1.

Cognitive ability is
a.
the capacity to reason, remember, understand, solve problems, and make decisions.
b.
synonymous with the term intelligence.
c.
defined the same in all cultures.
d.
a concept that is easily measured and tested.
ANS: A

3.

According to the textbook, it is difficult to define intelligence because

a.
cognitive abilities cannot be quantified.
b.
standard intelligence tests are still relatively new.
c.
the use of an IQ is not common in modern psychology.
d.
there is no universally agreed-upon definition.
ANS: D

5.

According to the textbook, most psychologists agree that the definition of intelligence includes all of the following except the
ability to
a.
acquire knowledge.
b.
think abstractly and problem-solve.
c.
perform well on standardized tests of intelligence.
d.
reason adaptively in different environments.
ANS: C

12.

ChunJing is reading about the history of IQ testing. She finds that Binet's original intelligence test did not
a.
assume that children's ability increased with age.
b.
include items for adults.
c.
attempt to test the ability to reason.
d.
deal with the concept of mental age versus chronological age.
ANS: B

13.

At Stanford University, Louis Terman changed Binet's test for children in several ways. Which of the following is not one of the
changes Terman made?
a.
He added items for adults.
b.
He translated the test into English.
c.
He invented the term IQ and the first mathematical method of determining it.
d.
He added nonverbal tasks to make the test more fair to those of other cultures.
ANS: D

14.

Many World War I recruits were from isolated rural areas and did not have a formal education or even know how to read. To
assess such recruits' intelligence, the U.S. armed forces gave them the __________ test.
a.
Alpha
b.
WAIS-R
c.
Stanford-Binet
d.
Beta
ANS: D

15.

Lewis Terman and the other psychologists who adopted IQ tests for use in the United States in the early 1900s believed that
intelligence is
a.
solely influenced by the environment.
b.
fixed and inherited.
c.
influenced by the reaction range.
d.
nonexistent.
ANS: B

18.

Paco takes a test that asks him to solve arithmetic problems, define words, and answer general knowledge questions. He is most
likely completing a __________ scale of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.
a.
skills
b.
verbal
c.
performance
d.
functional
ANS: B

20.

Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities

404
Lakisha is taking the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. She is currently being asked to place, in order, the frames of a Peanuts
cartoon that contain only pictures (no dialogue). So Lakisha is currently working on a subtest that would be part of the
__________ scale of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.
a.
verbal
b.
reliability
c.
validity
d.
performance
ANS: D

21.

One difference between the Wechsler intelligence scales and the original Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale is that the Wechsler
scales
a.
are designed solely for measuring the intelligence of children.
b.
can be used to test more than one individual at a time.
c.
present verbal and performance tasks separately.
d.
are culture-free.
ANS: C

22.

Suppose the SAT were revised so that a score of 500 corresponded to a score of 100 on the WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale). A score of 500 or more would therefore be achieved by at least __________ percent of the examinees.
a.
50
b.
75
c.
100
d.
0
ANS: A
OBJ: 5
REF: Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities/Testing for Intelligence
KEY: Application
MSC: TYPE: C/A

23.

Rashaun, who is ten years old, is taking an intelligence test. The psychologist hands Rashaun several oddly shaped pieces of
wood and tells him to put them together to form a rectangle. For the second part, Rashaun is asked to solve arithmetic problems
and remember a series of digits. The first part of the test is a __________ scale and the second part is a __________ scale.
a.
objective; non-objective
b.
non-objective; objective
c.
performance; verbal
d.
verbal; performance
ANS: C
OBJ: 5
REF: Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities/Testing for Intelligence
KEY: Comprehension
MSC: TYPE: C/A

24.

Dinah took the WAIS last month. The results of the test showed her to have an IQ of 123. Dinah's IQ was determined by
a.
dividing her mental age by her actual age and multiplying by 100.
b.
a statistical comparison of her raw scores to the raw scores of others in her age group.
c.
giving her one IQ point for every question she answered correctly and subtracting an IQ point for each incorrect answer.
d.
the tester's subjective judgment based on the Terwilliger standard.
ANS: B
OBJ: 6
REF: Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities/Testing for Intelligence
Test Item Analysis: A: 48% B: 47% C: 3% D: 2% rpb = .22
KEY: Comprehension
MSC: TYPE: C/A

25.

Rasha is a nine-year-old with a measured IQ of 70. Which of the following is probably true of Rasha?
a.
Her knowledge of the world is lower than her peers.
b.
She has performed below the average for nine-year-olds.
c.
She has Down syndrome.
d.
Rasha's mother has an intellectual disability.
ANS: B
OBJ: 6
REF: Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities/Testing for Intelligence
KEY: Application

Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities

405

MSC: TYPE: C/A

26.

Norms for a new test of mental ability were obtained from a large sample of the general population. The mean of the test was set
to 100 and the standard deviation was 15. Approximately what percentage of the population would fall within the range bounded
by scores of 85 and 115?
a.
20 percent
b.
68 percent
c.
2 percent
d.
98 percent
ANS: B
OBJ: 6
REF: Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities/Testing for Intelligence
KEY: Application
MSC: TYPE: C/A
NOT: www

34.

Researchers are in the process of developing a new college entrance exam. They want to ensure that wherever the test is given, it
will be administered, scored, and interpreted in the same manner. In other words, the researchers are concerned with
a.
standardization.
b.
statistical reliability.
c.
quantification.
d.
statistical validity.
ANS: A

35.

Alexandria wants to use a personality test as part of her honors thesis. She knows that existing tests provide many benefits, such
as having established norms. A norm is important because it is a
a.
statistical tool used to calculate the standard deviation.
b.
measure of central tendency.
c.
description of the frequency of particular scores.
d.
standard for test objectiveness.
ANS: C

39.

Dr. Yatvin administered his new intelligence test to a group of subjects and then compared each subject's score on the oddnumbered questions to their scores on the even-numbered questions. He found a large positive correlation between the odd and
even scores, indicating the test has
a.
predictive validity.
b.
construct validity.
c.
split-half reliability.
d.
test-retest reliability.
ANS: C

44.

Dr. Laxner is investigating the statistical reliability of her new intelligence test. In previous research, Dr. Laxner gave the test to
a group of students and then gave the test again two years later. She found that the test-retest reliability was low. Which of the
following would be helpful in determining if the low test-retest reliability is due to the test itself or if it is due to some other
factor?
a.
Split the results of the first administration of the test into two sets of questions and compute the correlation between the
sets.
b.
Compute the construct validity for the test.
c.
Correlate the scores of the first administration of the test with the results of the second administration of the test.
d.
Get an expert to compute the percentage of the test questions that are important for measuring intelligence.
ANS: A

45.

When Avena was nine years old she took the WISC, and her IQ was estimated to be 106. Avena, who is now twenty-seven, took
the WAIS, and her IQ was estimated to be 110. Avena's IQ scores indicate that the Wechsler tests have good __________
reliability.
a.
test-retest
b.
alternate form
c.
split-half
d.
content
ANS: B

47.

Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities

406
Smedley has a theory that intelligence is related to body temperature. He uses an oral thermometer to measure intelligence. His
data most likely have ________ statistical reliability and ________ statistical validity.
a.
poor; poor
b.
good; good
c.
poor; good
d.
good; poor
ANS: D

48.

Which of the following statements is false?

a.
A test can be both valid and reliable.
b.
A test can be neither valid nor reliable.
c.
A test can be valid without being reliable.
d.
A test can be reliable without being valid.
ANS: C

50.

Dr. Ciccone is developing a new test to measure readiness for college. Two questions on the test are "Who was Strawberry
Shortcake?" and "What is the fastest car to drive?" On the basis of this information, we can conclude that Dr. Ciccone's test
lacks
a.
criterion validity.
b.
content validity.
c.
norms.
d.
statistical reliability.
ANS: B

52.

