Unit 11

*Testing and Individual Differences

*intelligence:

*aggregate or global capacity

* to act purposefully

* to think rationally

* to deal effectively with the environment

*fluid intelligence

*crystallized intelligence

*intelligence as a “constructed concept”

*given great cultural variation, intelligence is ability to

*learn from experience

*solve problems

*use knowledge to adapt to new situations

*general intelligence:

*common skill set

*factor analysis

*correlations among many variables analyzed to identify closely related clusters of variables

*savant syndrome

*types of intelligence

*multiple intelligences:

*Howard Gardner’s theory that

*people process information differently

* intelligence is composed of many different factors, including at least 8 intelligences

* logical-mathematical

* verbal-linguistic

* spatial

* bodily-kinesthetic

*musical

* interpersonal

* intrapersonal

* naturalistic

*emotional intelligence

*the ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions

*triarchic theory of intelligence

*3 separate and testable intelligences* analytical (facts)

* practical (“street smarts”)

* creative (seeing multiple solutions)

*relationship between “intelligence” and brain anatomy/neural processing speed

*modest correlation between intelligence and brain size

*number of synaptic connections

*variable neural plasticity

*perceptual speed

*neurological speed

*assessing intelligence

*mental age

* the chronological age that typically corresponds to a given level of performance on intelligence tests

*Standford-Binet intelligence test

*a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with others, using numerical scores

*intelligence quotient (IQ)

*a child’s mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100

*achievement tests

*a test designed to assess what a person has learned

*aptitude tests

*a test designed to predict a person’s future performance

*Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)*3 age-based individual IQ tests:

*WPPSI (Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence)

*WISC (Intelligence Scale for Children)

*WAIS (Adult Intelligence Scale)

* all based on two scores, verbal and performance

* principles of test construction

*standardization

* a 2-part test development procedure

* test norms are established from the test results of a large representative sample

* procedures are created to assure tat the test is administered and scored uniformly for all test takers

*norms

* standards used to compare scores of test takers

*normal distribution

* a symmetric, bell-shaped curve that represents the patterns in which many characteristics are dispersed in the population

*reliability

* the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting

*validity

* the extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure

*predictive validity

* the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict

* assessed by computing the correlation between test s cores and the criterion behavior (aka criterion-related validity)

*content validity

* the degree to which the content of a test is representative of the domain it is supposed to cover

*creativity

*the generation of ideas that are original, novel and useful

*threshold theory

*a certain level of intelligence is necessary but not sufficient for creativity

* heredity, environment and intelligence

*nature vs. nurture

*intellectual disability

*formerly referred to as mental retardation

*a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by a score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life

*varies from mild to profound

*cultural-familial retardation

*twin studies and intelligence

*identical twins reared together

*adoptees and biological parents

*heritability: 50 to 75%

*other environmental influences

*income

*school attendance

*Flynn effect

*Down syndrome

*a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21

*fetal alcohol syndrome

*a cluster of abnormalities that occurs in babies of mothers who drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy

*low intelligence, small head, flat face, misshapen eyes, flat nose

*diversity

*within-group differences

*range of scores for variables being measured for a group of individuals

*between-group differences

*the difference between the means of tow groups of individuals for a common variable

*stereotype threat

*a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype