Yerkes (1917) Gould (1982) Flashcards
What is the background to yerkes work
- in 1905 first intelligence test named the ‘Binet-Simon test’ conducted in France
- used on school children to identify who wouldn’t benefit from regular schooling due to their inferior intelligence (would be placed in special schools)
what view did Yerkes believe in
Hereditarianism (our intelligence is determined by genetics and not effected by nurture)
define intelligence
an inferred characteristic of an individual, usually defined as the ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, or adapt to changes in the environment
define psychometric tests
tools that seek to provide numerical measures of human personality traits, attitudes, and abilities
define eugenics
the belief that it is possible to breed a superior group of people by encouraging those deemed superior to reproduce while inhibiting the growth of those deemed inferior
define hereditarianism
the belief that genetic inheritance is more important than environmental factors in determining intelligence and behaviour
what were Yerkes’ overall aims of the study
- to produce a reliable and valid measure of intelligence
- to prove that psychology and intelligence testing could be as objective and quantifiable as the other scientific disciplines
what research method was used in Yerkes research and how is this known
- quasi experiment
- (IV naturally occurring-ethnic origin)
- (Dv level of intelligence/mental age)
what method of collecting data was used in Yerkes research and how is this known
- Data collected through self-report
- (participants answer questions through intelligence tests)
describe Yerkes’ sample
- 1.75 million men within the US military
- included white american, black/african american, european immigrants
name the sampling method used
opportunity sampling
