1.
Content Validity: the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks).
2.
Criterion: the behavior (such as future college grades) that a test (such as the SAT) is designed to predict; thus, the measure used in defining whether the test has predictive validity.
3.
Crystallized Intelligence: knowledge that one has aquired from experience; the type of information acquired through formal education. On the Wechsler intelligence scales crystallized intelligence is believed to be represented by the verbal subscales (e.g., information, vocabulary). Crystallized intelligence is thought to be influenced by culture and environment.
4.
Factor Analysis: a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score.
5.
Fluid Intelligence: knowledge involving one's ability to solve problems, reason abstractly, and learn new things. On the Wechsler scales, fluid intelligence is believed to be represented by the performance subscales (e.g., block design, object assembly). Fluid intelligence is thought to be culture-free.
6.
General Intelligence (g): a general intelligence factor that Spearman and the others believed underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.
7.
Intelligence: mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.
8.
Intelligence Quotient (IQ): defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by (thus, IQ=ma/ca) X 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.
9.
Intelligence Test: a method for assessing an individual's mental apitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.
10.
Normal Curve: the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.
11.
Predictive Validity: the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.
12.
Reliability: the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.
13.
Validity: the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
