Unit 5 (pt. 2): Slideshows Flashcards
What is an intelligence test?
A method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores
What is the difference between an achievement test and an aptitude test?
Achievement test - exams covering what you have learned
Aptitude test - Predicts your success in the future
How were individual differences in mental abilities historically researched
Francis Galton devised methods to measure “intellectual strengths”, based on such things as reaction time, sensory acuity, and muscular power, and body proportions. However, his quest for a simple intelligence failed.
How did Alfred Binet contribute to the field?
Alfred Binet designed fair and unbiased intelligence test for children
What was Binet’s assumption about intellectual development
He assumed that all children follow the same course of intellectual development, but some develop more rapidly.
Dull vs. Bright child
A dull child would score like that of a typical younger child and a bright child would score more like a typical older child
What did Binet’s test mesure?
Mental age, or the level of performance typically associated with a certain chronological age.
How were Binet’s tests modified? (and by who?)
The tests were modified by Lewis Terman, who extended the test’s range from teenagers to adults. His test today is called the Stanford-Binet test
What is the normal curve?
The bell-shape pattern that test-taker’s scores usually form
What is the intelligence quotient (IQ) and how was it derived?
A person’s mental age divided by their chronological age. Derived by William Stern
What are the limits of IQ calculating
It works fairly well for children, but not for adults.
Eugenics
Movement that proposed measuring human traits and using results to encourage only smart and fit people to reproduce. Was frequently based off race and class perceptions.
What intelligence test did David Wechsler design?
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, which is now the most widely used intelligence test
What information does a WAIS provide?
An overall intelligence score as well as individual scores for verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and processing speed.
Standadized
To make scores meaningful they are compared to a pretested sample population
Reliable
The test gives consistent score no matter who takes it or when they take the test
Valid
The test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
Content validity vs. Predictive validity
Content validity - The extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (ex - driving test tests your driving skills)
Predictive validity - The success with which a test predicts a behavior it is designed to predict (ex - academic aptitude test predicts how well you do in school)
What is the Flynn effect?
Intelligence test performance’s improvement over time. For example, if the average person in 1920 took an IQ standardized to today’s times, it would be 76.
How is reliability determined? (3 ways)
- Split-half: Scores on two halves of the test are compared
- Alternative form: Varying versions of the tests are given and their results are compared
- Test-retest: The same test is readministered and results are compared
If there is a high correlation between the two scores than the higher the test’s reliability
What is the correlation between brain size and intelligence
About +.40
What can you tell about intelligence by looking at the brain
Intelligence depends on the amount of gray matter
Gray matter concentrations matter as well
What decreases with age?
Brain size
Scores on verbal intelligence
Cross sectional studies
From “one point in time”. People in various ages are tested
Longitudinal studies
Same group of people tested over the years
Benefits of a high intelligence score
- Perceive stimuli faster
- Retrieve information from memory faster
- Faster brain response times
