Intelligence

Aptitude tests predict people’s future ability to acquire skills or knowledge. Achievement tests measure skills and knowledge that people have already learned.

IQ tests might be culturally biased in three ways: 1. Tests that are constructed primarily by white, middle-class researchers may not be equally relevant to people of all ethnic groups and economic classes. 2. Cultural values and experiences can affect factors such as attitude toward exams, degree of comfort in the test setting, motivation, competitiveness, rapport with the test administrator, and comfort with problem solving independently rather than as part of a team effort. 3. Cultural stereotypes can affect the motivation to perform well on tests.

Standardization is a procedure that’s used to help ensure that all people taking the same test do so under similar conditions. The benefit is that it allows for comparisons among test takers, since differences in scores among test takers are then likely caused by ability rather than environment.

The intelligence quotient was inadequate as a way to represent scores on intelligence tests for two reasons: 1. The score necessary to be in the top range of a particular age group varied, depending on age. 2. The scoring system was not meaningful for adults.

Three kinds of evidence suggest that there are hereditary influences on intelligence: 1. Family studies show that intelligence tends to run in families. 2. Twin studies show that there is a higher correlation between identical twins in IQ than between fraternal twins. This is true even when identical twins reared apart are compared to fraternal twins reared together. 3. Adoption studies show that adopted children and their biological parents are somewhat similar in intelligence.