Main types of psychological tests
- Mental Abilities Tests
2. Personality Tests
Types of Mental ability tests
- Inteligence test
- Aptitude Tests
- Achievement Tests
what are the goals of intelligence tests
- > intended to measure general mental ability or intellectual potential
- not prior knowledge
- > used to predict school ability and career attainment (i.e. whether or not you would do well in a particular job)
characteristics of an aptitude test
- > they measure potential (like intel tests) but also assess specific mental abilities)
- > predict a persons future performance
i. e. SAT or Graduate Record Exam
characteristics of Achievement Tests
- > intended to measure mastery and knowledge of specific subjects or facts (not your potential)
- > assess what you have learned
i. e. exams and quizzes
what is intelligence
- > ability to modify one’s behaviour to meet demands of a situation
- > uses…
- abstract reasoning (symbols, mental representation)
- capacity of acquire knowledge
- problem solving ability
Sir Francis Galton
believed that intelligence/genius was hereditary - > would often make the case that intelligence is inherited (which it is), with the rich upper class being naturally/biologically more intelligent
Binet & Simon
- > they created the Binet-Simon intelligence scale
- > developed the 1st useful test of general mental ability
- > used their test to suggest the need for special education for children
- > pioneered the concept of mental vs chronological age
Henry Goddard
- > he translated the Simon-Binet intelligence test into english
- > began to study mental retardation
- > was a strong advocate of eugenics (prevent the breeding of “feebleminded” people, which were mostly US immigrants
- > helped establish the immigration restriction act
- would make immigrants take the SB test even though they can’t speak english and sent them back is they did poorly
Lewis Terman
- > believed that IQ is inherited and must be enriched and nurtured
- > established education psychology
- > developed IQ(intelligence quotient) score which determines if your above, below or average intelligence
What is IQ
Intelligence quotient
IQ = (Mental age/chronological age) *100
David Wechler
- > developed the Wechler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
* the usual test nowadays
parts of the WAIS
It determines full scale IQ
- which is broken down into*
- > verbal IQ
1. verbal communication
2. working memory - > performance IQ
1. perceptual organization
2. processing speed index
explain intelligence using Spearmans g
g = general mental ability
he believed that intelligence is a core mental ability, which are correlated (if you’re good in X then your good in Y)
- > refers to a general mental ability that, according to Spearman, underlies multiple specific skills, including verbal, spatial, numerical and mechanical
BUT
- > Guilford identified over 150 mental abilities so of course you’ll be good at more than 2
- > idea of fluid vs crystallized intelligence
- > Thurstone identified 7 primary mental abilities
describe the extremes in intelligence
- > IQ is 2 or more deviation from the mean (bell curve)
- > lower deviations are mostly made up of people with intellectual disabilities and major skill deficits
- > this extreme IQ originates in people before they’re 18 (unless due to trauma)
- > environmental and biological causes
- > mild, moderate, severe, profound
whats the differences between Savants, gifted people, and geniuses
rare people with extreme intelligence
Savants
- > IQ in a specific area/ability (2 or more devs abv mean) but a low general IQ
Gifted
- > 130+ IQ
Genius
- > high IQ, more balanced person (i.e. highly motivated and creative)
Terrance Tao
most intelligent person alive rn
William Sidis
born 1889, most intelligent person in history
Sternbergs triarchy theory
3 main concepts that you might not excel in each one
- analytic intelligence
- Practical intelligence
- creative intelligence
Golemans emotional intelligence (EQ)
- > ability to perceive and express emotion
- > assimilate emotion into though
- > understand and regulate emotion
- > make use of positive ones, dampen negative ones
where do we get our intelligence
- Heredity Evidence
- > intelligence difference between biological vs adopted siblings
- > IQ correlation of identical twins
- > twin, sibling, parent child correlation > unrelated - Environmental Evidence
- > adoption studies
- > birth weight, malnutrition, family size
- > pressure to achieve
- > cumulative deprivation
* genetically determined intelligence is always modified by the environment*
relate IQ scores to cultural biases
- > IQ tests yield race-group differences
- > overlooked sociocultural factors
- > white upper middle class men create the IQ tests
- > tests reflect the skills and knowledge of the developer
- > environmental differences
chitlings intelligence test
the Chitling Test (1968) was designed to demonstrate differences in understanding and culture between races, specifically between African Americans and Whites
- > white people scored lower than AA, proving that tests favor the developers
common myths about intelligence
- > intelligence is innate
- > intelligence never changes
- > IQ scores provide reliable scores
- > all IQ tests measure the same thing
