Testing and Individual Differences

1. Testing and Individual Differences Stephen Twilleager AP Psychology December 6th 2010

2. Introduction • Psychologists often desire to classify people’s intelligence and behaviors • This is done through various forms of testing • Such Tests raise questions about: • Their validity and reliability • Impact of heredity and the environment • Impact of human diversity

3. Types of Tests • Intelligence Tests • Neurological Evaluation • Wechsler Scales • Woodcock-Johnson Scale • Personality Profiles • Projective Tests • Self-Report Questionnaires

4. Intelligence Tests • Employed t o classify people based on intelligence • Intelligence- Three Key Abilities • Able to Learn from Experience • Able to Solve Problems • Able to Adapt to New Situations

5. Types of Intelligence • Charles Spearman- General Intelligence (g) • Howard Gardner- Multiple Intelligences • Sternberg- 3 Aspects of Intelligence • EQ- Emotional Intelligence

6. General Intelligence • Based on his factor analysis studies, Spearman concluded that: • A person’s intelligence in all area was measured by general intelligence or g • Good performance on one portion of the test indicated increased likelihood of success on other portions

7. Multiple Intelligences • Gardner’s Counterproposal • Several Types of Intelligence: • Visual/Spatial • Verbal/Linguistic • Logical/Mathematical • Bodily/Kinesthetic • Musical/Rhythmic • Interpersonal • Intrapersonal • Natural

8. Sternberg’s 3 Aspects • Simplified Version of Multiple Intelligences • Grouped Intelligence into 3 main categories • Conventional/Analytical • Creative/Novel • Practical/Everyday Knowledge

9. Emotional Intelligence • First Called Social Intelligence • Measures Ability to Notice, Display, Understand, and Control Emotions • Impacts Ability to Perform According to Social Expectations and Situations

10. Neurological Measures of Intelligence • Differences in intelligence may arise from differences in: • Brain Structure • Chemical Activity • Small Correlations have been found between brain size and intelligence • Tests have shown that glucose consumption is less for more active (i.e. more intelligent) brains

11. Basics of Intelligence Testing • 1st Intelligence tests endeavored to assess a person’s mental age • Mental age is base on expected capabilities of person of that age • IQ- Intelligence Quotient • IQ= Mental Age/Chronological Age * 100

12. Basics Continued • Tests must be: Standardized Reliable Valid

13. Standardization • Standardization is achieved by • Pre-testing a representative sample of the population • Goal is the formation of a bell curve by the results • Bell Curve demonstrates • Majority of Results in the Middle, Average Section • Small Percentages of the Extrema of the Curve

14. Reliability • Consistency of Results Over Time • Evaluates Correlation of Results between: • Original Test • Retest Using Same or Similar Test • The higher the correlation, the higher the reliability

15. Validity • The extent to which a test measures the variables it is designed to test • A driver’s test can be used to predict driving performance • But it cannot be used to measure literacy • Predictive Validity of a test is used to assess future performance

16. Modern Intelligence Tests • Stanford-Binet I.Q Test is flawed for adults • The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) seek to correct this flaw by testing more categories • The Woodcock-Johnson Scale takes a different approach, evaluating from a multiple intelligence view

17. W.A.I.S and W.I.S.C • Wechsler’s Test Evaluate Test Takers in Several Categories • 14 Subtests • Scores in Verbal and Performance Categories • Combined to Generate a General Intelligence Score

18. Woodcock-Johnson Tests • Based on the multiple intelligence principle, these tests test each element of intelligence directly • Two different tests are provided for each type of intelligence • Some tests are similar to WAIS while others are different

19. Uses of Intelligence Tests • School psychologists use tests such as W.A.I.S and W.C to begin diagnostic processes for learning disabilities, mental retardation and A.D.D/A.D.H.D • They can then begin recommending classroom modifications to aid the student

20. Aptitude Tests • Aptitude Tests are designed to predict future performance. • SAT, ACT Estimate College Readiness • GRE, MCAT, LSAT Measure Preparedness for Graduate and Professional Schools

21. Achievement Tests • Tests skills learned in particular subject or course. • Can be general overviews of knowledge or detailed examinations • TAKS, AP, IB, and Professional Certification Tests

22. Failing an Intelligence Test • As the test simply measures your intelligence, you cannot really fail. • However, a low score may indicated mental retardation • This condition is diagnosed with a test score and difficulty living independently

23. Levels of Mental Retardation

24. Indications of Giftedness • High I.Q scores, particularly those over 130, may indicate giftedness • These are the students that often succeed as doctors, lawyers, professors, scientists, and writers. • Also among this group are the prodigies of math, music, science, and other skills

25. Influences on Intelligence • Intelligence Tests Reveal Trends in Influences on Intelligence • Genetic Influences • Environmental Influences • Serious Implications for Determining Roles in Society

26. Genetic Influences • Intelligence tests are used to evaluate similarities between the mental abilities of those sharing the same genes. • Identical twins have eerily similar test scores • Intelligence Influencing genes have discovered

27. Environmental Influences • Genes Do Not Explain Every Aspect of intelligence • Unfavorable Environments such as malnutrition, social isolation, and sensory deprivation adversely affect intellectual and cognitive development

28. Drawbacks of Intelligence Testing • Aptitude Scores Showed Pronounced Differences Between Different Groups • Racial Groups • Ethnic Groups • Gender Groups • Disabled vs. Healthy • Are these differences hereditary or environmental?

29. Racial Differences • Bell Curve of White IQ centers around 100 • Bell Curve of Black IQ centers around 85 • Bell Curve of Hispanic IQ falls in between • Differences have diminished recently but are still noticeable

30. Ethnic Differences • Ethnic Groups Have Variations in IQ • European New Zealanders generally outscore native Maori • Israeli Jews outscore Palestinian and Israeli Arabs • Japanese Minorities Outscore by Mainstream

31. IQ Distributions of World

32. Environmental Causes of Racial/Ethnic Differences • Asian Math Superiority- Cultural Dedication and 30% More Time in School than American Students • Historical “Golden Ages” • Occurred in Different Cultures at Different Times • Makes it Hard to Claim Superiority • Study of Racial Differences Beyond Tests

33. Disabled Vs. Healthy • Most Evident in those with Sensory Loss • Deaf people will often score less than healthy peers on language and verbal tests • Blind will unsurprisingly have lower scores on visual/spatial reasoning than peers with sight

34. Gender Inequality in IQ • No Gender Gap in Overall Intelligence • However, there are differences in specific skills • Girls are Better Spellers • Females Higher in Math Computation • Males Better in Math Problem-Solving

35. Causes of Gender Inequality • Culture Impact • Men Traditionally in Math, Engineering, Science • Women Traditionally, English and Arts • Males hold edge in spatial reason due to historical position as hunters • Females hold edge in memory due to role as gatherers

36. One Final Drawback: Bias • The question of bias appears in regards to any test, particularly intelligence tests • The tendency of such tests to be interpreted as the sole measure of a person’s value makes bias accusations particularly tricky

37. Bias vs. Validity • Some claim that bias towards one group makes results invalid for another group • Proponents say predictions are unaffected by differences in groups taking the same test. • They say that revealing differences between groups is not bias

38. Personality Testing • Another Type of Testing designed to classify personality traits • Different testing methods for differing schools of thought • Two Main Types are Projective Test and Self-Report

39. Projective Testing • Favored by Psychoanalysts • Follows Traditions of Freud • Unconscious Meaning to Responses • Provide Ambiguous Stimuli and Measure Emotional Response

40. TAT- Thematic Apperception Test • Presents Ambiguous Pictures • Test-Taker Asked to Describe story behind the scene • Test-Takers choices reveal some of their inner conscious

41. Rorschach Inkblot Test • Projective Test in Which: • Ten Inkblots are presented • The feelings and thoughts of the test-take regarding them reflects their inner feeling and conflicts

42. Self-Reports • In contrast with psychoanalysts, who view unconscious influences, trait theorists view conscious perceptions • Favor self-report questionnaires that reveal a person’s perception of themselves

43. Eynsneck Personality Questionnaire • Measures Traits in a field defined by: • Stability vs. Instability • Extroversion vs. Introversion

44. MMPI- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory • Developed originally to help diagnose emotional disorders. Now used for additional screening purposes. • Contains 10 clinical scales of true-false statements • Can be scored objectively, unlike projection test

45. Personality Controversy • Among the biggest criticisms of personality profiles are their lack of situational context for many of their judgments. • Also, the test’s predictive value of specific behavior in a situation is not highly accepted

46. Conclusion • Testing is a good method for predicting average behavior and classifying people by such behaviors • It is limited by the individuality and free choice of people but can still accurately display qualities such as intelligence

47. Conclusion- Cont. • The validity and reliability of tests are maintained by ensuring that the test measure what they are supposed to and that the test works with a control group during a retest • Intelligence testing’s results can be influenced by both hereditary and environmental factors that can be identified by the tests.

48. Conclusion Continued • Human diversity has great impact on the tests • Intelligence and personality values are culturally subjective in most cases • Any test must be able to take this into account to maintain its usefulness

49. Works Cited • "Psychology." Hippo Campus. Monterey Institute of Technology, n.d. Web. 5 Dec 2010. <http://www.hippocampus.org/myHippo/;jsessionid=687092B15B5880B3ED3177A59FCAB403?subject=10&user=avrittj>. • Kaplan, Heath. "Intelligence." AP Psychology Commune (www.appsychology.com). Harrison High School AP Psychology, n.d. Web. 5 Dec 2010. <http://www.appsychology.com/appsychPP/appsychology/APpresentationshome.htm • Kaplan, Heath. "Psychoanalytic." AP Psychology Commune (www.appsychology.com). Harrison High School AP Psychology, n.d. Web. 5 Dec 2010. <http://www.appsychology.com/appsychPP/appsychology/APpresentationshome.htm • Kaplan, Heath. "Trait Perspective." AP Psychology Commune (www.appsychology.com). Harrison High School AP Psychology, n.d. Web. 5 Dec 2010. <http://www.appsychology.com/appsychPP/appsychology/APpresentationshome.htm • Meyer, David. "Chapters 11 & 14." Psychology, 6th ed.. Ed. Christine Brune. New York: Worth Publishers, 2001. Print.

50. Weblinks • www.appsychology.com • www.hippocampus.org • http://www.ccisd.com/9892081214502570/site/default.asp