Janet bought new scales that measure kilograms rather than pounds. She weighed several objects using both the old scales and
the new scales and then calculated the correlation between the weights given by the two scales. Janet is interested in the new
scales' __________ validity.
a.
alternate
b.
criterion
c.
content
d.
predictive
ANS: B

53.

When Yanping entered college, she was unsure about which major to choose. She took a vocational interest test that indicated
that she was highly analytic and should choose a math-based major. This spring she will graduate with honors with a mechanical
engineering degree. The test Yanping took appears to have good __________ validity.
a.
content
b.
split-half
c.
predictive
d.
concurrent
ANS: C

55.

While taking her chemistry midterm, Irene noticed that several questions asked her to identify several countries on a map. Based
on what Irene had learned in her Psych 100 class, she argued with her professor that the chemistry midterm was not measuring
what it was supposed to measure because it lacked __________ validity.
a.
construct
b.
predictive
c.
criterion
d.
content
ANS: D

56.

Karen developed a test to measure hostility within the work environment. Her test had a high correlation with employees who
were terminated because of anger management issues. You could say that Karen's measure has a high degree of
a.
content validity.
b.
statistical reliability.
c.
criterion validity.
d.
construct validity.
ANS: C

58.

Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities

407
A test developer at Mal-Mart has created an honesty test for its applicants. After a year of using the test, the developer
discovered that the test did not appear to be measuring honesty at all it was measuring dependability. In other words, the
honesty test appears to have low __________ validity.
a.
construct
b.
predictive
c.
criterion
d.
test-retest
ANS: A

60.

Cal Critic does not like intelligence tests and loves to talk about all the problems that intelligence testing involves. Which of
Cal's criticisms would not be accurate?
a.
Intelligence tests do not predict success in the workplace.
b.
Intelligence tests are not valid in every case.
c.
Intelligence tests assess only a narrow range of abilities.
d.
Intelligence tests may be biased against certain groups.
ANS: A

62.

Gog embezzled money from his fraternity. His defense lawyer states that Gog has an IQ of 80 and therefore could not have
designed the complex plan used to empty his fraternity's emergency fund. The jurors are convinced, and they acquit Gog. The
jurors' mistake was that they were not aware that
a.
IQ scores are not good predictors of problem-solving ability.
b.
where money is involved, IQ scores are unimportant.
c.
IQ scores stress divergent thinking.
d.
IQ scores stress culture-specific material.
ANS: A

105. If you obtained a high score on a test that measured basic powers of reasoning and problem solving where all the facts were
supplied to you during the test, this would indicate that you have high __________ intelligence.
a.
crystallized
b.
meta
c.
fluid
d.
verbal
ANS: C
147. Desmond is taking a test that contains the following item: "Howard's car is in a ditch. He is alone in a wooded area. How many
different strategies can you think of that Howard could use to get his car back on the road?" This question is assessing
Desmond's __________ thinking.
a.
divergent
b.
fluid
c.
convergent
d.
crystallized
ANS: A
158. In some cases in which a person is diagnosed as developmentally disabled, no specific genetic or environmental causes can be
pinpointed. This form of intellectual disability is known as
a.
metacomponent decomposition.
b.
Down syndrome.
c.
metacognitive dysfunction.
d.
cultural familial intellectual disability.
ANS: D
160. The key feature of cultural familial intellectual disability is
a.
the lack of an obvious genetic or environmental cause.
b.
severe deficits in convergent thinking paired with normal abilities in divergent thinking.
c.
a significant discrepancy between measured intelligence and academic performance.
d.
the individuals resistance to or difficulty with inclusion efforts in schools.
ANS: A
163. A child with dyslexia would probably have difficulty
a.
obeying the verbal requests of her parents.
b.
remembering her brother's name.
c.
identifying whether something is sweet or sour.
d.
reading Superman comic books.
ANS: D

Chapter 10: Cognitive Abilities

408