Psychometrics

Subarea of psychology concerned with the development and use of psychological tests

(e.g. IQ tests, personality tests)

What is Intelligence?

u Spearman's 2 Factor Theory- proposed that intelligence consists of your general mental ability (g) plus many specific abilities (s)

u Sternberg's Triarchic Theory - intelligence consists of 3 kinds of reasoning processes - analytical, creative problem-solving, and practical thinking skills.

What is Intelligence?

u Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory- there are at least 8 areas of intelligence:

u Verbal/linguistic

u Mathematical/logical

u Musical

u Spatial

u Bodily/kinesthetic

u Interpersonal

u Intrapersonal

u Naturalistic

Important Test Characteristics

u Reliability - does the test yield consistent scores?

u Validity - does it actually measure what it is supposed to measure?

Normal Distribution of IQ Scores (see book)

Intelligence:
Heredity vs Environment

Studying the Role of Heredity

u Twin Studies

u Family Studies

u Adoption Studies

u

Interpreting the IQ Correlations

u Identical twins raised together (.85)

u Fraternal twins raised together (.60)

This difference supports the role of genetics in influencing intelligence

(greater IQ correlation among twins who are genetically identical).

Interpreting the IQ Correlations

u Identical twins raised together (.85)

u Identical twins raised apart (.72)

u Siblings raised together (.45)

u Siblings raised apart (.25)

u Stronger correlations when kids are reared together shows the influence of environment on intelligence