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Psychological Testing and Assessment Book Cover
Psychological Testing and Assessment: An Introduction To Tests and Measurement, 5/e
Ronald Jay Cohen
Mark Swerdlik

Intelligence and Its Measurement


"Termites"  Humorous reference to gifted children who participated in Lewis M. Terman's study of intelligence initiated in 1916, 242n
Accommodation  (1) In Piagetian theory, one of two basic mental operations through which humans learn, this one involving change from what is already known, perceived, or thought to fit with new information (contrast with assimilation); (2) in assessment, the adaptation of a test, procedure, or situation, or the substitution of one test for another, to make the assessment more suitable for an assessee with exceptional needs; (3) in the workplace, modification of or adjustments to job functions or circumstances.
Alerting response  A brightening and widening of the eyes in response to a stimulus, indicative of an infant's capacity for responsiveness, 235
Assimilation  In Piagetian theory, one of two basic mental operations through which humans learn, this one involving the active organization of new information into what is already perceived, known, and thought; contrast with accommodation, 228
Ceiling effect  A phenomenon or consequence arising from the fact that the items at the high end or the more difficult end of a test are not "high enough" or difficult enough to accurately gauge the variable being measured in persons who are at the very high end of the variable being measured, 243
Cross-battery assessment  Evaluation that employs tests from different test batteries and entails interpretation of data from specified tests to provide a comprehensive assessment, 233
Crystallized intelligence  In Cattell's two-factor theory of intelligence, acquired skills and knowledge that are very much dependent on formal and informal education; contrast with fluid intelligence, 231
Culture-fair test  A test or assessment process designed to minimize the influence of culture on various aspects of the evaluation procedures, such as the administration instructions, the item content, the responses required of the testtaker, and the interpretations made from the resulting data, 248-252
Culture-free test  In psychometrics, the concept of a test that is devoid of the influence of any particular culture and therefore does not favor people from any culture; more an ideal than an attainable reality, as all tests reflect a culture to greater or lesser degrees, 248
Culture loading  An index of the magnitude to which a test incorporates the vocabulary, concepts, traditions, knowledge, and feelings associated with a particular culture, 248-249
Emotional intelligence  A popularization of aspects of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, with emphasis on the notions of interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence, 230-231
Factor analysis  A class of mathematical procedures, frequently employed as data reduction methods, designed to identify variables on which people may differ (or factors). In measurement, two types of factor analysis are common, exploratory factor analysis and con-firmatory factor analysis.
Fluid intelligence  In Cattell's two-factor theory of intelligence, nonverbal abilities, less dependent on culture and formal instruction than crystallized intelligence; contrast with crystallized intelligence, 231
Flynn effect  "Intelligence inflation"; the fact that intelligence measured using a normed instrument rises each year after the test was normed, usually in the absence of any academic dividend, 242, 244-245
g factor  In Spearman's two-factor theory of intelligence, the general factor of intelligence; the factor that is measured to greater or lesser degrees by all tests of intelligence; contrast with s and group factors, 229-230, 237, 243
GF-Gc  Fluid-crystallized intelligence as described in the Cattell-Horn model, Carroll's three-stratum theory, and other models, 231
Giftedness  After P. Witty, performance that is consistently remarkable in any positively valued area, 242, 243-244
Hierarchical model  A term usually applied to a theoretical model organized into two or more layers, with each layer subsumed by or incorporated in the preceding layer; for example, Carroll's three-stratum theory of cognitive abilities is a hierarchical model with g as the top layer, followed by two layers of cognitive abilities and processes, 231
Intelligence  A simple yet controversial term that has been defined in many ways, such as: a multifaceted capacity that manifests itself in different ways across the life-span but in general includes the abilities and capacities to acquire and apply knowledge, to reason effectively and logically, to exhibit sound judgment, to be perceptive, intuitive, mentally alert, and able to find the right words and thoughts with facility, and to be able to cope with and adjust to new situations and new types of problems, 224-255
Interactionism  The belief that heredity and environment interact to influence the development of one's mental capacity and abilities, 228-229, 240
Interpersonal intelligence  In Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, the ability to understand other people, what motivates them, how they work, and how to work cooperatively with them; contrast with intrapersonal intelligence, 230
Intrapersonal intelligence  In Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, a capacity to form accurate self-perceptions, to discriminate accurately between emotions, and to be able to draw upon one's emotions as a means of understanding and an effective guide, 230
Maintained abilities  (continued) pre-injury levels after brain damage; contrast with vulnerable abilities, 231
Mental age  An index, now seldom used, that refers to the chronological age equivalent of one's performance on a test or subtest; derived by reference to norms indicating the age at which most testtakers can pass or meet some performance criterion with respect to individual or groups of items, 235
Nominating technique  A method of peer appraisal in which members of a class, team, work unit, or other type of group are asked to select (or nominate) people in response to a question or statement, 244, 320
Orienting response  Indicative of an infant's capacity for responsiveness, the action of turning in the direction of a stimulus; contrast with alerting response, 235
PASS model  Information processing model developed by Luria, PASS standing for planning, attention, simultaneous, and successive, 234.
Predeterminism  The doctrine that one's abilities are predetermined by genetic inheritance and that no amount of learning or other intervention can enhance what is genetically coded to unfold, 238-239
Preformationism  The doctrine that all living organisms are preformed at birth and that intelligence, much like other preformed "structures," cannot be improved upon by environmental intervention, 238
Psychoeducational assessment  Psychological evaluation in a school or other setting, usually conducted to diagnose, remedy, or measure academic or social progress or to otherwise enrich a student's education, 233
Schema  In Piagetian theory, an action or mental structure that, when applied to the world, leads to knowing or understanding, 227
Schemata  The plural of schema; as in (in Piagetian theory) "Infants are born with several simple schemata, including sucking and grasping," 227
s factor  In Spearman's two-factor theory of intelligence, a specific component of g, such as a specific ability; contrast with g and with group factors, 229
Simultaneous processing  Also called parallel processing; based on Luria's writings, a type of information processing whereby information is integrated and synthesized all at once and as a whole; contrast with successive processing, 233-234, 310, 311
Successive processing  Also referred to as sequential processing; based on Luria's writings, a type of information processing whereby information is processed in a sequential, bit-by-bit fashion and arranged and rearranged until it is logical; contrast with simultaneous processing, 233-234
Temperament  With reference to personality assessments of infants,the distinguishing manner of the child's observable actions and reactions, 245
Three-stratum theory of cognitive abilities  John B. Carroll's conception of mental abilities and processing classified by three levels or strata with g at the broadest level, followed by eight abilities or processes at the second level and a number of more narrowly defined abilities and processes at the third, 231
Two-factor theory of intelligence  Spearman's theory of general intelligence, which postulates the existence of a general intellectual ability factor (g) that is partially tapped by all other mental abilities, 229-230
Vulnerable abilities  In the Cattell-Horn model of intelligence, cog-nitive abilities that decline with age and that do not return to pre-injury levels after brain damage; contrast with maintained abilities, 231