| achievement test | A test designed to determine a person's level of knowledge in a given subject area
|
 |
|
|
| algorithm | A rule that, if applied appropriately, guarantees a solution to a problem algorithm (124.0K)
|
|
|
|
| aptitude test | A test designed to predict a person's ability in a particular area or line of work
|
|
|
|
| babble | Speechlike but meaningless sounds made by children from the ages of around 3 months through 1 year
|
|
|
|
| cognitive psychology | The branch of psychology that focuses on the study of cognition
|
|
|
|
| concepts | Categorizations of objects, events, or people that share common properties
|
|
|
|
| convergent thinking | The ability to produce responses that are based primarily on knowledge and logic
|
|
|
|
| creativity | The combining of responses or ideas in novel ways
|
|
|
|
| crystallized intelligence | The accumulation of information, skills, and strategies learned through experience and that can be applied in problem-solving situation
|
|
|
|
| culture-fair IQ test | A test that does not discriminate against members of any minority group
|
|
|
|
| divergent thinking | The ability to generate unusual, yet appropriate, responses to problems or questions
|
|
|
|
| emotional intelligence | The set of skills that underlie the accurate assessment, evaluation, expression, and regulation of emotions
|
|
|
|
| fluid intelligence | Intelligence that reflects information-processing capabilities, reasoning, and memory
|
|
|
|
| functional fixedness | The tendency to think of an object only in terms of its typical use
|
|
|
|
| g or g-factor | The single, general factor for mental ability that was assumed to underlie intelligence in some early theories of intelligence
|
|
|
|
| grammar | The system of rules that determine how our thoughts can be expressed
|
|
|
|
| heritability | A measure of the degree to which a characteristic is related to genetic, inherited factors
|
|
|
|
| heuristic | A cognitive shortcut that might lead to a solution
|
|
|
|
| insight | A sudden awareness of the relationships among various elements that had previously appeared to be independent of one anotherinsight (158.0K)
|
|
|
|
| intellectually gifted | Having an IQ score above 130; about 2 to 4 percent of the populationintellectually_gifted (168.0K)
|
|
|
|
| intelligence | The capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challengesintelligence (152.0K)
|
|
|
|
| intelligence quotient (IQ) | A score that takes into account an individual's mental and chronological ages
|
|
|
|
| intelligence tests | Tests devised to identify a person's level of intelligence
|
|
|
|
| language | The communication of information through symbols arranged according to systematic rules
|
|
|
|
| language acquisition device | A hypothesized neural system of the brain for understanding languagelanguage_acquisition_device (136.0K)
|
|
|
|
| learning-theory approach | The theory suggesting that language acquisition follows the principles of reinforcement and conditioning
|
|
|
|
| means-end analysis | Repeated testing for differences between the desired outcome and what currently exists
|
|
|
|
| mental age | The average age of individuals who achieve a particular level of performance on a test
|
|
|
|
| mental images | Representations in the mind that resemble the object or event being represented
|
|
|
|
| mental retardation | Having significantly below-average intellectual functioning and limitations in at least two areas of adaptive functioning
|
|
|
|
| mental set | The tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persist
|
|
|
|
| norms | Standards of test performance that permit the comparison of one person's score on the test to the scores of others who have taken the same test
|
|
|
|
| overgeneralization | The phenomenon whereby children apply rules even when their application results in an error
|
|
|
|
| phonemes | The smallest basic sound unitsphonemes (76.0K)
|
|
|
|
| phonology | The study of the smallest sound units, called phonemes
|
|
|
|
| practical intelligence | Intelligence related to overall success in living
|
|
|
|
| prototypes | Typical, highly representative examples of a concept
|
|
|
|
| reliability | A test's measuring consistently what it is supposed to measure
|
|
|
|
| semantics | The rules governing the meaning of words and sentences
|
|
|
|
| syntax | The rules that indicate how words and phrases can be combined to form sentences.syntax (125.0K)
|
|
|
|
| telegraphic speech | Sentences that sound as if they were part of a telegram, in which words not critical to the message are left out
|
|
|
|
| thinking | The manipulation of mental representations of information
|
|
|
|
| universal grammar | Noam Chomsky's theory that all the world's languages share a similar underlying structure
|
|
|
|
| validity | A test's actually measuring what it is supposed to measure
|