PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

& INTELLIGENCE

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
Construct
_____________________________________
_
Intelligence how long to solve a problem?
Love # of acts demonstrating affection
Depression % of day spent crying

However, we can identify behaviors that

indicate the presence or absence of the
construct

PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
Psychological Test: a standardized
measure of a sample of behavior
Standardized:
___________________________
Measure: assesses something
Sample of behavior:
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_________

TYPES OF TESTS
Intelligence Test: a measure of
___________________________________
____
Aptitude Test: a measure of specific
types of mental abilities
Achievement Test: a measure of
___________________________________
____
Personality Scale: a measure of aspects
of personality (includes
___________________________________

CHARACTERISTICS OF TESTS
Reliability: the measurement consistency
of the test
Test-retest reliability
______________________________________
___

Inter-rater reliability
______________________________________
______________________________________
______

RELIABILITY

VALIDITY
Validity: the ability of a test to measure
what it was designed to measure
Content validity
______________________________________
___

Concurrent validity
______________________________________
______________________________________
______

HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING

Alfred Binet
Binet-Simon Scale (1905)
First useful test of intelligence
Mental Age: the mental abilities of a child,
relative to his or her chronological age

HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING

Lewis Terman
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (1916)
________________: a childs mental age
divided by chronological age, multiplied by
100
Allowed comparisons of kids at different
ages
M age = 12, C age = 10(12/10)*100 = 120

HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING

However, there were some problems with
the original IQ for adults:
M age = 80, C age = 40IQ of 200?

So the ____________ was developed

Divide test score by the average test score
of people in the same age group, then
multiply by 100
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
______

HISTORY OF INTELLIGENCE TESTING

David Wechsler
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (1939)
First IQ test for adults
Measures verbal & nonverbal skills
Bases scores on the normal distribution
Compared to others of the same age

MODERN IQ SCORES
Normal Distribution: a symmetric, bell -shaped
curve that
___________________________________________
_
____________________________________________
_____

EXTREME SCORES ON IQ TESTS

Mental Retardation: sub-average general mental
ability accompanied by deficiencies in adaptive
skills, originating before age 18 (IQ < 70-75)

EXTREME SCORES ON IQ TESTS

Mental Retardation: 2-3% of the population
qualify; most are mildly retarded
(__________________________________________
____)

EXTREME SCORES ON IQ TESTS

Giftedness
Upper ______% of the IQ distribution
IQ > _______

Termans Termites (1921)

Longitudinal study of 1500 children
Average IQ = ______
Successful in a wide variety of settings and
skill sets

WHAT MAKES A GENIUS?

Is it all just IQ?
_________________: eminence primarily
depends on dogged determinism,
endless and tedious practice, and
outstanding mentoring and training.

CULTURAL FACTORS
Are some racial or ethnic groups just
smarter than others????

CULTURAL FACTORS
Three possible explanations:
1. Question bias:
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
________
But its difficult to find examples in todays
IQ tests of biased questions

CULTURAL FACTORS
2. Stereotype threat & Self-fulfilling
prophecies
Stereotype threat: fear on the part of the
person being tested that they will fulfill a
stereotype
Self-fulfilling prophecy: examinee lives up
(or down) to expectations

CULTURAL FACTORS
3. Third-variable problem:
Some other factor that is correlated with
IQ accounts for the findings:
__________________________
___________________________
____________________
__________________________________________
____________________________

CULTURAL FACTORS
There is more likeness between children
of the same social status but different
race than children of the same race but
of different social status (Arlitt, 1921,
p. 183).

DIFFERENT INTELLIGENCES
Emotional Intelligence:
The ability to ________________________
_________________________
________________________________, and
______________________

Creativity: the generation of ideas that

are original, novel, and useful

IS INTELLIGENCE STABLE?
In general, scores on IQ tests
_________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_________

Is there any way to increase intelligence?

IMPROVING INTELLIGENCE
Education!
Correlation between education and IQ is
between +.55 and +.90
Do smarter people stay in school longer?
Does staying in school make someone
smarter?
Both!
Also, take good care of yourself overall.