| Term | Definition |
|---|
| intelligence | mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 431) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 432) |
| general intelligence (g) | a general intelligence factor that according to Spearman and others underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 432) |
| savant syndrome | a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 433) |
| emotional intelligence | the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 436) |
| creativity | the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 438) |
| intelligence test | a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 442) |
| mental age | a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 443) |
| Stanford-Binet | the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 443) |
| achievement test | a test designed to assess what a person has learned. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 444) |
| aptitude test | a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 444) |
| intelligence quotient (IQ) | defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 444) |
| Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) | the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 445) |
| standardization | defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 446) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 447) |
| content validity | the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks). (Myers Psychology 8e p. 448) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 448) |
| 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. (Also called criterion-related validity.) (Myers Psychology 8e p. 448) |
| 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. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 448) |
| validity | the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to. (See also content validity and predictive validity.) (Myers Psychology 8e p. 448) |
| Down syndrome | a condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra chromosome in one's genetic makeup. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 452) |
| mental retardation | a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 452) |
| stereotype threat | a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. (Myers Psychology 8e p. 465) |
| Alfred Binet | the indvidual that published the first measure of intelligence in 1905. The purpose of his intelligence test was to correctly place students on academic tracks in the French school system. |
| Lewis Terman | professor at Stanford who revised the Binet test for Americans. The test then became the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test. He is also known for his longitudinal research on gifted kids. |
| average IQ Score | 100 |
| phrenology | the idea that there exists a relationship between persons head shape and their mental capacities/deficiencies. this theory was widely used for both intelligence determination and personality assessment in the 1800's |
| David Wechsler | researcher that worked with troubled kids in the 1930's in NYC. He observed that many of these kids demonstrated a type of intelligence that was much different than the type of intelligence needed to succeed in the school system (STREET SMARTS). He created tests to measure more than verbal ability. |
| Charles Spearman | theorist who proposed that intelligence consisted of both "g" = general intelligence, ability to do complex work like problem solve and "s" intelligence which included specific mental abilities, ability to do verbal or math skills |
| L.L. Thurstone | proposed that intelligence consisted of 7 different primary mental abilities |
| Howard Gardner | Harvard researcher that has identified at least eight types of intelligences: linguistic, logical/mathematical, bodily/kinesthetic, musical, spatial (visual), interpersonal (the ability to understand others), intrapersonal (the ability to understand oneself), and naturalist (the ability to recognize fine distinctions and patterns in the natural world). |
| Triarchic Theory | theory proposed by Robert Sternberg that states that intelligence consists of three parts including Analytic = the ability to solve problems, Creative = the ability to deal with new situations, and Practical = the ability to adjust and cope with one's environment |
| psychometics | branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude, and personality traits. |
| standardization | an aspect of test construction - The process of defining meaningful scores based on comparison with a pre-tested representative group. |
| normal curve | symmetrical bell shaped curve in which most scores fall near the average and fewer and fewer individual have scores at either extreme of the distribution. A normal distribution |
| z-score | a measure of how many standard deviations you are away from the norm (average or mean) |
| reliability | an aspect of good test constructin that means that the test is "consistent" and "repeatable" |
| validity | the extent to which a measure reflects the real concept. accuracy and usefulness of inferences based on a test. |
| test-retest reliability | a measure for relability in which if you take the same test 2 x's you will get the same score again it shows this type of reliability. |
| split-half reliability | a measure for reliability in which the same test is compared in terms of odd answers vs. even. questions for correlation of score. |
| alternate-form reliability | a measure for reliability in which a positive correlation exists between different forms of the test |
| content validity | a measure for validity that seeks to determine how well does it measure/ cover the meanings of the concept |
| criterion or predictive validity | a measure for validity that seeks to determine how well test scores correlate with an independent measure and how well they predict future behavior. |
| mental retardation | a general term for anyone with an IQ below 70 |
| mild mental retardation | Mentally retarded individuals with an IQ range of 50-69. The largest percentage of retarded people is in this group. Adults have the mental ability of about 8-12 year olds. They can learn basic skills in school are sometimes classified as educable. |
| moderate mental retardation | Mentally retarded individuals with an IQ range 35-49. They can learn simple tasks, therefore are sometimes classified as trainable. |
| severe mental retardation | Mentally retarded individuals with an IQ range of 20-34. they score no better on IQ tests than a two or three year old. |
| profound mental retardation | Mentally retarded individuals with an IQ range below 20 that show almost no response to their environment. |
| PKU or Phenylketonuria | genetic disease that if untreated can lead to mental retardation. the disease involves the inability of the body to utilize the essential amino acid, phenylalanine which is produced in the liver |
| Down Syndrome | genetic disease in which a person inherits all or part of an extra chromosome pair ;eading to disability including mental retardation |
| Fragile X | most common genetic cause of mental retardation in which a defective gene results in a weak spot on the X chromosome which makes it susceptible to breakage |
| stereotype threat | a self confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype. if students are told they will do badly and they believe it - it influences their performance |
| divergent thinking | a type of thinking that is associated with creativity – seeing lots of solutions to a problem |
| convergent thinking | a type of thinking that is not associated with creativity - seeing one solution to a problem |
Combine with other sets
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