| intelligence quotient (IQ) | An index of the way a person performs on a standardized intelligence test relative to the way others his or her age perform.
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| factor analysis | A statistical procedure used to determine which of a number of factors or scores are both closely related to each other and relatively independent of other groups of factors or scores.
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| specific factors | Factors that are unique to particular cognitive tasks.
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| triarchic theory of intelligence | A theory that proposes three major components of intelligent behavior: information-processing skills, experience with a particular situation, and ability to adapt to the demands of a context.
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| theory of multiple intelligences | Gardner's multifactorial theory that proposes seven distinct types of intelligence.
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| idiot savant | A mentally retarded or sometimes autistic person who shows a remarkable talent in one particular area of knowledge, such as the ability to predict day of the week and date many years in the future.
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| culture-fair test | A test that attempts to minimize cultural biases in content that might influence the test taker's responses.
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| Bayley Scales of Infant Development | A set of nonverbal tests that measure specific developmental milestones and that are generally used with children who are thought to be at risk for abnormal development.
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| Stanford-Binet Test | The modern version of the first major intelligence test; emphasizes verbal and mathematical skills.
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| mental age | An index of a child's actual performance on an intelligence test as compared with his true age.
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| Wechsler Intelligence Scales | Three intelligence tests for infants, children, and adults that yield separate scores for verbal and performance IQ as well as a combined IQ score.
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| deviation IQ | An IQ score that indicates the extent to which a person's performance on a test deviates from age-mates' average performance.
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| Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) | An intelligence test designed to measure several types of information-processing skills as well as achievement in some academic subjects.
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| psychometrician | A psychologist who specializes in the construction and use of tests designed to measure various psychological constructs such as intelligence, motivation, achievement orientation, and personality characteristics.
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| test norm | Values or sets of values that describe the typical performance of a specific group of people.
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| standardization | The process by which test constructors ensure that testing procedures, instructions, and scoring are identical on every testing occasion.
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| validity | The extent to which a test actually measures what it claims to measure.
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| reliability | The degree to which a test yields consistent results over successive administrations.
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| recovery | The ability to recognize a new stimulus as novel and to direct attention to it in preference to a familiar stimulus.
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| associative learning | According to Jenson, lower-level learning tapped in tests of such things as short-term memorization and recall, attention, rote learning, and simple associative skills. Also called level 1 learning.
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| cognitive learning | According to Jensen, higher-level learning tapped in tests of such things as abstract thinking, the use of symbolic processes, conceptual learning, and the use of language in problem solving. Also called level II learning.
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| congenital | Describing deficits or defects that the child incurs in the womb or during the birth process.
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| cumulative risk | The notion that risk factors in children's life circumstances have cumulative negative effects on their intellectual performance.
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| Head Start | A federally funded program that provides disadvantaged young children with preschool experience, social services, and medical and nutritional assistance.
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| two-generation program | A program of early cognitive intervention that extends help to parents as well as to their children.
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| intellectual giftedness | A characteristic defined by an IQ score of 130 or over; gifted children learn faster than others and may show early exceptional talents in certain areas.
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| mental retardation | A characteristic defined by and IQ score below 70 and the inability to cope adequately with age-appropriate activities of everyday life.
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| creativity | The ability to solve problems, create products, or pose questions in a way that is novel or unique; also, the ability to envision new problems not yet recognized by others and to come up with their solutions.
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