Mod 30 - Assessing intelligence

Question 1

origins of intelligence testing?

Answer 1

France passed law requiring all children to go to school, in 1904 Alfred Binet + others asked to study differences in students, some mentally developed more rapidly

assessed mental age, or ability to cope with “normal” schoolwork/performance

insisted test did not measure intelligence, just identified students who needed special care, fearing children would be labeled and have limited opportunities, but became measure of inherited intelligence

Question 2

are intelligence tests culturally biased?

Question 3

what is the Stanford-Binet test? when was it made, and by whom?

Answer 3

The IQ test

1911, by Lewis Terman

Question 4

who made the IQ test, and when?

Answer 4

Alfred Binet in 1904

Question 5

How does the IQ test test students?

Answer 5

Numerical scores compared to others:
1. factor analysis - identifies clusters of test items that measure common ability
2. Reificiation - Viewing abstract concepts as real
3. “G” Factor/general intelligence

INTELLIGENCE HAS MANY FACETS

Question 6

what was the mission for intelligence tests?

Answer 6

curtail “feeble-mindedness” and eliminate “crime, pauperism, and industrial inefficiency” - Lewis Terman, Stanford University and creator of Stanford-Binet/IQ test, 1911

Question 7

describe Lewis Terman’s motivations for promoting intelligence testing

Answer 7

he a racist
- eugenics
- “unusually prolific breeding” of ethnic groups
- “cultured heredity” is better
- Genetic studies of genius - “The Termites”

Question 8

what were the termites?

Answer 8

Terman selected high IQ kids (mostly white) to become future leaders in the world, found out that the extra points did nothing and “genius” was not indicated

Question 9

Achievement test

Answer 9

test designed to assess what a person has learned (ex. AP Psych test in May)

Question 10

Aptitude test

Answer 10

capacity to learn, based on criterion (specific behaviors designed to be measured by the test)

ex. SAT

Question 11

true/false: most tests measure both ability and development

Answer 11

true

Question 12

what did David “Wex” Wechsler do?

Answer 12

created the WIS (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) in 1949

created the WAIS or Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale in 1939

Unlike the IQ combined score, his tests separated verbal and nonverbal scores (and was more accurate)

Question 13

APA’s 3 Principles of Psychological Test Construction

Answer 13

1. Standardization - scores defined in comparison w/pretested group, typically forming a normal distribution bell curve
2. Reliability - consistent results/replicable (Stanford-Binet, WISC, and WAIS scores very reliable)
3. Validity - Test measures/predicts what its actually supposed to

Question 14

Dynamics of Intelligence - Lower End

Answer 14

Rosie’s Law/Intellectual Disability - limited mental function indicated by intelligence score under 7p and difficulty adapting to life

scale: mild (50-70) to profound (<20)

Question 15

Dynamics of Intelligence - High End

Answer 15

Gifted kids = often more isolated

Critics question gifted program assumptions like 3-5% are gifted and its good to label/segregate/treat different

factors like self-esteem and self-fulfilling prophecies influence students too