Unit 9: Testing & Intelligence Flashcards
Psychometrics
The branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests.
Standardization
Refers to the uniform procedures used in the administration and scoring of a test (Ex: ACT Proctors reading the same instructions aloud every time).
Test Norms
Provide information about where a score on a psychological test ranks in relation to other scores on that test.
Reliability
The measurement consistency of a test (or of other kinds of measurement techniques).
Test-retest Reliability
Estimated by comparing subjects’ scores on two or more administrations of the same test.
Split-half Reliability
Estimated by comparing subjects’ scores on two separate halves of the same test.
Alternative form Reliability
Different forms of test yield similar scores. (ACT or 45 question Big Five vs. Abridged edition).
Validity
The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure.
Predictive (Criterion) Validity
Estimated by correlating subjects’ scores on a test with their scores on an independent criterion (another measure) of the trait assessed by the test (Ex: When a pilot does well in training and on the test, if the test has high reasonable validity, then there should be a strong correlation between the test & criterion measure).
Content Validity
The degree to which the content of a test is representative of the domain it is supposed to cover (Ex: Questions on a test where never covered in class by the teacher).
Construct Validity
How well a test measures the theory it is meant to measure.
Aptitude Tests
Assess specific types of mental abilities (Ex: Abstract thinking, spelling & language usage, etc.).
Achievement Tests
Measure a person’s mastery and knowledge of various subjects (Ex: AP Test).
Intelligence Tests
Measure general mental ability or intellectual potential (Ex: IQ Test, Mensa Test).
Sir Francis Galton
Studied family trees and found that success and importance appeared consistently in some families over generations. Coined the phrase “Nature vs. Nurture.”
Percentile Ranks
The percentage of people in a norm group who scored lower than a particular individual on a test or assessment (Ex: People who score a 30 on the ACT are in the 93rd percentile).
Alfred Binet
French Psychologist who wished to create a test to identify mentally “subnormal” children.
Binet-Simon Scale
A child’s score in terms of “mental age.” (Ex: Despite being 20 years old, they are mentally like a 10 year old).
Mental Age
Indication that a child displayed the mental ability typical of a child of that chronological (actual) age (Ex: Despite being 10 years old, they seem to exhibit cognitive abilities that of a 20 year old).
Stanford-Binet’s IQ Calculation Equation
(Mental Age ÷ Chronological Age) x 100 = IQ Score.
Lewis Terman
Revised Binet’s Test with the help of Stanford University to publish the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.
David Wechsler
American Psychologist who created the most commonly used Intelligence Tests today.
Wechsler Test Format
The Wechsler Tests test vocabulary, design and visual processing, & letter and number sequences.
WPPI
Wechsler Preschool and Primary scale for Intelligence.
