in a given population that can be attributed to genetic differences between members of that population

Answer 43

Underlying Genetic factors (Gv)

Answer 44

Expression of underlying Genetic factors (Gv) Can be influenced by Environment (Ev) also interaction between G and E + residual variation

Answer 45

Expression of underlying Genetic factors (Gv) Can be influenced by Environment (Ev) also interaction between G and E + residual variation

Answer 46

the proportion of phenotypic variance (Pv) that is due to genetic influences (Gv): H ≈ Gv/Pv (Gv divided by Pv)

Answer 47

The heritability of a particular trait is not absolute - it is statistic for a given population at a given time ‘H’ depends on: the genetic variability of that population the degree of variation in its environment

Answer 48

assumes that genetic and environmental contribution are independent Heritability seems to vary with SES could change depending on the age at which it is estimated

Answer 49

The general trend is a decline in gender differences over the past fifty years Evidence for environmental explanations of these differences

Answer 50

Difference in SES, environment, culture?

Answer 51

Herrnstein & Murray (1994) - heritability of intelligence, waste of money to help underprivileged groups that are "genetically dumber"

Answer 52

Argued that if environments were equalised, the 15-point IQ gap would only be reduced by about 5 points, so it’s still a real difference

Answer 53

1. There has to be a meaningful single number that can be given to intelligence 2. You have to be able to rank people in a single linear fashion and this rank needs to predict social outcomes 3. IQ has to be highly heritable 4. IQ has to be effectively unchangeable these are all invalid premises

Answer 54

statistical concept – ie. Do IQ tests systematically underestimate the intelligence of certain groups

Answer 55

social issue

Answer 56

caused the black subjects to under perform

Answer 57

Flynn (1987) showed increases of 5 to 25 points on IQ tests in a generation over 14 countries Increases are in raw scores. May not be immediately obvious due to revised norms: mean is always recalibrated to 100

Answer 58

Flynn (2007) suggested that through “modernization”, a much larger proportion of people have become accustomed to dealing with abstract concepts - IQ tests measure abstract problem solving ability

Answer 59

branch of philosophy that investigates good and bad right and wrong duty and obligation

Answer 60

Deals with questions of duty obligation and conductor our actions right or wrong

Answer 61

Biassed Does not measure creativity or wisdom etc. Indigenous cultures focus on environment and no IQ tests involve these questions Variability is instantly introduced when IQ tests are translated into different languages There is a difference in IQ amongst racial groups but this isn't necessarily an indicator of absolute intelligence amongst them

Answer 62

A belief that things are inherently right and inherently wrong, regardless of consequences and actions. Holding of absolute principles

Answer 63

don't provide enough info to deal with real-life dilemmas. difficult to maintain this perspective when it comes to personal things - family in danger

Answer 64

There is no universally valid or correct standards of right or wrong, relies on its consequences and practicality

Answer 65

requires us to do something bad in order to gain good consequences. But does ‘the end always justify the means’? Extreme forms of relativism make it difficult for us to make moral judgements at all

Answer 66

1. Consent 2. Confidentiality - unless required by law 3. Personal & Professional Welfare 4. Professional Relationships - vulnerability/power imbalances

Answer 67

1. Safety 2. Stress 3. Deception 4. Informed consent 5. Freedom to withdraw 6. Confidentiality and anonymity

Answer 68

Animal suffering is minimised in experimental procedures and is outweighed by the likely benefit of the research

Answer 69

inexpensive are like humans - study ourselves through them not like humans - less complex, easier to study and manipulate

Answer 70

are like humans - suffer in similar ways not like humans - If they are fundamentally different, can they really teach us anything about ourselves sometimes done for trivial/exploitative reasons (cosmetics)

Mental Abilities Flashcards

(94 cards)