Intelligence and Individual Differences in Academic Competence

• human growth and development
• Year 3

Chapter 8 

Intelligence and Individual Differences in Academic Competence

Ca'Mar Leonard

Two impotant characteristics of tests are reliability and validity

Reliability-consistency, as in a test that obtains the same results consistently

Validity-revelance and meaningfulness, as a test that measures what it is purported to measure

Forms of Reliability

test-retest reliability-a test's reliability that is established by administering the same test twice to a group of test-takers. The correlation between the two scores earned by test-takers on each testing occassion indicates whether the test is measuring consistently.

alternate-forms reliability-a  measure of a test's reliability established by administering two forms of the test to test-takers. 

spit-half reliability-a measure of a test's reliability established by correlating the scores for half the items on the test with the scores on the other half of the test items.

coefficient alpha-the average of all posible split-half reliabilities for a given test

Three common types of validity

Construct Validity-The standard of a test that establishes how well the test measures the construct it is intended to measure

Content Validity-The standard of a test that establishes how well the test measures the content it is purported to cover

Criterion Validity-The standard of a test that establishes whether or not the test makes the distinctions it is supposed to make, such as whether or not the test predicts scores on some criterion measure

The average of all possible split-half reliabilities for a given test is.....

1. test-retest reliability
2. split-half reliability
3. coefficient alpha
4. alternative-forms reliability

Francis Galton's Theory

Strongly influenced by Darwin's The Origin of Species (1859), Galton developed his own theories on inherited traits. He studied identical twins and worked on the first intelligence test in his exploration of the roles of "nature and nurture" — a phrase created by Galton — in human attributes.

Spearman's Theory

Spearman's two-factor theory proposes that intelligence has two components: general intelligence ("g") and specific ability ("s"). To explain the differences in performance on different tasks, Spearman hypothesized that the "s" component was specific to a certain aspect of intelligence.

Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence

Fluid intelligence-the reasoning ability that allows the aquisition of knowledge.

Crystallized intelligence-the knowledge aquired through the processes of intelligence.