Testing and Individual Differences 5 7 of the

Testing and Individual Differences 5 -7% of the AP Psychology Exam

Defining Intelligence • Charles Spearman 1904 • All purpose ability to do well on cognitive tasks, to solve problems, and learn from experience

The Origins of Intelligence Testing

Francis Galton (1884) • Darwin’s cousin • Interested in measuring “natural ability” in hopes of identifying people with greater natural ability to reproduce • Gave his test to 10, 000 volunteers • There was no reliability or validity

Alfred Binet (1904) • French • Mental age- the level of performance typically associated with chronological age • Believed that identifying students mental age range could help inform interventional strategies • Feared that intelligence testing would be used to label children and limit their opportunities

Lewis Terman (1911) • Developed the Stanford-Binet Test • Believed that intelligence tests measured the intelligence with which the person was born • IQ = (MA/CA)100 • MA = CA average intelligence • MA > CA above average intelligence • MA < CA below average intelligence

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities • The Stanford-Binet • Does approximate a normal distribution • Can be used as a portion of an assessment • Achievement Tests- measure what you have learned • Examples? • Aptitude Test- predicts your future ability- capacity to learn • Examples?

Modern Tests of Mental Abilities (cont. ) • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) • Measures intelligence with 15 subtests including similarities, vocabulary, block design, and letter-numbering sequences • Can give an overall intelligence score as well as subsets for • • Verbal comprehension Perceptual organization Working memory Processing speed • Can identify cognitive strengths and weaknesses • Less culturally biased

Intelligence Testing Design • Validity- does it measure what it is intended to measure • Reliability- does it yield consistent, reproducible results • Standardization • Does it have uniform procedure for administering and scoring • Does it have norms- performance standards for comparison • Must be periodically restandardized due to changes in populations

The Normal Curve What to know… The percentages that fall under each potion The percentage that falls within 1 standard deviation of the mean (68%) The percentage that falls within 2 standard deviations of the mean (95%) The cut off for intellectually disabled and gifted

Extremes of Intelligence

Gifted Individuals • Above average intelligence • 130 -132 or higher on an IQ test • Terman (same guy that developed the Stanford-Binet) • studied 1500 students in CA starting in 1921 (“Termites”) • Studied over 7 decades, most had attained high levels of education, becoming doctors, lawyers, professors, scientists, and writers

Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities • Low IQ (below 70) AND difficulty adapting to everyday life • Severity is determined by adaptive function rather than IQ • Adaptive behavior includes: • Conceptual skills- literacy, numbers, money and time • Social skills- interpersonal skills, responsibility, self-esteem, ability to follow rules • Practical skills- personal care, occupational skills, health care, travel, telephone skills

Causes of Intellectual Disability • Genetics • Early childhood environment

Nature vs. Nurture • Heritability- the proportion of observable differences in a group that can be explained by genes • The highest measure of heritability would be 100% • Intelligence is rated 75% in adolescents and about 80% in adults

• Heritability cannot be applied to a single individual because it is based on percentages of a population • Environment can effect the expression of genetic components • Nutrition • Epigenetics • For most people, changes in the environment can have a substantial impact on intelligence.

Intelligence and Age

Intelligence and Age • The discussion depends on what we assess and how we assess it • Crystalized Intelligence • Accumulated knowledge as reflected in vocabulary analogies testing • Increases up to old age • Fluid Intelligence • Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly • Decreases beginning in your 20 s and 30 s • Social reasoning and emotional intelligence also increase as we age

Cultural Bias in Testing • Wording can be culturally biased based on • Living location (rural, urban, country, region) • Socioeconomic status • Race • Example:

Culture-Fair Tests • Intelligence tests that are intended to be culturally unbiased • May contain questions familiar to people from all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds or may contain no words at all

Challenges of Developing Culture-Fair Tests • Tests often reflect what is important in a dominate culture • Attitudes, values, and motivation can affect test performance

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Theories of Multiple Intelligences

Gardner’s Eight Intelligences 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Verbal Mathematical Spatial Bodily-Kinesthetic Musical Interpersonal Intrapersonal Naturalist Howa rd Gardn er 1983/ 2006

Sternberg’s Three Intelligences • Analytical • • Analyze Judge Evaluate Compare/contrast • Creative • • • Create Design Invent Originate imagine • Practical • Use • Apply • Implement Rober t Sternb erg 2003