Intelligence & Testing

cohort

A group of people from a given time period. (For example, longitudinal studies track a particular cohort over time.)

split-half reliability

A test is divided into 2 halves and the scores on the halves are compared to see if the test is cosistant within itself. Odds - Evens is the best way to do this.

alternate form reliability

A type of reliability, where different versions of same instrument are used and scores are compared

analytical intelligence

According to Sternberg, the ability measured by most IQ tests; includes the ability to analyze problems and find correct answers.

Army Alpha and Beta

First intelligence tests administered to groups; WWI soldiers were assessed to determine their abilities so they could be assigned fitting duties.

William Stern

German psychologist who developed the formula for intelligence quotient (IQ); [mental age/chronological age] X 100 = IQ

Successful Intelligence

Sternberg's notion that successfully functioning individuals must be 1.) analytical, 2.) creative, 3.) practical; a.k.a. triarchic theory of intelligence

Heritability

The proportion of variation among individuals that we can be related to genetic variation among those individuals. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.

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.

standard deviation

a computed measure of how much scores vary around the mean score; square root of the variance

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an expectional specific skills, such as in computation or drawing

intellectual disability

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 (previously "mental retardation")

z-score

a measure of how many standard deviations you are away from the norm (average or mean); calculated for a particular test score by subtracting the mean from the score and dividing the result by the standard deviation.

stereotype threat

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

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that indentifies clusters of related test items on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned (e.g. final exam in a literature course)

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance or capacity to learn

Francis Galton

advocated use of intelligence tests as a measure of mental "fitness"; proponent of the eugenics movement & cousin of Charles Darwin

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)

an individual test developed especially for school-aged children; it yields verbal, performance, and full scale IQ scores

mean

arithmatic average

positively skewed distribution

asymmetric distribution in which the majority of the data is concentrated below (to the left of) the mean

negatively skewed distribution

asymmetric distribution in which the majority of the data is concentrated to the right of the mean

variance

average of the squared difference scores for a data set; standard deviation squared

stereotype lift

awareness of positive expectations about one's group (e.g., race, gender, age) can actually improve performance on tasks; opposite of stereotype threat

Standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested, representative, sample group.

Robert Sternberg

devised a theory of "successful intelligence" (academic problem-solving, practical, and creative); theory also known as "Triarchic Theory of Intelligence"

Flynn effect

finding that average IQ scores have been rising at a rate of approximately 3 points per decade

general intelligence (g)

general ability that Spearman and others believed underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

measures of central tendency

mean, median, & mode

inter-rater reliability

measure of agreement among observers on how they record and classify a particular event

descriptive statistics

numbers that describe and summarize a set of research data

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

inferential statistics

procedures used to draw conclusions about statistical significance and probability that generalization is warranted

Alfred Binet

psychologist commissioned by Parisian school system to design intelligence test for educational placement

measures of variation

range, variance, & standard deviation

Carol Dweck

researched the impact of "fixed" mindset (versus "growth" mindset) on student achievement; suggested our views about intelligence matter

Howard Gardner

researcher known for his theory of multiple intelligences

Charles Spearman

researcher who promoted theory of general intelligence (g) after factor analysis of major intelligence

Lewis Terman

revised and adapted Binet's test for use in the US; assisted with development of intelligence tests for the army during WWI

grit

showing passion and perseverance in pursuit of long-term goals; may be an important component of academic and professional success

creative intelligence

the ability to deal with new and different concepts and to come up with new ways of solving problems; one of the types of intelligence in Sternberg's model

intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions; "EQ"

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 (i.e. it's the "thing" or ability that the test is supposed to measure)

mental age

the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance; used by Binet to characterize early IQ scores

test-retest reliability

the degree to which test scores are similar or stable over time versus the degree to which scores change or fluctuate upon repeated testings

range

the difference between the highest and lowest scores in a distribution

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest (such as a driving test that samples driving tasks).

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

multiple intelligences

the idea that there may be several specific "intelligences" that can exist in a individual independently of one another (e.g. visual-spatial, kinesthetic, verbal, etc.)

practical intelligence

the intellectual skills used in everyday problem solving; one of the types of intelligence in Sternberg's model

median

the middle score in a data set; best measure of central tendency in a skewed distribution

mode

the most frequently occurring score

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance subtests

psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

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.

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test