Chapter 9/10 - Intelligence Testing

Question 1

What is interactionism?

Answer 1

Heredity and the environment interact to influence one’s intellect

Question 2

What is Wechsler’s definition of intelligence?

Answer 2

“The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, think rationally, and deal effectively with his environment”

Question 3

What were Galton’s beliefs about intelligence?

Answer 3

Emphasis on the heredity of intelligence & individual differences

Question 4

What were Binet’s beliefs about intelligence?

Answer 4

Intelligence is a relative contribution of abilities
Test scores are a measure of performance, not necessarily “true” intelligence

Question 5

What is the Binet-Simon intelligence test designed for?

Answer 5

To identify “gifted” children and children in need of special educational assistance
Introduced the concept of a “mental age”

Question 6

What were Terman’s contributions to intelligence testing?

Answer 6

Revised the Binet-Simon scale to what is now known as the Stanford-Binet test
Created a ratio IQ of mental age over chronological age x 100

Question 7

How did the Stanford-Binet test improve upon the Binet-Simon test? (4 things)

Answer 7

Improved the norms, demonstrated reliability and validity, can be used adaptively, and can create a profile analysis of performance

Question 8

What were Wechsler’s beliefs about intelligence and contributions to intelligence testing?

Answer 8

Intelligence is not the mere sum of abilities, so it’s important to measure several aspects
Developed an intelligence test that included non-verbal tasks

Question 9

What were Piaget’s contributions to intelligence testing?

Answer 9

The stages of cognitive development

Question 10

What is factor analysis?

Answer 10

A group of statistical methods used to find underlying relationships between sets of variables or items

Question 11

What are the various factor-analytic theories of intelligence?

Answer 11

Spearman, Guilford & Thurstone, Gardner, Horn & Cattell, Carroll

Question 12

What was Charles Spearman’s theory about intelligence?

Answer 12

There exists a general intellectual ability factor (called “g”) and other specific, hierarchical factors (called “s”)
There is also an intermediate class of factors common to a group of activities, called group factors

Question 13

How was Guilford & Thurstone’s theory of intelligence different than Spearman’s?

Answer 13

They opted to de-emphasize or eliminate any reference to “g”

Question 14

How was Gardner’s theory of intelligence different than Spearman’s?

Answer 14

His theory contains seven different intelligences rather than one general factor “g”

Question 15

How was Horn & Cattell’s theory of intelligence different than Spearman’s?

Answer 15

Their theory proposes the existence of two major types of cognitive abilities: crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence

Question 16

What are the differences between Crystallized Intelligence and Fluid Intelligence?

Answer 16

Crystallized: includes acquired skills and knowledge; requires some degree of exposure to education and culture; is relatively unaffected by aging and brain injury
Fluid: the ability to adapt to novel situations, independent of specific instruction; nonverbal; relatively culture-free; is more affected by aging and brain injury

Question 17

How did Carroll add onto Horn & Cattell’s theory of intelligence?

Answer 17

He agreed that specific factors were important, but didn’t want to completely get rid of the idea of “g” like the others did

Question 18

What is the CHC model?

Answer 18

Integrated the Cattell-Horn and Carroll models into one, which featured 10 broad abilities and over 70 narrow ones
Current versions have 5 broad categories and don’t include a general intelligence ability factor

Question 19

What are Thorndike’s three clusters of ability? How did he define intelligence?

Answer 19

Social, concrete, and abstract intelligence
Defined general mental ability as the number of modifiable neural connections

Question 20

How are information-processing theories of intelligence different from factor-analytic theories?

Answer 20

They focus on identifying specific mental processes (i.e. HOW information is processed as opposed to WHAT is processed)

Question 21

What is the difference between Simultaneous processing and Successive processing?

Answer 21

Simultaneous = parallel or integration of info all at once
Successive = sequential or information is individually processes in a logical sequence

Question 22

What is the PASS model?

