Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Chapter 11 Testing and Individual Differences This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images Any rental, lease or lending of the program. ISBN:

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Measuring individual differences is an essential component of psychology, but strict guidelines and ethical standards must be followed to ensure results and conclusions are valid and appropriate How Do We Measure Individual Differences?

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Validity and Reliability Validity – A property exhibited by a test that measures what it purports to measure Face validity Content validity Item analysis Criterion validity

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Validity and Reliability Reliability – A property exhibited by a test that yields the same results over time Test-retest reliability Split-half reliability

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Standardization and Norms Scientists use statistics to establish a normal curve This curve can be used to describe most phenomena Normal range – Scores falling near the middle of a normal distribution

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Normal Distribution of IQ Scores Few Many Number of Persons IQ Normal Range

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Types of Tests Objective tests can be scored easily by machine In subjective tests, individuals are given an ambiguous figure or an open-ended situation and asked to describe what they see or finish a story Inter-rater reliability measures how similarly two different test scorers would score a test

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Ethics and Standards in Testing Ethical concerns related to testing involve: The confidentiality of the test results How to report the results How to use the test to compare individuals The impact of tests on society as a whole

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How is Intelligence Measured? Intelligence testing has a history of controversy, but most psychologists now view intelligence as a normally distributed trait that can be measured by performance on a variety of tasks

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How is Intelligence Measured? Binet-Simon Test calculated a childs mental age and compared it to his or her chronological age In America, testing became widespread for the assessment of Army recruits, immigrants, and schoolchildren The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is the most respected of the new American tests of intelligence

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How is Intelligence Measured? Intelligence quotient – A numerical score on an intelligence test, original computed by dividing a persons mental age by chronological age and multiplying by 100 The original IQ calculation was abandoned in favor of standard scores based on the normal distribution

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 The Exceptional Child Mental retardation – Often conceived as representing the lower 2% of the IQ range Giftedness – Often conceived as representing the upper 2% of the IQ range

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 What Are the Components of Intelligence? Some psychologists believe that the essence of intelligence is a single, general factor, while others believe intelligence is best described as a collection of distinct abilities

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 What Are the Components of Intelligence? Savant syndrome – Found in individuals who have a remarkable talent even though they are mentally slow in other domains

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Psychometric Theories of Intelligence g Factor – A general ability, proposed by Spearman as the main factor underlying all intelligent mental activity

Charles Spearman and his G factor Used factor analysis and discovered that what we see as many different skills is actually one General Intelligence. If you are good at one subject you are usually good at many others. Jack Bauer is good at torturing, bomb defusing, shooting, figuring out evil plots and saving the country (and he is good looking). Is there anything he cannot do?

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Psychometric Theories of Intelligence Crystallized intelligence – The knowledge a person has acquired, plus the ability to access that knowledge Fluid intelligence – The ability to see complex relationships and solve problems

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Cognitive Theories of Intelligence Sternbergs Triarchic Theory Gardners Multiple Intelligences

Robert Sternberg and his Triarchic Theory Most commonly accepted theory today. Three types of intelligence 1.Analytical 2.Creative 3.Practical

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Sternbergs Triarchic Theory Ability to cope with the environment; street smarts Practical Intelligence Analytical Intelligence Creative Intelligence

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Sternbergs Triarchic Theory Ability to analyze problems and find correct answers; ability measured by most IQ tests also called logical reasoning Practical Intelligence Analytical Intelligence Creative Intelligence

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Sternbergs Triarchic Theory Form of intelligence that helps people see new relationships among concepts; involves insight and creativity Practical Intelligence Analytical Intelligence Creative Intelligence

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Often measured on IQ tests with reading comprehension and vocabulary tests

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Often measured on IQ tests with analogies, math problems and logic problems

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Ability to form mental images of objects and think about their relationships in space

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Ability to perceive and create patterns of rhythms and pitches

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Ability for controlled movement and coordination

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Ability to understand other peoples emotions, motives and actions

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical-Mathematical Spatial Musical Bodily-Kinesthetic Interpersonal Intrapersonal Ability to know oneself and to develop a sense of identity

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Gardners Three New Intelligences Naturalistic intelligence Spiritual intelligence Existential intelligence

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Cultural Definitions of Intelligence Cross-cultural psychologists have shown that intelligence has different meanings in different cultures

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How Do Psychologists Explain IQ Differences Among Groups? While most psychologists agree that both heredity and environment affect intelligence, they disagree on the source of IQ differences among racial and social groups

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How Do Psychologists Explain IQ Differences Among Groups? Hereditarian arguments maintain that intelligence is substantially influenced by genetics Environmental approaches argue that intelligence can be dramatically shaped by influences such as Health Economics Education

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Heritability and Group Differences Heritability – Amount of trait variation within a group, raised under the same conditions, that can be attributed to genetic differences Heritability says nothing about between- group differences

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Heritability and Group Differences Research with twins and adopted children shows genetic influences on a wide range of attributes, including intelligence Research has also shown that racial and class differences in IQ scores can be eliminated by environmental changes

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 End of Chapter 11