Deck 17: Intelligence and Psychological Testing Part 1

Question 1

At the end of her calculus course, Mary takes a test to determine how well she has mastered the material. Her calculus test is primarily

A) an achievement test.
B) an intelligence test.
C) an aptitude test.
D) a test of her math potential.

Answer 1

an achievement test.

Question 2

____ tests measure general mental ability and ____ tests measure various aspects of people including motives, interests, values and attitudes.

A) Standardized; intelligence
B) Intelligence; standardized
C) Personality; standardized
D) Intelligence; personality

Answer 2

Intelligence; personality

Question 3

Francis has applied for admission to a computer science program, and one of the requirements for admission is the completion of a test that measures sequencing skills and abstract reasoning skills. Her score on this test will be a major factor in the decision about whether to admit her to the program. In this case, the test that Francis is scheduled to take would be classified as

A) an achievement test.
B) a projective test.
C) a normative test.
D) an aptitude test.

Answer 3

an aptitude test.

Question 4

Interested in learning how to fly airplanes, Roger has just taken a test designed to predict how well he is likely to do in a pilot training program. Roger has taken a(n)

A) achievement test.
B) aptitude test.
C) intelligence test.
D) test of general mental ability.

Question 5

If you wanted to gauge a person's mastery and knowledge in a specific area, such as mathematics, you would need to administer

A) an achievement test.
B) an aptitude test, such as the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT).
C) a self-report inventory.
D) an intelligence test, such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS).

Question 6

An elementary school child is given a test designed to determine whether or not she should be placed in a class of "gifted" children. The test is probably

A) an intelligence test.
B) an achievement test.
C) a personality test.
D) a vocabulary test.

Question 7

Leo wants to become a fighter pilot, and he is asked to complete a test that is designed to determine if he has the interests and the values typically found in fighter pilots. In this example, the test that Leo is asked to complete would be classified as

A) an aptitude test.
B) an achievement test.
C) a personality test.
D) a non-standardized test.

Question 8

____ tests measure specific types of mental abilities and ____ tests measure a person's mastery and knowledge of various subjects.

A) Aptitude; intelligence
B) Intelligence; achievement
C) Aptitude; achievement
D) Achievement; aptitude

Question 9

The two very broad categories of psychological tests are

A) mental ability and personality tests.
B) intelligence and achievement tests.
C) interest tests and aptitude tests.
D) aptitude and attitude tests.

Question 10

Standardized tests designed to predict how well you will do in college are most appropriately called

A) aptitude tests.
B) intelligence tests.
C) personality tests.
D) predictive tests.

Question 11

The two broad categories of psychological tests are

A) personality and achievement tests.
B) mental ability and personality tests.
C) mental ability and aptitude tests.
D) aptitude and achievement tests.

Question 12

Walter has taken a test that attempts to assess his interests and attitudes. Walter has most likely taken

A) an achievement test.
B) an aptitude test.
C) a correlational test.
D) a personality test.

Question 13

Which of the following does NOT characterize a psychological test?

A) Psychological tests allow one to predict behavior with great accuracy.
B) Psychological tests are samples of behavior.
C) Psychological tests are standardized measures of behavior.
D) Psychological tests measure individual differences.

Question 14

Any psychological test should be seen as

A) measuring the person's typical behavior.
B) tapping the constancies of a person's behavior.
C) a sample of a person's behavior.
D) tapping a person's absolute level of performance.

Question 15

Madisen has just completed a two-year internship with a law firm. She takes a test that is designed to assess her current knowledge of general legal principles. In this case, the test that Madisen takes would be classified as

A) an intelligence test.
B) an aptitude test.
C) an achievement test.
D) a projective test.

Question 16

Exams given at the end of a course to determine how much you have learned in the course are most appropriately called

A) intelligence tests.
B) abilities tests.
C) tests of general mental ability.
D) achievement tests.

Question 17

The test you are currently taking is an example of what kind of test?

