Vocabulary Definitions: Chapter 10 Review (psych)

1. Intelligence Quotient - Intelligences quotient is an index of intelligence once calculated by dividing one's tested mental age by one's chronological age and multiplying by 100. Today, IQ is a number that reflects the degree to which a person's score on an intelligence test deviates from the average score of others in his of her age group.
2. Verbal Scale - Verbal scale is six subtests in the Wechsler scales that measure verbal skills as part of a measure of overall intelligence.
3. Performance Scale - Performance scale is five subtests in the Wechsler scales that include tasks that require spatial ability and the ability to manipulate materials; these subtests provide a performance IQ.
4. Aptitude Test - Aptitude tests are tests designed to measure a person's capacity to learn certain things or perform certain tasks.
5. Achievement Test - Achievement tests are measures of what a person has accomplished or learned in a particular area.
6. Norms - Norms are 1. a description of the frequency at which a particular score occurs, which allows scores to be compared statistically. and 2. a learned, socially based rule that prescribes what people should or should not do in various situations.
7. Reliability - Reliability is the degree to which a test can be repeated with the same results. Tests with high reliability yield scores that are less susceptible to insignificant or random changes in the test taker or the testing environment.
8. Validity - Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.
9. Factor Analysis - Factor analysis is a statistical technique that involves computing correlations between large numbers of variables. Factor analysis is commonly used in the study of intelligence and intelligence tests.
10. Fluid Intelligence - Fluid intelligence is the basic power of reasoning and problem solving. Fluid produces induction, deduction, reasoning, and understanding of relationships between different ideas.
11. Crystallized Intelligence - Crystallized intelligence is the specific knowledge gained as a result of applying fluid intelligence. It produces verbal comprehension and skill at manipulating numbers.
12. Information Processing Approach - Information processing approach is an approach to the study of intelligence that focuses on mental operations, such as attention and memory that underlie intelligent behavior.
13. Triarchical Theory of Intelligence - Triarchical theory of intelligence is a theory proposed by Robert Sternberg that sees intelligence as involving analytical, creative, and practical dimensions.
14. Multiple Intelligences - Multiple intelligences are Howard Gardner's theory that people are possessed of eight semi-independent kinds of intelligence, only three of which are measured by standard IQ tests.