Answer 22

Stands for planning, attention, simultaneous, successive
Relates to the strategy, receptivity, and type of information processing

Question 23

What are the commonalities of intelligence testing? (8 things)

Answer 23

• test manual with normative data and cutoffs
• environmental controls
• instructions & opportunities for the examinee to ask questions
• teaching items
• scripted prompts
• careful recording of responses and behavioral observations
• reversing and discontinuation rules
• importance of rapport building

Question 24

How do ceiling and floor effects apply to intelligence testing? What is a basal level?

Answer 24

Floor = lowest level ability that can be tested
Ceiling = highest level ability that can be tested
Basal level = baseline level requirement to continue testing

Question 25

What is the importance of developmental level and age on intelligence testing?

Answer 25

Different tasks are better for testing different age groups; the purpose of testing may also be different (educational vs occupational) Cannot test verbal ability in infants Adults can be tested on expressive language and social judgment in a way that children can't

Question 26

Who constructed the Stanford-Binet-5 and what theory was it based upon?

Answer 26

Revised from its original version by Terman and his student Merrill Based on the CHC theory of intellectual ability, it has 5 factors Can be used adaptively to create a profile analysis of performance

Question 27

Who constructed the WAIS? What are its main features?

Answer 27

Adult Intelligence Scale developed by Wechsler Comprised of 5 index scores and 7 primary subtests Contains teaching items Co-normed with the Wechsler Memory Scale

Question 28

What are some other Wechsler tests and when would you use them?

Answer 28

WISC = for children WPPSI = for pre-school-aged kids WASI = short form version used for screening purposes

Question 29

What are some of the cautions or challenges with short form tests?

Answer 29

They are NOT meant for diagnostic purposes; they're meant to help us see if there's a concern that warrants taking the full scale version (thus we're more tolerant of false positives). They also suffer from shrinkage of reliability and content validity, so problems arise if we use them for diagnostic purposes

Question 30

What is the formula for IQ ratio?

Answer 30

IQ ratio = mental age/chronological age x 100

Question 31

What is the mean and standard deviation for common intelligence measures for Full Scale IQ?

Answer 31

Mean of 100 and SD of 15

Question 32

What is a common application of group testing? Examples?

Answer 32

Military screening - Army Alpha and Army Beta were developed in WWI to determine if someone was fit to serve - ASVAB is a widely used aptitude test to determine the likelihood of an individual succeeding in a particular military position

Question 33

What are the pros and cons of group testing in the military?

Answer 33

Pros: save times and resources; is generally predictive of actual performance Cons: lack of standardization raises concerns about validity and unfair use of results

Question 34

What is the issue with ability tests relying on convergent thinking?

Answer 34

They test deductive reasoning to arrive at ONE solution Fails to take into account creativity, flexibility, and novelty (or the process of solving a problem rather than just if the answer is "right")

Question 35

What is the Flynn effect?

Answer 35

The inflation of intelligence over time after a test has been standardized

Question 36

How might culture impact intelligence testing?

Answer 36

- differing definitions of intelligence - differing familiarity with materials, phrases, and medium - performance related to acculturation - culturally sensitive tests often suffer from reduced predictive validity

Question 37

What are some ways of reducing culture loading on tests?

Answer 37

Reducing the amount of verbal or language-based tasks Relying less on reading instructions or scholastic skills

Question 38

What different types of tests are used in education?

Answer 38

- Standardized tests (with state specific educational standards) - Dynamic Assessment (to target the child's ability level) - Achievement tests (performance based; help detect environmental stressors or intellectual disabilities) - Aptitude tests (determine readiness or likelihood of success)

Question 39

What is the zone of proximal development according to Vygotsky?

Answer 39

The child's target ability level, where they're being challenged by the material, but not too much and not too little

Question 40

What are the challenges of educational testing with young children? What are some alternative techniques that can help with these issues?

Answer 40

Early development is marked by spurts and lags, so there is often a lot of variability within age groups and a lack of stability over time Can rely more on nonverbal techniques or comprehensive approaches such as case histories, portfolio evaluations, and role play