Testing and Individual Differences (Intelligence)

ValidityValidity – A property exhibited by a test that

measures what it purports to measure.Face Validity – Measures whether a test looks

like it tests what it is supposed to test.Content Validity – A property exhibited by a

test in which each item is representative of the larger body of knowledge about the subject the test covers.

Criterion Validity – A property exhibited by a test that accurately measures performance of the test taker against a specific learning goal.

ReliabilityReliability – A property exhibited by a test

that yields the same results over time.Test-retest Reliability – A property exhibited by

a test on which people get about the same scores when they take the test more than once.

Split-half Reliability – A measure of reliability in which a test is split into two parts and an individual’s scores on both halves are compared.

Standardization and NormsStandardization Means:

The administration and scoring guidelines are the same for each subject taking the test.

The results of the test can be used to draw conclusion about the test takers in regard to the objectives of the test.

Standardization and NormsNormal Range – Scores falling near the

middle of a normal distribution.

Types of TestObjective Tests – Tests that can be scored

easily by machine, such as multiple choice tests and selected-response tests.

Subjective Tests – Tests in which individuals are given an ambiguous figure or an open-ended situation and asked to describe what they see or finish a story.Inter-rater reliability – A measure of how

similarly two different test scorers would score a test.

IntelligenceA concept, not a

“thing.”Intelligence – Mental

quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Intelligence TestingIntelligence test – A

method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others using numerical scores.

Intelligence TestingBinet and Simon – Introduced intelligence

testing in the early 1900s to evaluate school children’s mental age.Mental age – The average age at which normal

(average) individuals achieve a particular score.

Chronological age – The number of years since the individual’s birth.

Intelligence Testing in the U.S.Standford-Binet intelligence scale / test

invented by Lewis TermanToday the Wechsler intelligence test is

considered to be a little more modern.From it comes the term IQ

Intelligence Quotient – A numerical score on an intelligence test, originally computed by dividing the person’s mental age by chronological age and multiplying by 100.

ExtremesLow Extreme

Mental Retardation – Low test scores and difficult adapting to normal life demands. Lower 2% of IQ Range, 30 points below average.

Down Syndrome – Retardation coupled with physical disabilities caused by extra copy of chromosome 21.

High ExtremeGiftedness – Upper 2% of the IQ Range, 30 points above

average.Sho Yano

Played Mozart by age 4 Aced SAT at age 8 Graduated Loyola University with honors at age 12, and started

Ph.D. and M.D. at age 13.

Savant SyndromeCondition in which a

person with limited mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as computation or drawing.

General IntelligenceSpearman’s General

Intelligence (g) Factor – A general intelligence factor, that underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Raymond Cattell’s Crystallized and Fluid IntelligenceCrystallized Intelligence – The knowledge a

person has acquired, plus the ability to access the knowledge.

Fluid Intelligence – the ability to see complex relationships and solve problems.

Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic TheoryPractical Intelligence – The ability to cope

with the environment.AKA – “Street Smarts”

Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic TheoryAnalytical Intelligence – The ability measured

by most IQ tests; includes the ability to analyze problems and find correct answers.

Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic TheoryCreative Intelligence – The form of

intelligence that helps people see new relationships among concepts; involves insight and creativity.

Sternberg’s Multiple IntelligencesAnalytical (academic problem-solving)

IntelligenceCreative Intelligence

Creativity – The ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable.

Practical Intelligence8 year old selling gum on the streets of

Tijuana, Mexico may have a high level of Practical Intelligence, and very little Analytical Intelligence.

Howard Gardner’s Multiple IntelligencesLinguisticLogical – MathematicalMusicalSpatialBodily KinestheticIntrapersonal (self)Interpersonal (other

people)Naturalist

Bigger Brain = More Intelligence?Many studies done.No evidence to show

consistent connections between brain size and intelligence.

Assessing IntelligenceMany different Intelligence TestsIQ Tests:

Defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100.

Contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Most intelligence test can be translated into IQ scores.

Factors that Influence IntelligenceEnvironmentSchoolGenderEthnicityHereditySelf Fulfilling

Prophecies???Eugenics???