Upgrade to remove ads
Only $35.99/year

Testing and Individual Differences Vocab

Terms in this set (34)

Intelligence
the ability to comprehend, mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations
Stanford Binet
A test for determining a person's intelligence quotient, or IQ, Lewis Terman's widely used revision of Binet's original intelligence test
Standardization
defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested standardization group.
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.
Validity
The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
Normal Curve
a symmetrical curve representing the normal distribution
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.
IQ
a measure of a person's intelligence as indicated by an intelligence test, Mental age/Chronological age x 100
Mental Age
the level of intellectual development as measured by an intelligence test
Hereditability
measure of the degree to which a characteristic is related to genetics
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
Gifted
the 2 percent of the population falling on the upper end of the normal curve and typically possessing an IQ of 130 or above
Alfred Binet
French psychologist remembered for his studies of the intellectual development of children (1857-1911)
Fluid Intelligence
one's ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood
Crystallized Intelligence
one's accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age
Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner proposes that all humans are endowed with seven forms of intelligence: mathematical/logical, linguistic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial, and kinesthetic. Schools usually emphasize the linguistic and mathematical/logical intelligences.
Sternberg's 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
Primary Mental Abilities
Thurstone's anaylsis didn't reveal a single dominating g factor instead he found 7 relatively independent things; numerical ability, reasoning, verbal fluency, spatial visualization, perceptual ability, memory and verbal comprehension
Spearman's General Factor Theory
One type of intelligence - evidence is that tests of different cognitive abilities correlate strongly and positively. Spearmen put this forth.
Stress
(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
Eustress
a positive stress that energizes a person and helps a person reach a goal
Distress
psychological suffering
Stressor
anything that causes stress
General Adaption Syndrome
A sequence of physical responses to any stressor. Alarm, Resistance and Exhaustion
Type A
Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people
Type B
Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people
Psychophysiological Illness
Literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches.
Biofeedback
a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension
Relaxation
(physics) the exponential return of a system to equilibrium after a disturbance
Frusteration
negative emotion aroused when an anticipated desirable goal is not attained
The boy was filled with frusteration
Approach-approach conflict
Conflict that results from having to choose between two attractive alternatives
approach-avoidance
psychological conflict that occurs when a person must choose a goal that has both attractive and unattractive features
avoidance-avoidance
A reaction to conflict that involves ignoring the problem by doing nothing at all, or deemphasizing the disagreement
fight or flight response
a physical reaction triggered by the sympathetic nervous system preparing the body to fight or run from a threatening situation
Students also viewed