1. Psychological & Intelligence Testing
Psychology Chapter 13
Psychological & Intelligence Testing

2. Thurstone’s Primary Mental Abilities
Eight factors make up intelligence
Visual and spatial ability
Perceptual speed
Numerical ability
Verbal meaning
Memory
Word fluency
Deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning

3. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Initially formulated a list of seven intelligences
Linguistic intelligence
Logical-mathematical intelligence
Musical intelligence
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence
Spatial intelligence
Interpersonal intelligence
Intrapersonal intelligence

4. Additional Intelligences
Naturalist intelligence
Spiritual intelligence
Existential intelligence
Moral intelligence

5. Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence
Why are smart people not always as successful as might be expected
Self-awareness: recognize own feelings
Mood management: distract from uncomfortable feelings
Self-motivation: moving ahead with confidence

6. Impulse control: ability to delay pleasure
People skills: ability to empathize

7. Alfred Binet Devised the 1st modern intelligence test
Mental age: the level of intellectual functioning in years, compared to chronological age
4 elements important for intelligence
Direction: set a goal
Adaptability: adjust the goal
Comprehension: understand the problem
Self-motivation: assess the problem

8. Louis Terman
1916 Binet’s test was brought to the US and revised by Terman of Stanford
Standford-Binet Test
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is a number that reflects the relationship between a child’s mental age and chronological age

9. David Wechsler Wechsler Scales, more widely used today
Intelligence tests for children and adults
Scores on the Wechsler tests are based on a comparison of a persons answers with the answers of others in the same group
Measures both verbal and nonverbal ideas
Beneficial for identifying particular learning disabilities

10. Charles Spearman
Two factor theory: proposes that 2 factors contribute to an individual’s intelligence
Factor g: represents a person’s general intelligence
Complex mental work, problem solving
Factor s: represents a person’s specific mental abilities
Verbal or math skills

11. 2 points critics make
Argue that g does not measure many other kinds of mental abilities such as motor, musical, or creative abilities
Argue that intelligence cannot be reduced to just g and expressed by a single IQ score
Thurston was a major opponent

12. Robert Sternberg
Triarchic Theory: intelligence can be divided into three ways of processing information
Analytic thinking: the ability to solve problems
Creative thinking: applying creative thinking to solving problems and dealing with new situations
Practical thinking: skills to help adjust to and cope with one’s environment

13. Reliability and Validity
Reliability refers to a tests consistency, it is reliable if it gives highly similar scores every time it is used
Validity is high if the test measures what it is supposed to measure
Problems with testing:
Education level
Economic background
Cultural bias
Motivation to do well

14. Mental Retardation Defined as below average intellectual functioning
Individuals are unable to handle tasks appropriate to chronological age
Affects between 7-8 million people, 3% of the population
1 in 10 families has a member affected

15. Classifications 70-79 Borderline: slow learners
52-69 Mild: most people legally termed “retarded” fall into this category
35-51 Moderate: when fully grown will have the skills of a 4-7 year old (reading, writing, speaking)
20-35 Severe: require constant supervision, 75% have a physical defect or major disease
19- Profound: rarely mature beyond 2, communication minimal

16. Distribution of IQ Scores
80-89 Slow learner
90-99 Low average
High average
Above average
Superior
Gifted
Highly Gifted
160- Genius
Einstein’s IQ was about 160

17. MENSA Founded in England in 1946
Aim was to create a society that is non-political and free from all racial or religious distinctions
Membership is open to anyone whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population
Today there are some 100,000 Mensans in 100 countries

18. 6 Points on IQ Scores
IQ scores seem to be most useful when related to school achievement
Are somewhat accurate in predicting which people will do well in school
Critics of IQ testing wonder whether such tests actually measure intelligence
Most Psychologists agree that intelligence is the ability to acquire new ideas, behaviors, and to adapt to new situations

19. 5) Generally, IQ tests measure the ability to solve certain types of problems
6) An IQ score measures performance: it does not explain it

20. Controversy over IQ testing
Do IQ tests directly measure ability? (no)
Do genetic differences or environmental inequalities cause two people to receive different scores on IQ tests?
Are IQ test culturally biased?

21. Heritability
The degree to which a characteristic is related to inherited genetic factors
As genetic relationship increases (parent and child, identical twins) the similarity of IQ also increases

22. Twin Studies and IQ
The best way to study the effects of Nature and Nurture is to study identical twins separated at birth and raised in different environments
Thomas Bouchard: leading authority on Twins
His study has researched more than 100 sets of twins that were raised apart from one another

23. Bouchard concludes that IQ is affected by genetic factors, supported by the discovery of a specific gene for human intelligence
Bouchard believes 70% of IQ variance can be attributed to heredity

24. 9 points on the effect of environment on IQ
Studies show that brothers/sisters raised in the same environment are more likely to have similar IQs
Quality preschool programs help raise IQs initially (head start)
Participating children are less likely to be in special education classes
Participating children are less likely to be held back
Participating children are more likely to graduate from high school

25. 6) Each year of school missed may drop a person’s IQ as much as 5 points
7) The richness of the home environment affects IQ
8) The quality of food in the home affects IQ
9) The number of brothers and sisters in the family affects IQ

26. Family size and IQ
Research suggests that the brightest children come from the smallest families
Larger families increase the amount of time a child spends with other children and decreases the amount of parental attention, development of intelligence has been known to suffer
Interpersonal skills however may improve

27. Adults and intelligence
Older people who retain their health have very high levels of intellectual functioning
Seattle study links several factors
Level of income
Level of education
Stimulating jobs
Intact family life
Attendance at cultural events, travel, and reading
Married to a spouse with high level of intellect
A flexible personality

28. Objective personality Inventories
List of statements about beliefs, habits, hopes, needs, and desires
Consists of multiple-choice/ true-false
-MMPI Minnesota Multiphasic personality
-CPI California Psychology Inventory

29. Projective Personality Test
Projects innermost self onto the stimulus provided
Ink Blot Test (Rorschach test)
TAT Thematic Apperception Test

32. Aptitude Tests
Mechanical comprehension, verbal skillls, clerical speed and accuracy

33. Achievement Tests Tests used to measure student progress
SAT Scholastic Assessment Test
The SAT has good validity and reliability