Chapter 9: Intelligence and Psychological Testing

Chapter 9: Intelligence and Psychological Testing

1. Basic Questions about Intelligence Testing

   • IQ test are exceptionally reliable
     • They are reasonable valid measures of academic intelligence but they do not tap social or practical intelligence
   • In modern scoring system deviation IQ scores indicate where people fall in the normal distribution of intelligence for their age group
     • They are intended to measure potential for learning I Q test inevitable assess a blend of potential and knowledge
   • IQ scores are correlated with occupational attainment but their ability to predict performance within occupations is the subject of debate
     • Intelligence testing is largely a western enterprise I Q test are not widely used in most non-western culture's

2. Extremes of Intelligence

   • Intellectual disability
     • Intellectual disability refers to subaverage general mental ability IQ lesson 70 accompanied by deficits in adaptive skills originating before age 18
       • Diagnosis should not be based solely on test results
     • Intellectual disability may be mild moderate severe or profound. the vast majority 85% of individuals have mild intellectual disability
     • Many organic conditions can cause intellectual disability but a specific organic cause can be identified in only about 50% of cases
       • Cases of unknown origin tend to involve mild disability and are believed to be mainly caused by unfavourable environmental factors
   • Giftedness
     • Children with a score of 130 as the typical minimum are viewed as gifted
     • Terman showed that gifted children tend to be socially mature and well adjusted although winner has raise concerns about the adjustment off profoundly gifted individuals
     • Extraordinary achievement seems to depend on intensive training and hard work but innate talent may also contribute

3. Key Concepts In Psychological Testing

   • Standardization :
     • Refers to the uniform procedures used in administration and scoring a test
   • Types of Test:
     • Mental ability test: measure general intelligence aptitude for specific types of learning or achievements in specific areas of study
     • Personality tests: measure various types of personality traits as well as motives interest values and attitudes
   • Reliability :
     • The measurement consistency of a Tess
   • Norms :
     • Indicates where a score on a test ranks in relation to other score
   • Percentile :
     • Scores indicate the percentage of people who score at or below specific scores
   • Validity : The ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure
     • Construct Validity
       • Refers to the extent to which there's evidence that test measures a specific hypothetical construct
     • Criterion- related validity: Is estimated by correlating subject scores on a test with their scores on an independent measure of the trait
     • Content-related Validity: Refers to the degree to which the content of a test is representative off the domain it is supposed to cover

4. Heredity and Environment as Determinants of Intelligence

   • Interaction of heredity
     • Reaction range position it's that charity places limits on one intellectual potential while the environment determines where once fall within these limits
     • Evidence indicates that environment is also an important determinant of intelligence
   • Cultural Differences in IQ scores
     • Genetic explanation for cultural differences in IQ has been challenged on a viarety of grounds
     • Ethnicity varies with social class, so socioeconomic disadvantage may account for a low IQ scores among minority students
     • cultural bias on IQ test may also contribute to ethnic differences in average IQ's
   • Evidence for Heredity influence
     • Twin studies show that Identical twins are more similar in intelligence than fraternal twins
       • This shows that intelligence is inherited at least in part
     • Adopted children resemble their biological parents and intelligence

5. History Of Intelligence Tests

   • Modern intelligence testing was launched in 1905 by Alfred Binet who devised a scale to measure each child's mental age
   • In 1939 David Weschler publish an improve measure of intelligence for adults which introduce the deviation IQ score based on the normal distribution
   • Lewis terman revise the Binet's scale to produce the Stanford in it skills in 1916 which introduce the intelligence quotient IQ
   • Spearman argued that all cognitive test share a core which he called G whereas Thurstone asserted that intelligence is made up of independent abilities
     • Book views remain influential today as researchers are primarily interested in G but contemporary IQ test typically subdivide G into 10-15 specific abilities
   • The first intelligence test were devised by Sir Francis Galton, who sought to show that intelligence is inherited

6. New Direction in the Assessment and Study of Intelligence

   • Recent years have brought increased interest in biological indexes of intelligence including such things as IQ and brain size and quantity of gray and white matter in the brain
   • IQ scores measured in childhood correlate with Longevity to decades later.
   • Sternberg's triachic theoary posits that hallmark of intelligence are the abilities to deal with novelty and handle formiliar tasks automatically
   • According to Sternberg successful intelligence include three facets;
     • Analytical intelligence
     • Creative intelligence
     • Practical intelligence
   • Howard Gardner has argued that there are eight largely independent types of human intelligence
   • Some theorists believe that the measurement of emotional intelligence can enchance the prediction of people success but critics question whether emotional sophistication should be viewed as a form of intelligence