Deck 10: Thinking and Language

Question 1

Some hereditarians have been fearful that higher twentieth-century birth rates among those with lower intelligence scores would shove average intelligence scores progressively downward. This fear has been most directly alleviated by the discovery of

A) the normal curve.
B) the g factor.
C) emotional intelligence.
D) the Flynn effect.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

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

A) the Flynn effect.
B) intrinsic motivation.
C) emotional intelligence.
D) stereotype threat.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

If course exams assess a student's mastery of a representative sample of course material, they are said to

A) be reliable.
B) have content validity.
C) be standardized.
D) have predictive validity.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Superior performance on the WAIS is most likely to be indicative of

A) Sternberg's concept of analytical intelligence.
B) Gardner's concept of athletic intelligence.
C) Thurstone's concept of social intelligence.
D) Salovey and Mayer's concept of emotional intelligence.

Question 5

Although diagnosed with autism and hardly able to speak coherently, 18-year-old Andrew can produce intricate and detailed drawings of scenes he has viewed only once. Andrew illustrates a condition known as

A) g factor.
B) Down syndrome.
C) emotional intelligence.
D) savant syndrome.

Question 6

Before publishing her test of musical aptitude, Professor Reed first administered the test to a representative sample of people. This was most clearly necessary for test

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

Question 7

The first modern test of intelligence was developed in

A) Germany.
B) Britain.
C) France.
D) Italy.

Question 8

The extent to which differences in intelligence among a group of people are attributable to genetic factors is known as the ______ of intelligence.

A) normal curve
B) factor analysis
C) predictive validity
D) heritability

Question 9

Girls are likely to outperform boys in a

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

Question 10

Intelligence test scores are LEAST similar for

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

Question 11

A 9-year-old who responded to the original Stanford-Binet with the proficiency of an average 12-year-old was said to have an IQ of

A) 75.
B) 115.
C) 125.
D) 133.

Question 12

Increasing years of schooling over the last half-century have most likely contributed to

A) stereotype threat.
B) the Flynn effect.
C) the normal curve.
D) savant syndrome.

Question 13

University grades are used to assess the ________ of the SAT.

A) heritability
B) reliability
C) standardization
D) predictive validity

Question 14

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 achievements tests and they spend more time
Studying.
D) no better on math aptitude and achievements tests and they spend more time

Question 15

A high school counselor gave Amy a test designed to predict whether she could learn to become a successful architect. Amy most likely took a(n) ________ test.

A) aptitude
B) g factor
C) emotional intelligence
D) factor analysis

Question 16

Comparing the intelligence test scores among people from distinctly different age cohorts requires

A) factor analysis.
B) cross-sectional studies.
C) heritability estimates.
D) longitudinal studies.

Question 17

Mary's bathroom scale always overstates people's actual weight by exactly six pounds. The scale has ________ reliability and ________ validity.

A) low; high
B) high; low
C) low; low
D) high; high

Question 18

Comparing the academic performance of those whose scores are extremely low on intelligence tests with those whose scores are extremely high is an effective way to highlight the tests'

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

Question 19

To learn whether intelligence is related to information-processing speed, researchers have tested participants to determine how long it takes them to

A) copy the letters of the alphabet.
B) calculate intelligence quotients.
C) count from 1 to 10.
D) perceive briefly present visual images.

Question 20

A test designed to assess whether newly graduated medical students should be granted the legal right to practice medicine would most likely be considered a(n) ________ test.

A) g-factor
B) aptitude
C) factor analysis
D) achievement

Question 21

Most experts view intelligence as a person's

A) ability to perform well on intelligence tests.
B) innate mental capacity.
C) ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.
D) diverse skills acquired throughout life.

Question 22

J. McVicker Hunt found that institutionalized children given "tutored human enrichment"

A) showed no change in intelligence test performance compared with institutionalized children who did not receive such enrichment.
B) responded so negatively as a result of their impoverished early experiences that he felt it necessary to disband the program.
C) thrived intellectually and socially on the benefits of positive caregiving.
D) actually developed greater intelligence than control subjects who had lived in

Question 23

The Flynn effect refers to the fact that

A) White and Black infants score equally well on measures of infant intelligence.
B) Asian students outperform North American students on math achievement tests.
C) the IQ scores of today's better-fed and educated population exceed that of the
1930s population.
D) individual differences within a race are much greater than between-race

Question 24

Tests of ________ measure what an individual can do now, whereas tests of ________ predict what an individual will be able to do later.

A) aptitude; achievement
B) achievement; aptitude
C) reliability; validity
D) validity; reliability

Question 25

Prenatal hormones have an influence on

A) verbal reasoning.
B) spatial abilities.
C) overall intelligence.
D) all of these aspects of intelligence.

Question 26

When Phoebe strongly disagrees with her sister's opinion, she effectively controls her own anger and responds with empathy to her sister's frustration regarding their dispute. Her behavior best illustrates

A) factor analysis.
B) analytic intelligence.
C) divergent thinking.
D) emotional intelligence.

Question 27

Current intelligence tests compute an individual's intelligence score as

A) the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100.
B) the ratio of chronological age to mental age multiplied by 100.
C) the amount by which the test-taker's performance deviates from the average
Performance of others the same age.
D) the ratio of the test-taker's verbal intelligence score to his or her nonverbal

Question 28

Research indicates that during adulthood declines occur in

A) crystallized intelligence.
B) fluid intelligence.
C) both crystallized and fluid intelligence.
D) neither crystallized nor fluid intelligence.

Question 29

In recent years, researchers are more likely than before to consider intelligence as

A) a single entity.
B) primarily determined by heredity.
C) entirely the product of learning.
D) made up of several abilities.

Question 30

In his study of children with high intelligence scores, Terman found that

A) the children were more emotional and less healthy than a control group.
B) the children were ostracized by classmates.
C) the children were healthy and well-adjusted, and did well academically.
D) later, as adults, they nearly all achieved great vocational success.

Question 31

The widely used American revision of Alfred Binet's original intelligence test was developed by

A) Charles Spearman.
B) Howard Gardner.
C) Lewis Terman.
D) Robert Sternberg.

Question 32

The test created by Alfred Binet was designed specifically to

A) measure inborn intelligence in adults.
B) measure inborn intelligence in children.
C) predict school performance in children.
D) identify intellectually disabled children so that they could be institutionalized.

Question 33

The formula for the intelligence quotient was devised by

A) Robert Sternberg.
B) Alfred Binet.
C) Lewis Terman.
D) William Stern.

Question 34

If a test designed to indicate which applicants are likely to perform the best on the job fails to do so, the test has

A) low reliability.
B) low content validity.
C) low predictive validity.
D) not been standardized.

Question 35

The concept of a g factor implies that intelligence

A) is a single overall ability.
B) is several specific abilities.
C) cannot be defined or measured.
D) is a socially constructed concept.

Question 36

Originally, IQ was defined as

A) mental age divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100.
B) chronological age divided by mental age and multiplied by 100.
C) mental age subtracted from chronological age and multiplied by 100.
D) chronological age subtracted from mental age and multiplied by 100.

Question 37

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 38

Managers who want to foster creativity in the workplace should try to increase the ________ of their employees.

A) convergent thinking
B) factor analysis
C) intrinsic motivation
D) emotional intelligence

Question 39

Over the past 80 years, college aptitude test scores have ________ and WAIS scores have ________.

A) declined; remained stable
B) remained stable; declined
C) risen; declined
D) declined; risen

Question 40

The psychologist who has proposed that intelligence is composed of analytic, creative, and practical aspects is

A) Charles Spearman.
B) Howard Gardner.
C) Robert Sternberg.
D) Sandra Scarr.

Question 41

The existence of ________ reinforces the generally accepted notion that intelligence is a multidimensional quality.

A) adaptive skills
B) intellectual disability
C) general intelligence
D) savant syndrome

Question 42

Studies of adopted children and their biological and adoptive families demonstrate that with age, genetic influences on intelligence

A) become more apparent.
B) become less apparent.
C) become more difficult to disentangle from environmental influences.
D) become easier to disentangle from environmental influences.

Question 43

First-time parents Geena and Brad want to give their baby's intellectual abilities a jump-start by providing a super enriched learning environment. Experts would suggest that the new parents should

A) pipe stimulating classical music into the baby's room.
B) hang colorful mobiles and artwork over the baby's crib.
C) take the child to one of the new "superbaby" preschools that specialize in infant enrichment.
D) relax, since there is no surefire environmental recipe for giving a child a

Question 44

Reported racial gaps in average intelligence scores are most likely attributable to

A) the use of biased tests of intelligence.
B) the use of unreliable tests of intelligence.
C) genetic factors.
D) environmental factors.

Question 45

Which of the following statements most accurately reflects the text's position regarding the relative contribution of genes and environment in determining intelligence?

A) Except in cases of a neglectful early environment, each individual's basic intelligence is largely the product of heredity.
B) Except in those with genetic disorders such as Down syndrome, intelligence results primarily from environmental experiences.
C) Both genes and life experiences significantly influence performance on
Intelligence tests.
D) Because intelligence tests have such low predictive validity, the question

Question 46

A 6-year-old child has a mental age of 9. The child's IQ is

A) 96.
B) 100.
C) 125.
D) 150.

Question 47

To say that the heritability of a trait is approximately 50 percent means

A) that genes are responsible for 50 percent of the trait in an individual, and the environment is responsible for the rest.
B) that the trait's appearance in a person will reflect approximately equal genetic contributions from both parents.
C) that of the variation in the trait within a group of people, 50 percent can be
Attributed to heredity.
D) all of these things.

Question 48

Down syndrome is normally caused by

A) an extra chromosome in the person's genetic makeup.
B) a missing chromosome in the person's genetic makeup.
C) malnutrition during the first few months of life.
D) prenatal exposure to an addictive drug.

Question 49

Most of the evidence for an age-related decline in intelligence came from

A) cross-sectional research.
B) longitudinal research.
C) standardized research.
D) random sampling.

Question 50

When highly skilled people are performing a task, their brains

A) retrieve information from memory more quickly.
B) register simple stimuli more quickly.
C) use less energy to solve problems.
D) do all of these things.

Question 51

Sorting children into gifted and nongifted educational groups

A) creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
B) increases social isolation between the groups.
C) promotes racial segregation and prejudice.
D) has all of these effects.

Question 52

The basic mental abilities that go into learning and understanding any subject have been classified as

A) crystallized intelligence.
B) plastic intelligence.
C) fluid intelligence.
D) rote memory.

Question 53

Most psychologists believe that racial gaps in test scores

A) have been exaggerated when they are, in fact, insignificant.
B) indicate that intelligence is in large measure inherited.
C) are in large measure caused by environmental factors.
D) are increasing.

Question 54

Some psychologists contend that intelligence consists of fluid intelligence, which ________ during adulthood, and crystallized intelligence, which ________.

A) remains stable; declines
B) declines; remains stable
C) increases; declines
D) declines; increases

Question 55

Which of the following provides the strongest evidence of environment's role in intelligence?

A) Adopted children's intelligence scores are more like their adoptive parents' scores than their biological parents'.
B) Children's intelligence scores are more strongly related to their mothers' scores than to their fathers'.
C) Children moved from a deprived environment into an intellectually enriched one
Show gains in intellectual development.
D) The intelligence scores of identical twins raised separately are no more alike

Question 56

Which of the following best describes the relationship between creativity and intelligence?

A) Creativity appears to depend on the ability to think imaginatively and has little if
B) any relationship to intelligence.
C) Creativity is best understood as a certain kind of intelligence.
D) The more intelligent a person is, the greater his or her creativity.
E) A certain level of intelligence is necessary but not sufficient for creativity.
17) Multiple Choice: Which of the following is NOT a requi... Points: 0

Question 57

Standardization refers to the process of

A) determining the accuracy with which a test measures what it is supposed to.
B) defining meaningful scores relative to a representative pretested group.
C) determining the consistency of test scores obtained by retesting people.
D) measuring the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to

Question 58

The bell-shaped distribution of intelligence scores in the general population is called a

A) g distribution.
B) standardization curve.
C) bimodal distribution.
D) normal distribution.

Question 59

Which of the following is a drawback of longitudinal studies of intelligence?

A) They are especially prone to the distortion of cohort effects.
B) People who remain in the study may be the healthiest and most well-educated.
C) The biases of the experimenter are more likely to distort the results than is true of other research methods.
D) All of these are drawbacks.

Question 60

The major flaw in cross-sectional research is the virtual impossibility of

A) selecting participants who are similar in every aspect except age.
B) tracking all participants over a number of years.
C) finding volunteers with high IQs.
D) testing concept mastery.

Question 61

Which of the following is NOT true?

A) In math grades, the average girl typically equals or surpasses the average boy.
B) The gender gap in math and science scores is increasing.
C) Women are better than men at detecting emotions.
D) Males score higher than females on tests of spatial abilities.

Question 62

Which of the following is most likely to decrease with age?

A) vocabulary
B) accumulated knowledge
C) speed of processing
D) practical intelligence

Question 63

About ________ percent of WAIS scores fall between 70 and 130.

A) 30
B) 60
C) 70
D) 95

Question 64

A survey of the history of intelligence testing reinforces the important lesson that

A) although science strives for objectivity, scientists can be influenced by their
Personal biases.
B) the experiment is the most powerful tool available for examining cause-effect relationships.
C) different theoretical perspectives on behavior may be complementary rather than competing.
D) scientists are more concerned with the development of theory than with its

Question 65

Which of the following is NOT a requirement of a good test?

A) reliability
B) standardization
C) heritability
D) validity

Question 66

Which of the following statements is true?
E) The predictive validity of intelligence tests is not as high as their reliability.
F) The reliability of intelligence tests is not as high as their predictive validity.
G) Modern intelligence tests have extremely high predictive validity and reliability. H. The predictive validity and reliability of most intelligence tests is very low.

Question 67

A test has a high degree of validity if it

A) measures or predicts what it is supposed to measure or predict.
B) yields consistent results every time it is used.
C) produces a normal distribution of scores.
D) has been standardized on a representative sample of all those who are likely to

Question 68

Among entering American collegians, men are ________ likely than women to spend many hours playing video games. Playing action video games has been observed to ________ players' spatial abilities.

A) no more; have no effect on
B) more; have no effect on
C) no more; boost
D) more; boost

Question 69

Although not notably heavier or larger in total size than the typical Canadian's brain, Einstein's brain was 15 percent larger in the lower region of the

A) occipital lobe.
B) cerebellum.
C) parietal lobe.
D) limbic system.

Question 70

A longitudinal study is one in which

A) different age groups are tested at the same time.
B) different characteristics of a specific individual are assessed by a single test.
C) different characteristics of a specific individual are assessed by multiple tests.
D) the same group of people are tested and retested over a period of years.

Question 71

A bell-shaped pattern that characterizes the distribution of a large sample of intelligence test scores is a graphic representation of a

A) factor analysis.
B) normal curve.
C) heritability estimate.
D) g factor.

Question 72

After learning about his low score on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Gunter complained, "I don't believe that test is a measure of intelligence at all." Gunter's statement is equivalent to saying that the WAIS lacks

A) standardization.
B) reliability.
C) validity.
D) a normal distribution.

Question 73

"Gifted child" programs can lead to ________ by implicitly labeling some students as "ungifted" and isolating them from an enriched educational environment.

A) divergent thinking
B) the Flynn effect
C) factor analysis
D) self-fulfilling prophecies

Question 74

A test is reliable if it

A) measures what it claims to measure or predicts what it is supposed to predict.
B) yields dependably consistent scores.
C) has been standardized on a representative sample of all those who are likely to take the test.
D) produces a normal distribution of scores.

Question 75

A 6-year-old who responded to the original Stanford-Binet with the proficiency typical of an average 8-year-old was said to have an IQ of

A) 75.
B) 85.
C) 125.
D) 133.

Question 76

A person who demonstrates an exceptional specific mental skill while otherwise often remaining very limited in intellectual capacity is said to show signs of

A) emotional intelligence.
B) savant syndrome.
C) stereotype threat.
D) intrinsic motivation.

Question 77

A frontal lobe area just above the outer edge of the eyebrows becomes especially active in ________ of the brain while contemplating verbal questions and in ________ of the brain while contemplating spatial questions.

A) the right side; both sides
B) both sides; the right side
C) the left side; both sides
D) both sides; the left side

Question 78

A college administrator is trying to assess whether an admissions test accurately predicts how well applicants will perform at his school. The administrator is most obviously concerned that the test is

A) standardized.
B) valid.
C) factor-analyzed.
D) normally distributed.

Question 79

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related test items that seem to tap a common ability is called

A) standardization.
B) reliability assessment.
C) validation.
D) factor analysis.

Question 80

Which of the following provides the strongest evidence of the role of heredity in determining intelligence?

A) The IQ scores of identical twins raised separately are more similar than those
Of fraternal twins raised together.
B) The intelligence scores of fraternal twins are more similar than those of ordinary siblings.
C) The intelligence scores of identical twins raised together are more similar than those of identical twins raised apart.
D) The intelligence scores of adopted children show relatively weak correlations