A) an achievement test
B) an intelligence test
C) an aptitude test
D) a test of your psychology potential

Question 18

An achievement test measures

A) a person's mastery and knowledge of a subject.
B) general mental ability.
C) talent for specific kinds of learning.
D) basic characteristics of one's personality.

Question 19

In trying to make a decision about a career that would fit your abilities and interest, you would probably want to take a test that would measure your potential or talent for specific kinds of activities. A test that would measure this sort of potential would most likely be

A) an achievement test.
B) an aptitude test.
C) an intelligence test.
D) a test of general mental ability.

Question 20

A spelling test is an example of an

A) intelligence test.
B) analytical test.
C) aptitude test.
D) achievement test.

Question 21

Sawyer scored at the 40th percentile on the mathematical component of the ACT Assessment. This means that, for the mathematical section of the ACT,

A) he incorrectly answered 40% of the questions on the exam.
B) he obtained a raw score of 40.
C) he scored higher than 60% of the sample used to establish the test norms.
D) he scored lower than 60% of the sample used to establish the test norms.

Question 22

Information about where a particular score on a test falls in relationship to some group is given by

A) standardization information.
B) test outcome data.
C) test reliability.
D) test norms.

Question 23

Which of the following statements concerning psychological tests is false?

A) aptitude tests assess specific types of mental abilities
B) personality tests measure various aspects of personality including motives, interests, and values
C) intelligence tests measure a person's mastery and knowledge of various subjects
D) mental ability tests include intelligence, aptitude, and achievement tests

Question 24

If a test yields highly similar scores in separate testing sessions it is said to be

A) valid.
B) predictability.
C) reliable.
D) representative.

Question 25

A group of sixth-graders all took a 100 word spelling test in order to qualify for the city-wide spelling bee contest. If a child needed to score in the top 20% of applicants to qualify, which one of the following students definitely qualified for the spelling bee?

A) Aaron who placed in the 15th percentile
B) Barbara who spelled 80% of the words correctly
C) Connor who placed at the 90th percentile
D) Della who spelled 85 words correctly

Question 26

An individual's percentile score is the percentage of people who

A) score above his or her score.
B) score at or below his or her score.
C) score between the mean and his or her score.
D) score below the mean on a standardized test.

Question 27

Brenna took a test designed to measure her creativity. She tells you that her final score on the test was 70. She knows you are taking a psychology class, so she asks you what this score means. You should tell Brenna

A) that you can't interpret her score without knowing the norms for the test.
B) 70 is probably a high score since most tests have a maximum score of 80.
C) she will need to take the test again before her score can be accurately interpreted.
D) 70 is probably a low score since most tests have an average score of 100.

Question 28

Uniform and consistent procedures for administering and scoring tests are known as

A) reliability.
B) standardization.
C) validity.
D) representativeness.

Question 29

If 30 percent of a reference group scored higher than you on a test, your score would be

A) at the 30th percentile.
B) at the 70th percentile.
C) at the 29th percentile.
D) indeterminate from the available information.

Question 30

Test norms

A) refer to uniform procedures used in the administration and scoring of a test.
B) provide information about where a score on a psychological test ranks in relation to other scores.
C) refer to the measurement consistency of a test.
D) indicate the percentage of people who score at or below the score one has obtained.

Question 31

When Francesca took the ACT Assessment this year, she was allowed to use a graphing calculator on the mathematics portion of the exam. Her older sister is surprised, because when she took the test six years ago, calculators were not allowed for any portion of the exam. This suggests that

A) it would be difficult to meaningfully compare Francesca's score with the score her sister obtained.
B) Francesca probably earned a higher score on the exam than her sister did.
C) the current form of the ACT Assessment has poor construct validity.
D) Francesca's score is probably less reliable than her sister's score.

Question 32

The term that refers to the measurement of a test that examines whether the measurement is consistent is

A) reliability.
B) predictability.
C) validity.
D) representativeness.

Question 33

If your score falls at the 75th percentile on a standardized test, which of the following is an accurate interpretation?

A) You correctly answered 75% of the items on the test.
B) 75% of the people who took the test scored higher than you.
C) 75% of the people who took the test scored at or below your score.
D) Your answers to pairs of similar items on the test were the same 75% of the time.

Question 34

The fact that two people taking the same test in two different places will receive the same instructions, the same questions, and the same time limits means that the test has been

A) synchronized.
B) standardized.
C) validated.
D) regulated.

Question 35

If a psychological test is to tell you how you score relative to other people, test ____ must be developed.

A) norms
B) scores
C) scales
D) levels

Question 36

Ishmael and Aliyah were enrolled in different sections of the same course. When Aliyah was taking her midterm exam, there was a lecture being held in the next room. This distracted her and made it difficult for her to concentrate on her exam. When Ishmael wrote his midterm exam, the room next door was empty, and he had no distractions. In this example, the administration of the midterm exam for this course

A) did not have high test-retest reliability.
B) was not standardized across the two course sections.
C) would have poor construct validity.
D) did not have adequate test norms.

Question 37

Tamara scored at the 95th percentile on the logical reasoning component of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). This means that for the logical reasoning section of the GRE, she

A) obtained a raw score of 95.
B) scored higher than 95% of the sample used to establish the test norms.
C) correctly answered 95% of the questions on the exam.
D) scored lower than 95% of the sample used to establish the test norms.

Question 38

The fact that a test is given with uniform procedures in administration and scoring means that the test has been

A) normed.
B) standardized.
C) converted to percentiles.
D) converted to deviation scores.

Question 39

Psychological tests that measure a person's mastery and knowledge of various subjects are referred to as

A) achievement tests.
B) aptitude tests.
C) personality tests.
D) mental ability tests.

Question 40

If 80 percent of those who provided the basis for the test norms for a test earned scores below your score, you would be at the

A) 20th percentile.
B) 80th percentile.
C) 25th percentile.
D) 75th percentile.

Question 41

If a test yields nearly identical scores when it is retaken after a 2-month interval, the test is said to be.

A) valid.
B) reliable.
C) significant.
D) standardized

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a type of validity?

A) criterion-related validity
B) category validity
C) construct validity
D) content validity

Question 43

If retaking a test results in most individuals' receiving scores that are similar to or consistent with the scores they received the first time they took the test, the test has

A) accuracy.
B) reliability.
C) validity.
D) generalizability.

Question 44

Which type of validity is evaluated with logic more than with statistics?

A) criterion-related validity
B) category validity
C) construct validity
D) content validity

Question 45

Dr. Carmody has designed a new critical thinking assessment test. He administers the test to a group of students in October. In April, he tests the same students and finds that the overall correlation between the two sets of scores is +0.91. Based on this information, Dr. Carmody could conclude that his new test

A) likely has low construct validity.
B) appears to have high test-retest reliability.
C) has been well standardized.
D) will have high criterion-related validity.

Question 46

Criterion-related validity is

A) estimated by correlating subjects' scores on a test with their scores on an independent criterion (another measure) of the trait assessed by the test.
B) the degree to which the content of a test is representative of the domain it's supposed to cover.
C) the measurement consistency of a test.
D) the extent to which there is evidence that a test measures a particular hypothetical construct.

Question 47

Dr. Iverson has had 25 students who have repeated her advanced Economics class over the past five years. Each time, the students' grades for the second attempt in her course were nearly identical to the grades received on the first attempt. This leads Dr. Iverson to conclude that her testing procedures

A) provide valid measures of student ability.
B) are well standardized.
C) provide reliable measures of student ability.
D) successfully measures abstract reasoning skills.

Question 48

Dr. Darden is concerned about whether or not the final exam in his physics class accurately measures a student's accumulated knowledge about core concepts from the course. It appears that Dr. Darden is most concerned with the

A) reliability of his final exam.
B) standardization of his final exam.
C) impact of confounding factors on his final exam.
D) validity of his final exam.

Question 49

Reliability refers to the ____ of a measuring device such as a test.

A) consistency
B) predictability
C) accuracy of inference
D) representativeness

Question 50

If a test accurately measures what it was designed to measure, we would say that the test is

A) valid.
B) empirical.
C) normative.
D) consistent.

Question 51

Destiny recently completed the Artistic Reasoning Test (ART) for the third time in four months. The first time he took the test, his score was near the middle of the scale. The second time, he scored near the top of the scale; but for the most recent test, he scored near the bottom of the scale. Destiny's scores for this test indicate that the test

A) is measuring something other than Artistic Reasoning Skills.
B) has low reliability.
C) has not been properly standardized.
D) has poor construct validity.

Question 52

Test-retest procedures are used to determine a test's

A) content validity.
B) reliability.
C) criterion validity.
D) accuracy.

Question 53

Reliability refers to the

A) ability of a test to measure what it was designed to measure.
B) numerical index that describes the degree of relationship between two variables.
C) extent to which there is evidence that a test measures a particular hypothetical construct.
D) measurement consistency of a test.

Question 54

A method for determining the reliability of a test taker's score by comparing scores on separate testing sessions is known as

A) content reliability.
B) test-retest reliability.
C) construct reliability.
D) criterion-related reliability.

Question 55

A valid test is one that

A) is consistent.
B) is reliable.
C) measures what it is supposed to measure.
D) has been standardized but not normed.

Question 56

Which of the following represents the strongest test-retest reliability for a test?

A) 0.00
B) -0.75
C) +0.70
D) +0.90

Question 57

Which statistical method is used to determine the reliability of a test?

A) means
B) standard deviations
C) percentiles
D) correlation coefficients

Question 58

Dr. Karlyle has developed a new logical reasoning test. She administers the test to a group of incoming freshman. The next year, she tests the same students, who are now sophomores, and finds that the overall correlation between the two sets of scores is -0.25. Based on this information, Dr. Karlyle should conclude that her new test

A) has been poorly standardized.
B) will have high criterion-related validity.
C) has low test-retest reliability.
D) has high test-retest reliability.

Question 59

If a psychological test does, in fact, measure what it was designed to measure, the test has

A) accuracy.
B) validity.
C) reliability.
D) generalizability.

Question 60

Which of the following statements regarding acceptable levels of test reliability is accurate?

A) Reliability estimates must be equal to or higher than .50.
B) Reliability estimates must be equal to or higher than .70.
C) Reliability estimates must be .50 or higher for a personality test, and .70 or higher for a test of mental ability.
D) There are no absolute guidelines about acceptable levels of reliability.

Question 61

Conrad's economic's professor tells the class that the next exam will cover Chapters 5 though 7 of their text. The day of the exam, the professor accidentally photocopies the exam from the previous semester, which includes a number of questions from Chapters 8 and 9. In this case, the students might reasonably argue that the exam

A) had poor construct validity.
B) lacked reliability.
C) had been improperly standardized.
D) had poor content validity.

Question 62

Criterion-related validity is established by

A) logic and theory testing.
B) having experts in the field assess the items on the test.
C) examining correlation coefficients for repeated administrations of the test.
D) correlating scores on the test with another trait associated with the test.

Question 63

When a test performance is compared to other independent criteria currently available to access a given trait the psychologists is measuring

A) criterion-related validity.
B) construct validity.
C) test-retest validity.
D) content validity.

Question 64

If you wanted to be able to predict how successful you would be at being an engineer, you would take a test that measured your potential for this profession. It is hoped that the test would be high in

A) criterion-related validity.
B) internal validity.
C) construction validity.
D) hypothetical validity.

Question 65

For which of the following would it be the MOST difficult to demonstrate validity?

A) a mechanical aptitude test
B) a history test
C) a secretarial aptitude test
D) a test of creativity

Question 66

If you were to develop a psychological test to measure an abstract personal quality such as intelligence or extraversion, you should be most concerned with demonstrating that the test has

A) criterion-related validity.
B) category validity.
C) construct validity.
D) content validity.

Question 67

The extent to which a test measures some abstract personal quality, such as creativity or intelligence, is a matter of

A) criterion-related validity.
B) content validity.
C) construct validity.
D) face validity.

Question 68

The correlation between a group's scores on an industrial aptitude test and actual performance on the industrial job would describe the test's

A) content validity.
B) construct validity.
C) criterion-related validity.
D) reliability.

Question 69

If you were to develop a psychological test to measure an abstract personal quality such as intelligence or extraversion, you should be most concerned with demonstrating that the test has

A) criterion-related validity.
B) category validity.
C) construct validity.
D) content validity.

Question 70

At the beginning of the semester, all the students enrolled in Tommy's fitness class are required to take a test designed to assess their current fitness level. The test assesses each student's fat to muscle ratio, asks a number of questions about lifestyle and personal habits, and also measures aerobic function and stress response. In this case, it appears that the preliminary fitness test

A) has been well standardized.
B) is likely to have high construct validity.
C) is likely to have low criterion-related validity.
D) is likely to have high reliability.

Question 71

If a test designed to measure extroversion correlates negatively with measures of social discomfort, correlates positively with measures of sociability, and has low correlations with measures of intelligence, you could conclude that the test has

A) low construct validity.
B) low test norms.
C) high construct validity.
D) high reliability.

Question 72

Professor Ridley is known for giving fair exams that include only test items for which the student should have been prepared. Professor Ridley's exams can be said to be high in

A) criterion-related validity.
B) content validity.
C) predictive validity.
D) standardized validity.

Question 73

Professor Meeny has been known to administer exams that have exam questions on topics not covered in the course. Professor Meeny's students are upset at the fact that his exams are so low in

A) reliability.
B) predictive validity.
C) content validity.
D) concept validity.

Question 74

Galton attempted to measure intelligence in order to demonstrate that intelligence was determined by

A) heredity.
B) experience.
C) neither heredity nor experience.
D) both heredity and experience.

Question 75

Dr. Clarke designs a test she believes will predict an individual's ability to perform in managerial positions. When Dr. Clark administers her test to 100 managers at Aldor Corporation, she finds that some of the best managers do well on the test, but others do quite poorly. Dr. Clarke should probably conclude that her test

A) lacks criterion-related validity.
B) lacks content validity.
C) is not well standardized.
D) is unreliable.

Question 76

Which of the following is not one of the items Galton measured in order to assess intelligence?

A) color perception
B) brain size
C) sensitivity to high-pitched sounds
D) reaction time

Question 77

If the scores on a mechanical aptitude test are strongly correlated with performance in an auto mechanics training class, the test would be said to be high in

A) reliability.
B) face validity.
C) construction validity.
D) criterion-related validity.

Question 78

The degree to which the items on a test are representative of the domain it is supposed to cover is referred to as

A) test reliability.
B) test convergence.
C) content validity.
D) criterion validity.

Question 79

Silas took the College Aptitude Test (CAT) when he was a junior in high school, and he attained a very high score on the test. When Silas was in college, he was suspended his first year, and when he was readmitted, he ended up dropping out because he was doing poorly in all his classes. When Silas went for career counseling, he retook the CAT, and again he earned a very high score. Based on Silas' experience, you might conclude that the CAT has

A) been poorly standardized.
B) high reliability, but low validity.
C) high validity, but low reliability.
D) low reliability, and low validity.

Question 80

Lanette is arguing with her professor that questions on her last test were not covered during lectures or in the textbook. Lanette is basically arguing that the test did NOT have

A) criterion-related reliability.
B) test-retest reliability.
C) criterion-related validity.
D) content validity.