Deck 9: Intelligence and Psychological Testing

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

an aptitude test.

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

a personality test.

Question 3

____ 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 3

Intelligence; personality

Question 4

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.

Question 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 9

____ 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 10

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 11

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 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

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 14

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 15

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.

Question 16

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 17

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 18

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 19

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 20

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 21

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 22

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 23

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 24

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 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

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 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

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 29

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

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

Question 30

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 31

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 32

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

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

Question 33

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

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

Question 34

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

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

Question 35

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 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

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 38

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 39

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 40

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 41

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 42

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 43

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 44

Which British scholar concluded in his book Hereditary Genius that success runs in families because great intelligence is passed from generation to generation through genetic inheritance?

A) Theodore Simon
B) Alfred Binet
C) Francis Galton
D) Lewis Terman

Question 45

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.

Question 46

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 47

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 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

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 50

If you are told that Philip displays the mental ability typical of an 11-year-old child,you know Philip's ____ is 11.

A) age
B) mental age
C) chronological age
D) estimated age

Question 51

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 52

When 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 53

Which of the following is NOT a type of validity?

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

Question 54

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 55

The man responsible for developing the first intelligence tests designed to predict the school performance of children was

A) Alfred Binet.
B) David Wechsler.
C) Lewis Terman.
D) Jean Piaget.

Question 56

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 57

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 58

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 59

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 60

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 61

(Mental age/chronological age)´ 100 yields

A) a Binet quotient.
B) an achievement quotient.
C) a maturity quotient.
D) an intelligence quotient.

Question 62

The type of intelligence that involves applying acquired knowledge to solve problems is known as

A) crystallized intelligence.
B) fluid intelligence.
C) kinesthetic intelligence.
D) spatial intelligence.

Question 63

When Charmaine was 10 years old,she completed the original Binet-Simon scale.She answered all the questions that a typical six-year-old would answer,but none of the questions a typical seven-year-old would answer.Based on this information,Charmaine's mental age would be

A) 10 years.
B) 6 years.
C) 8 years.
D) 60 years.

Question 64

Todd has very strong reasoning ability and he is able to process information very quickly.It is clear that Todd is high in

A) crystallized intelligence.
B) Stanford intelligence.
C) passive intelligence.
D) fluid intelligence.

Question 65

If a child who is 10 years old has a mental age of 12,the child's IQ would be

A) 80.
B) 100.
C) 120.
D) 140.

Question 66

Which of the following is NOT one of the primary mental abilities proposed by Thurstone?

A) convergent thinking
B) inductive reasoning
C) numerical abilitiy
D) word fluency

Question 67

Shawna's IQ score was calculated using the formula developed by Lewis Terman,and the result was 92.This indicates that

A) Shawna's chronological age is greater than her mental age.
B) Shawna's mental age is greater than her chronological age.
C) Shawna's mental age and chronological age are the same.
D) the IQ score calculation was done incorrectly.

Question 68

The notion that all cognitive abilities share a core factor,labeled "g," was proposed by:

A) Spearman
B) Galton
C) Thustone
D) Stern

Question 69

Which technique analyzes correlations among many variables to identify closely related clusters?

A) standard deviation
B) central tendency
C) factor analysis
D) thematic apperception

Question 70

The Binet-Simon scale of intelligence expressed a child's score in terms of

A) mental age.
B) a potential score.
C) a percentile score.
D) an intelligence quotient.

Question 71

Fiona is 8 years old and has a mental age of 10,based on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.Denise is 10 and has a mental age of 12,based on the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale.Using the intelligence quotient scoring system suggested by William Stern,

A) Denise would be considered "more" intelligent than Fiona.
B) Fiona would be considered "more" intelligent than Denise.
C) both girls would be considered equally intelligent.
D) the scores could not be meaningfully compared because the girls are not the same age.

Question 72

Who pioneered the idea that the bell curve could be applied to psychological characteristics?

A) Alfred Binet
B) Charles Spearman
C) Francis Galton
D) Theodore Simon

Question 73

The original French intelligence test was revised and renamed the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale by

A) Lewis Terman.
B) James Stanford.
C) Francis Galton.
D) David Wechsler.

Question 74

When tested on the Binet-Simon scale,Ada is found to have a mental age of 8.This means

A) that she is intellectually impaired.
B) that her performance was as good as that of an average 8-year-old child.
C) that her score is 8 standard deviation units above the average score.
D) that her IQ is 80.

Question 75

The type of intelligence that includes memory capacity and speed of information processing is known as

A) crystallized intelligence.
B) secondary intelligence.
C) passive intelligence.
D) fluid intelligence.

Question 76

Contemporary IQ tests characterize intelligence as

A) a single unitary ability.
B) consisting of 10-15 primary abilities.
C) consisting of 20-30 primary abilities.
D) consisting of more than 100 primary abilities.

Question 77

Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon devised the first intelligence test in 1905 in order to

A) predict future life success.
B) provide support for the belief that intelligence is genetically determined.
C) provide support for the belief that intelligence is environmentally determined.
D) predict the school performance of children.

Question 78

Which theorist set out to improve on the measurement of intelligence in adults with an intelligence test with two major innovations; the first was that the score was less dependent on a subject's verbal ability and the second was the use of a deviation intelligence quotient?

A) Sir Francis Galton
B) Lewis Terman
C) Theodore Simon
D) David Wechsler

Question 79

Who carved intelligence into seven distinct factors called primary mental abilities?

A) Wechsler
B) Terman
C) Spearman
D) Thurstone

Question 80

Regarding the debate about the structure of intelligence that lasted many decades,it is clear that

A) the vast majority of intelligence tests are designed to tap g.
B) the vast majority of intelligence tests are designed to tap primary mental abilities.
C) the vast majority of intelligence tests are designed to tap convergent thinking.
D) the vast majority of intelligence tests are designed to tap n.