| A | B |
|---|
| intelligence test | a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores |
| intelligence | mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations |
| general intelligence (g) | a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test |
| factor analysis | a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score |
| savant syndrome | a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing |
| creativity | the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas |
| emotional intelligence | the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions |
| mental age | a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance |
| Stanford-Binet | the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test |
| intelligence quotient | defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca × 100) |
| achievement tests | a test designed to assess what a person has learned |
| aptitude tests | a test designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn |
| Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale | the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests |
| standardization | defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group |
| normal curve | a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean, or average (68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it), and fewer and fewer near the extremes |
| reliability | the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting |
| validity | the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to |
| content validity | the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest |
| predictive validity | the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior |
| mental retardation | a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound |
| Down syndrome | a condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21 |
| stereotype threat | a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype |
