Deck 31: Introduction to Intelligence

Question 1

The impact of early environmental influences on intelligence is most apparent among young children who experience

A) stereotype threat.
B) epigenetics.
C) a growth mindset.
D) minimal interaction with caregivers.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Poverty,sensory deprivation,and social isolation are most likely to

A) reduce heritability estimates.
B) hinder brain development.
C) foster stereotype threat.
D) reduce the predictive validity of intelligence tests.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Juan,who teaches ninth-grade science,explains to his students that the brain is like a muscle;it grows stronger with use as neuron connections grow.Praising his students' efforts rather than their ability encourages their _____,which causes them to attribute success to hard work.

A) growth mindset
B) heritability
C) polygenetic development
D) genetic predisposition

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The proportion of variation in intelligence among individuals that is attributable to genetic variation is known as the ________ of intelligence.

A) polygenetics
B) heritability
C) predictive validity
D) behavior genetics

Question 5

J.McVicker Hunt began a training program for the caregivers in an Iranian orphanage.This program trained caregivers to

A) ignore babies' crying.
B) imitate babies' babbling.
C) calculate babies' intelligence quotients.
D) do all of these things.

Question 6

Carla and Nathan want to enhance their infant's cognitive development through early exposure to a variety of special educational lessons.Research has demonstrated that

A) there is no environmental recipe for fast-forwarding a normal infant into a genius.
B) these efforts will decrease the chance of increasing their child's intelligence.
C) the more these parents spend on special educational programs the greater the advancements in the child's intelligence.
D) these educational programs will work but the parents need find the right program with the right instructors.

Question 7

Identical twins Madison and Claire live with their biological parents.Madison scored 120 on an intelligence test he took when he was 12 years old.Claire took the same test.What would you predict Claire's score to be?

A) very close to 120
B) as dissimilar as the scores of siblings raised together
C) as dissimilar as the scores of siblings raised apart
D) It is impossible to compare the scores of identical twins raised together.

Question 8

Seven-year-old Tyrone lives in Appalachia,where his father makes a poverty-level living by growing corn for sale at the local market.Tyrone's cognitive development is likely to be depressed because

A) he is deprived of normal sensory stimulation.
B) his teachers are not well qualified.
C) he is socially isolated.
D) of all of these factors.

Question 9

The variation in intelligence is determined by many genes,each of which accounts for much less than 1 percent of the variation.This suggests that intelligence is

A) not heritable.
B) stable across the life span.
C) determined by a growth mindset.
D) a polygenetic trait.

Question 10

Research indicates that Head Start programs

A) fail to produce even short-term improvements in participants' mental skills.
B) contribute to dramatic long-term gains in participants' intelligence test scores.
C) promote aptitude benefits,which generally fade over time.
D) are beneficial only to participants from very intellectually stimulating home environments.

Question 11

With increasing age,identical twins' intelligence test scores become ________ positively correlated.With increasing age,adoptive siblings' scores become ________ positively correlated.

A) more;more
B) less;less
C) more;less
D) less;more

Question 12

Twin and adoption studies are helpful for assessing

A) the validity of intelligence tests.
B) whether intelligence tests are biased.
C) the heritability of intelligence.
D) group differences in intelligence test scores.

Question 13

The intelligence scores of adopted children are LEAST likely to be positively correlated with the scores of their adoptive siblings during

A) childhood.
B) early adolescence.
C) late adolescence.
D) adulthood.

Question 14

The similarity between intelligence test scores of fraternal twins raised together is

A) equal to that between identical twins raised apart.
B) less than that between children and their biological parents.
C) equal to that between ordinary siblings raised together.
D) less than that between identical twins raised apart.

Question 15

The heritability of intelligence is highest among

A) genetically similar individuals who have been raised in similar environments.
B) genetically similar individuals who have been raised in different environments.
C) genetically different individuals who have been raised in similar environments.
D) genetically different individuals who have been raised in different environments.

Question 16

Research on the determinants of intelligence indicates that

A) interest in the heritability of intelligence has declined significantly during the past decade.
B) both genes and environment have some influence on intelligence scores.
C) there are no scientific methods for assessing the heritability of intelligence.
D) there is no relationship between people's position on the determinants of intelligence and their social or political attitudes.

Question 17

Carolynn's identical twin sons are participating in a research study that includes MRI scans.The MRI findings will most likely indicate that

A) the areas in their brains associated with verbal intelligence are very different.
B) the areas in their brains associated with spatial intelligence are very different.
C) they have very similar gray-matter volume.
D) they have very different gray-matter volume.

Question 18

Which of the following observations provides the BEST evidence that intelligence test scores are influenced by environment?

A) Identical twins raised apart are less similar in their intelligence scores than identical twins raised together.
B) The intelligence scores of children are positively correlated with those of their parents.
C) Identical twins are more similar in their intelligence scores than are fraternal twins.
D) The intelligence scores of siblings raised together are positively correlated.

Question 19

The heritability of intelligence among children of less-educated parents is relatively

A) low because of the relatively small differences in their environmental settings.
B) low because of the relatively large differences in their environmental settings.
C) high because of the relatively small differences in their environmental settings.
D) high because of the relatively large differences in their environmental settings.

Question 20

Intelligence test scores differ most between

A) identical twins raised apart.
B) fraternal twins raised together.
C) identical twins raised together.
D) nontwin siblings raised together.

Question 21

Blacks have been found to score lower on tests of verbal aptitude when tested by Whites than when tested by Blacks.This best illustrates the impact of

A) polygenetics.
B) predictive validity.
C) stereotype threat.
D) the growth mindset.

Question 22

Compared with men,women are ________ capable of remembering objects' spatial locations and they are ________ sensitive to taste and color.

A) more;less
B) less;more
C) more;more
D) less;less

Question 23

The distribution of intelligence test scores among ________ Americans is represented by the normal curve.

A) White
B) Hispanic
C) Black
D) members of any of these groups of

Question 24

Psychologists would be likely to agree that

A) intelligence tests have greater predictive validity for men than for women.
B) intelligence tests have comparable predictive validity for Whites and Blacks.
C) intelligence tests have less predictive validity for poor students than for rich students.
D) all of these statements are true.

Question 25

Support programs that suggest minority students cannot succeed without special academic help may unintentionally promote

A) the growth mindset.
B) stereotype threat.
C) polygenetic effects.
D) epigenetic effects.

Question 26

On which of the following tasks are men most likely to outperform women?

A) speed reading
B) interpreting literature
C) learning a foreign language
D) mentally rotating three-dimensional objects

Question 27

Compared with North American students,Asian students score ________ on math achievement tests and spend ________ time studying math in school.

A) lower;less
B) higher;less
C) lower;more
D) higher;more

Question 28

You are giving a speech about the reasons Asian students outperform North American students on math achievement and aptitude tests.Which of the following findings would be INCORRECT to cite?

A) North American students spend much less time studying math in school.
B) Asian students spend much more time studying math outside of school.
C) Asian students attend school 30 percent more days per year.
D) These tests are biased negatively toward North American students.

Question 29

On which of the following tasks are women most likely to perform as well as or better than men?

A) playing checkers
B) reciting poetry
C) playing video games
D) copying geometric designs

Question 30

Students are most likely to develop a "growth mindset" that results in a focus on learning when they believe that intelligence is

A) changeable.
B) polygenetic.
C) inherited.
D) epigenetic.

Question 31

Psychologists generally agree that intelligence test scores are ________ in terms of being sensitive to differences caused by cultural experiences and are ________ in terms of their predictive validity for different groups.

A) biased;biased
B) biased;not biased
C) not biased;biased
D) not biased;not biased

Question 32

Research on racial differences in intelligence indicates that

A) Black Americans typically receive higher scores than White Americans on nonverbal intelligence test questions.
B) there is currently no difference in the average academic aptitude test scores received by Black and White Americans.
C) on average,Black Americans perform less well than White Americans on intelligence tests.
D) among Black Americans,those with the most African ancestry receive the highest intelligence scores.

Question 33

Experts who defend intelligence tests against accusations of racial bias note that racial differences in intelligence test scores

A) have increased in the past decade despite the introduction of less culturally biased test items.
B) occur on nonverbal as well as verbal intelligence test subscales.
C) are a clear indication that the heritability of intelligence approaches 100 percent.
D) are just as significant as intelligence differences among members of a single race.

Question 34

Twenty-two-year-old Teresa is a Black woman scheduled to take the GRE.To ensure her best performance and reduce the chance of stereotype threat,which of the following situations would you recommend for her?

A) She should take the test in a room with both men and women present.
B) A Black woman should administer the test.
C) A White woman should administer the test.
D) Teresa will not be influenced by the race of the people administering or taking the test.

Question 35

If the heritability of intelligence within both group A and group B is 100 percent,differences in average intelligence between these groups might result from

A) environmental differences if the two groups are genetically similar.
B) genetic differences if the two groups have similar environments.
C) both genetic and environmental differences between the two groups.
D) any of these situations.

Question 36

In Asia and Russia,teen girls have scored _______ boys in an international science exam;in North America and Britain,teen girls have scored ________ boys.

A) higher than;higher than
B) lower than;lower than
C) higher than;lower than
D) lower than;higher than

Question 37

A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on an unwarranted negative impression is characteristic of

A) the Obama effect.
B) a heritability estimate.
C) predictive validity.
D) stereotype threat.

Question 38

Self-fulfilling expectations are most likely to be triggered by

A) heritability.
B) epigenetics.
C) polygenetics.
D) stereotype threat.

Question 39

Males' reading ability scores vary ________ than females' scores,and males' math test performance scores vary ________ than females' scores.

A) less;more
B) more;less
C) less;less
D) more;more

Question 40

Intelligence tests are most likely to be considered culturally biased in terms of their

A) content validity.
B) predictive validity.
C) social construction.
D) heritability.

Question 41

Intelligence test scores are LEAST similar for

A) nontwin siblings raised together.
B) fraternal twins raised together.
C) identical twins raised together.
D) identical twins raised apart.

Question 42

Which of the following observations provides the best evidence that intelligence test scores are influenced by environment?

A) Identical twins raised apart are less similar in their intelligence scores than identical twins raised together.
B) The intelligence scores of children are positively correlated with those of their parents.
C) Identical twins are more similar in their intelligence scores than are fraternal twins.
D) The intelligence scores of siblings raised together are positively correlated.

Question 43

Professor McKenzie's research suggests that approximately 30 percent of the variation in SAT scores among a large group of high school students can be attributed to genetic differences among the students.The 30-percent figure represents an assessment of

A) polygenetic factors.
B) the family-environment effect.
C) heritability.
D) general intelligence.

Question 44

The heritability of intelligence refers to

A) the extent to which an individual's intelligence is attributable to genetic factors.
B) the proportion of variation in intelligence among individuals that is attributable to genetic variation.
C) the extent to which the distribution of intelligence scores of a group approximates a normal curve.
D) a general underlying intelligence factor that is measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Question 45

Girls are likely to outperform boys in a

A) spelling bee.
B) math problem-solving test.
C) computer-programming contest.
D) chess tournament.

Question 46

A researcher interested in enabling children to have opportunities to increase their learning would have been most enthusiastic about

A) eugenics.
B) heritability.
C) Head Start programs.
D) polygenetics.

Question 47

Women have been found to score lower on math tests when they are tested alongside men.This best illustrates the impact of

A) bias.
B) a growth mindset.
C) general intelligence.
D) stereotype threat.

Question 48

Compared with North American students,Asian students perform

A) better on math aptitude and achievements tests and they spend less time studying.
B) no better on math aptitude and achievements tests and they spend less time studying.
C) better on math aptitude and achievement tests and they spend more time studying.
D) no better on math aptitude and achievements tests and they spend more time studying.

Question 49

Today's researchers have identified many different chromosomal regions important to intelligence.This indicates that intelligence

A) is adaptive.
B) is completely genetic.
C) is polygenetic.
D) depends on the family-environment effect.

Question 50

Research suggests that girls are more skilled than boys at

A) avoiding emotional uncertainty.
B) preventing emotions from distorting reasoning.
C) detecting other people's emotions.
D) delaying emotional gratification in pursuit of long-term goals.

Question 51

When 200 researchers pooled their data on 126,559 people,all the gene variations analyzed accounted for a very ________ percentage of the differences in educational achievement among individuals in this group.This suggests that there are ________ genes that contribute to intelligence.

A) small;many
B) small;very few
C) large;many
D) large;very few

Question 52

Estimates of the heritability of intelligence range from

A) 10 to 30 percent
B) 20 to 50 percent.
C) 40 to 70 percent.
D) 50 to 80 percent.

Question 53

Brain scans reveal that identical twins' brains have ________ gray matter volume and ________ white matter volume.

A) similar;dissimilar
B) dissimilar;similar
C) similar;similar
D) dissimilar;dissimilar

Question 54

The heritability of intelligence is lowest among

A) genetically similar individuals who have been raised in similar environments.
B) genetically different individuals who have been raised in similar environments.
C) genetically similar individuals who have been raised in different environments.
D) genetically different individuals who have been raised in different environments.

Question 55

The similarity between the intelligence test scores of identical twins raised apart is

A) less than that between children and their biological parents.
B) equal to that between identical twins raised together.
C) equal to that between fraternal twins raised together.
D) greater than that between ordinary siblings raised together.

Question 56

In one massive study of 11,000 twin pairs in four countries,the heritability of general intelligence (g)________ between middle childhood and adolescence and it ________ between adolescence and young adulthood.

A) decreased;decreased
B) increased;increased
C) decreased;increased
D) increased;decreased

Question 57

The similarity between intelligence scores of fraternal twins raised together is

A) equal to that between identical twins raised apart.
B) less than that between children and their biological parents.
C) equal to that between ordinary siblings raised together.
D) less than that between identical twins raised apart.

Question 58

Stereotype threat is most likely to depress female students' performance on a difficult ________ test and to depress male students' performance on a difficult ________ test.

A) math problem-solving;verbal fluency
B) verbal fluency;math problem-solving
C) spatial abilities;athletic abilities
D) athletic abilities;spatial abilities

Question 59

Trevor believes he is increasing his intelligence by devoting a lot of time and disciplined effort into completing his schoolwork assignments.Trevor's disciplined effort is most clearly encouraged by

A) test standardization.
B) emotional intelligence.
C) predictive validity.
D) a growth mindset.

Question 60

Which of the following observations provides the BEST evidence that intelligence test scores are influenced by heredity?

A) Japanese children have higher average intelligence scores than do American children.
B) Identical twins raised together are more similar in their intelligence scores than identical twins raised separately.
C) The intelligence scores of children are positively correlated with the intelligence scores of their parents.
D) Identical twins raised separately are more similar in their intelligence scores than fraternal twins raised together.

Question 61

When promised money for doing well on an intelligence test,adolescents in four dozen studies scored higher.This best illustrates that intelligence test performance is influenced by

A) motivation.
B) stereotype threat.
C) a growth mindset.
D) epigenetics.

Question 62

In one massive study of 11,000 twin pairs in four countries,the heritability of general intelligence was found to be greatest during

A) early childhood.
B) middle childhood.
C) adolescence.
D) young adulthood.

Question 63

Psychologist Carol Dweck believes that training students to believe that intelligence is changeable,not fixed,can help them develop ________,in which students attribute their successes to hard work,not to fixed intelligence.

A) their general intelligence
B) their epigenetics
C) their polygenetics
D) a growth mindset

Question 64

With increasing age,adopted children's verbal ability scores become ________ positively correlated with their adoptive parents' scores and ________ positively correlated with their biological parents' scores.

A) more;more
B) less;less
C) more;less
D) less;more

Question 65

Males' mental ability scores show greater ________ than females' mental ability scores.

A) stability
B) heritability
C) variability
D) growth mind-set

Question 66

Sarah comes from a loving but poor family.Her family wants her to do well in school,and so has enrolled her in a program to boost her cognitive and social skills,called

A) Project Epigenetics.
B) Project Growth Mindset.
C) Project Head Start.
D) Project Polygenetics.

Question 67

Tahir teaches ninth-grade science classes in a high school located in an economically deprived area of a large city.He stresses to his students that their effort is just as important,if not more important,than their current ability because their brain is still growing and developing.Tahir is trying to help his students through fostering

A) their general intelligence.
B) epigenetics.
C) their growth mindset.
D) polygenetics.

Question 68

Girls are most likely to outperform boys in a

A) grammar test.
B) mathematical reasoning test.
C) computer programming contest.
D) chess tournament.

Question 69

The importance of environmental influences on intelligence is provided by evidence that

A) general intelligence scores predict performance on a variety of complex tasks.
B) the cognitive development of neglected children is often delayed.
C) identical twins raised together have more similar intelligence scores than fraternal twins raised together.
D) mental similarities between adopted children and their adoptive families increase with age.

Question 70

Brenda notices that men tend to take more risks than women do.Based on what she has learned about evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinker,she is likely to attribute this observed difference to

A) biology.
B) environment.
C) nurture.
D) experience.

Question 71

Girls are ________ likely than boys to recall correctly where they placed their eyeglasses,and they are _______likely than boys to detect whether their father or mother is feeling stressed.

A) less;more
B) more;less
C) less;less
D) more;more

Question 72

Hunt's 1961 book,Intelligence and Experience,helped launch ________ in 1965.

A) Project Epigenetics
B) Project Growth Mindset
C) Project Head Start
D) Project Polygenetics

Question 73

Interventions that promote intelligence teach early teens that the brain is like a muscle that strengthens with use.This idea is designed to encourage teens to view intelligence as

A) solely determined by polygenetics.
B) a biologically determined capacity.
C) changeable over time.
D) fixed over time.

Question 74

Babies in an Iranian orphanage suffered delayed intellectual development as a result of

A) polygenetic effects.
B) heritability.
C) a deprived environment.
D) a genetic disorder.

Question 75

J.McVicker Hunt observed children in an Iranian orphanage being raised in an extremely deprived environment.These children were passive and cognitively immature.Hunt's successful training program for Iranian caregivers encouraged them to engage in ________ with these infants.

A) DNA profiling
B) adoption studies
C) language-fostering games
D) heritability estimates

Question 76

Schooling ________ children's intelligence test performance.Children's intelligence ________ their later adult income.

A) enhances;enhances
B) has no effect on;enhances
C) enhances;has no effect on
D) has no effect on;has no effect on

Question 77

Shannon believes intelligence is a product of an interaction between genes and environmental influences.Shannon's position is consistent with

A) epigenetics.
B) polygenetics.
C) the family-environment effect.
D) growth mindset.

Question 78

Dr.Abreu believes that intelligence is determined not by one gene but by many interacting genes.Dr.Abreu believes that intelligence is

A) polygenetic.
B) determined by heritability.
C) a product of experience.
D) determined solely by the family-environment effect.

Question 79

The study of how genes and environment interact to influence intelligence and other human characteristics is called

A) polygenetics.
B) heritability.
C) epigenetics.
D) growth mindset.

Question 80

Boys are most likely to outperform girls in a

A) computerized video game competition.
B) speed-reading tournament.
C) spelling bee.
D) speech-giving contest.