In considering the nature of intelligence, experts would most likely agree that intelligence should be defined as a(n):
A. inborn ability to perform well on standard intelligence testsB. ability to learn from experience
C. general trait that underlies success on nearly any task
D. multiple array of completely independent adaptive traits
Answer: D
Factor analysis is a statistical procedure that can be used to:
A. derive IQ scores by comparing mental age with chronological ageB. extract test norms from a standardization example
C. identify clusters of closely related test items
D. provide a quantitative estimate of heritability
Answer: C
Spearman's g factor refers to:
A. the genetic contribution to intelligenceB. a general intelligence that underlies successful performance on a wide variety of tasks
C. a highly developed skill or talent possessed by an otherwise retarded person
D. the ability to understand and regulate emotions
Answer: B
Twenty-five-year old Alexandra is mentally handicapped and can neither read nor write. However, after hearing lengthy, unfamiliar, and complex musical selections just once, she can reproduce them precisely on the piano. It is likely that Alexandra is:
A. gifted with a superior level of Spearman's g factorB. demonstrating a high level of emotional intelligence
C. above average in her capacity for divergent thinking
D. someone with savant syndrome
Answer: D
Those who define intelligence as academic aptitude are most likely to criticize:
A. Spearman's concept of general intelligenceB. Binet's concept of mental age
C. Gardner's concept of multiple intelligences
D. Sternberg's concept of analytical intelligence
Answer: C
Howard Gardner is most likely to agree that the concept of intelligence includes:
A. minimizing one's negative emotionsB. spatially analyzing visual input
C. experiencing positive self-esteem
D. behaving morally
Answer: B
When Professor McGuire asks her students to answer questions in class, she can quickly tell from their facial expressions whether they are happy to participate. Professor McGuire's perceptual skill best illustrates:
A. analytical intelligenceB. divergent thinking
C. emotional intelligence
D. factor analysis
Answer: C
Generating multiple possible answers to a problem illustrates:
A. neural plasticityB. factor analysis
C. predictive validity
D. divergent thinking
Answer: D
As adults age, the size of their brains ________ and their nonverbal intelligence test scores _________.
A. increase; decreaseB. decrease; increase
C. increase; increase
D. decrease; decrease
Answer: D
Postmortem brain analyses reveal that highly educated people have ________ when they die than do their less educated counterparts.
A. less neural plasticityB. more synapses
C. less gray matter
D. more reification
Answer: B
Research on intelligence and brain functioning indicates that highly intelligent children demonstrate ________ than their less intelligent counterparts.
A. smaller synaptic gapsB. longer axons
C. greater neural plasticity
D. higher dopamine levels
Answer: C
Precocious 12 to 14-year-old college students with unusually high levels of verbal intelligence are most likely to:
A. retrieve information from memory at an unusually rapid speedB. perform at only an average level on tests of mathematical aptitude
C. experience less loneliness and achieve happier marriages than the average college student
D. demonstrate unusually high levels of the practical managerial intelligence common to successful business executives
Answer: A
Studies suggest that there is a positive correlation between intelligence and the brain's:
A. rate of glucose consumptionB. production of endorphins
C. neural processing speed
D. ability to process language in the right rather than the left hemisphere
Answer: C
Binet and Simon designed a test of intellectual abilities in order to:
A. provide a quantitative estimate of inherited intellectual potentialB. distinguish between academic and practical intelligence
C. identify children likely to have dfficulty learning in regular school classes
D. assess general capacity for goal-directed adaptive behavior
Answer: C
To assess mental age, Binet and Simon measured children's:
A. head sizeB. reasoning skills
C. muscular power
D. neural processing speed
Answer: B
Five-year-old Wilbur performs on an intelligence test at a level characteristic of an average 4-year-old. Wilbur's mental age is:
A. 4B. 4.5
C. 5
D. 80
Answer: A
The eugenics movement would have been most likely to encourage:
A. selective breeding of highly intelligent peopleB. creation of special education programs for intellectually inferior children
C. construction of culturally and racially unbiased tests of intelligence
D. use of factor analysis for identification of various types of intelligence
Answer: A
In the early twentieth century, the U.S. government developed intelligence tests to evaluate newly arriving immigrants. Poor test scores among immigrants who were not of Anglo-Saxon heritage were attributed by some psychologists of that day to:
A. stereotype threatB. innate mental inferiority
C. savant syndrome
D. divergent thinking
Answer: B
Tests designed to predict ability to learn new skills are called:
A. interest inventoriesB. factor analytic measures
C. standardized assessments
D. aptitude tests
Answer: D
Achievement tests are designed to:
A. measure desire and potential capacity to successfully meet challengesB. assess ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
C. compare an individual's personality with those of highly successful people
D. assess learned knowledge or skills
Answer: D
The written exam for a driver's license would most likely be considered a(n) ________ test.
A. achievementB. reliability
C. aptitude
D. intelligence
Answer: A
If a test is standardized, this means that:
A. it accurately measures what it is intended to measureB. a person's test performance can be compared with that of a representative pretested group
C. most test scores will cluster near the average
D. the test will yield consistent results when administered on different occasions
Answer: B
The distribution of intelligence test scores in the general population forms a bell-shaped pattern. This pattern is called a:
A. standardization sampleB. reliability coefficient
C. factor analysis
D. normal curve
Answer: D
It would be reasonable to suggest that the Flynn effect is due in part to:
A. the deteriorating quality of parental involvement in children's educationB. increasingly improved childhood health and nutrition
C. the decreasing reliance on a single test score as an index of mental aptitudes
Answer: B
If a test yields consistent results every time it is used, it has a high degree of:
A. standardizationB. predictive validity
C. reliability
D. content validity
Answer: C
A measure of intelligence based on head size is likely to have a ________ level of reliability and a ________ level of validity.
A. low; lowB. low; high
C. high; low
D. high; high
Answer: C
Your psychology professor has announced that the next test will asses your understanding of sensation and perception. When you receive the test, however, you find that very few questions actually relate to these topics. In this instance, you would be most concerned about the ________ of the test.
A. reliabilityB. factor analysis
C. standardization
D. validity
Answer: D
Sasha is mildly mentally retarded. She has achieved the equivalent of a fifth-grade education and will soon begin vocational training so that she can earn a living. Sasha's intelligence scores is most likely between:
A. 5 and 19B. 20 and 34
C. 35 and 49
D. 50 and 70
Answer: D
Sorting children into "gifted child" education programs is most likely to be criticized for:
A. overemphasizing the genetic determinants of giftednessB. widening the achievement gap between higher and lower ability groups
C. Claiming that intelligence test scores can predict children's academic success
D. underestimating the extent to which a g factor underlies success in a wide variety of tasks
Answer: B
"Gifted child" programs can lead to ________ by implicitly labeling some students as "ungifted" and isolating them from an enriched educational environment.
A. divergent thinkingB. the Flynn effect
C. factor analysis
D. self-fulfilling prophecies
Answer: D
The similarity between the intelligence test scores of identical twins raised apart is:
A. less than that between children and their biological parentsB. equal to that between identical twins reared together
C. equal to that between fraternal twins reared together
D. greater than that between ordinary siblings reared together
Answer: D
With increasing age, adopted children's intelligence test scores become ________ like their adoptive parents' scores and ________ similar to their biological parents' scores.
A. more; moreB. less; less
C. more; less
D. less; more
Answer: D
The heritability of intelligence refers to:
A. the extent to which an individual's intelligence is attributable to genetic factorsB. the percentage of variation in intelligence within a group that is attributable to genetic factors
C. the extent to which a group's intelligence is attributable to genetic factors
D. a general underlying intelligence factor that is measured by every task on an intelligence test
Answer: C
The importance of environmental influences on intelligence is provided by evidence that:
A. fraternal twins have more similar intelligence test scores than do ordinary siblingsB. intellectual development of neglected children in impoverished environments is often retarded
C. Head Start programs for disadvantaged children can decrease the likelihood of their having to repeat a grade in school
D. all of the above are true
Answer: B
On average, the intelligence test scores of the Dingbats are much higher than those of the Dodes. The difference in the average test scores of the two groups might be a product of:
A. genetic differences between two groups with similar environmentsB. environmental differences between two groups with similar genetics
C. genetic and environmental differences between the two groups
D. any of the above
Answer: D
Girls are most likely to outperform boys in a(n):
A. spelling beeB. math test
C. computer programming contest
D. chess tournament
Answer: A
Males are most likely to outnumber females in a class designed for high school students gifted in:
A. readingB. speech
C. mathematics
D. a foreign language
Answer: C
Research on gender and emotional intelligence suggests that women are more skilled than men at:
A. avoiding the experience of emotional ambivalenceB. preventing emotions from distorting reasoning
C. interpreting others' facial expressions of emotion
D. delaying emotional gratification in pursuit of long-term goals
Answer: C
Everyone would agree that intelligence tests are "biased" in the sense that:
A. test performance is influenced by cultural experiencesB. the reliability of intelligence tests is close to zero
C. the heritability of intelligence is very high
D. numerical scores of intelligence serve to dehumanize individuals
Answer: A
Experts who defend intelligence tests against the charge of being culturally biased and discriminatory would be most likely to highlight the ________ of intelligence tests.
A. factor analysisB. content validity
C. predictive validity
D. reliability
Answer: C
When completing a verbal aptitude test, members of an ethnic minority group are particularly likely to perform below their true ability levels if they believe that the test:
A. is a measure of emotional intelligence as well as academic intelligenceB. assesses their interests as well as their abilities
C. is biased against members of their own ethnic group
D. results in a distribution of scores that form a bell-shaped curve
Answer: C
Jim, age 55, plays basketball with much younger adults and is concerned that his teammates might consider his age to be a detriment to their game outcome. His concern actually undermines his athletic performance. This best illustrates the impact of:
A. the Flynn effect
B. divergent thinking
C. extrinsic motivation
D. stereotype threat
Answer: D