Unit 11-Intelligence and Testing

AP Psychology College Board Learning Objectives

• Discuss how culture influences the definition of intelligence.
• Compare and contrast historic and contemporary theories of intelligence (e.g., Charles Spearman, Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg).
• Explain how psychologists design tests, including standardization strategies and other techniques to establish reliability and validity.
• Interpret the meaning of scores in terms of the normal curve.
• Describe relevant labels related to intelligence testing (e.g., gifted, cognitively disabled).
• Debate the appropriate testing practices, particularly in relation to culture-fair test uses.
• Identify key contributors in intelligence research and testing (e.g., Alfred Binet, Francis Galton, Howard Gardner, Charles Spearman, Robert Sternberg, Louis Terman, David Wechsler).

Unit Study Guide Based on APA National Standards

Use these standards as a checklist to make sure you've mastered this unit.

• Perspectives on intelligence
  • 1.1 Discuss intelligence as a general factor.
  • 1.2 Discuss alternative conceptualizations of intelligence.
  • 1.3 Describe the extremes of intelligence.
• Assessment of intelligence
  • 2.1 Discuss the history of intelligence testing, including historical use and misuse in the context of fairness.
  • 2.2 Identify current methods of assessing human abilities.
  • 2.3 Identify measures of and data on reliability and validity for intelligence test scores.
• Issues in Intelligence
  • 3.1 Discuss issues related to the consequences of intelligence testing.
  • 3.2 Discuss the influences of biological, cultural, and environmental factors on intelligence.