MCAT Psychological Social Foundations Flashcards: 6b Theories Intelligence Variation

What this deck covers

This deck focuses on 6b Theories Intelligence Variation, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for MCAT Psychological Social Foundations.

How to use these flashcards

Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: What is the definition of mental age (MA) in early intelligence testing?

Answer: Age level at which a person performs intellectually. Mental age represents the typical cognitive performance level associated with a specific chronological age group.

Flashcard 2: Identify the correlation pattern that supports a genetic influence: MZ twins $r=0.80$, DZ twins $r=0.40$.

Answer: MZ correlation greater than DZ correlation supports genetic influence. MZ twins share twice the genetic similarity of DZ twins.

Flashcard 3: Which concept describes when a test yields different average outcomes due to cultural familiarity rather than ability?

Answer: Cultural bias (lack of cultural fairness). Cultural bias occurs when test items favor certain cultural experiences, leading to unfair score disparities unrelated to true ability.

Flashcard 4: What does Spearman's g factor theory propose about the structure of intelligence?

Answer: A single general intelligence factor (g) underlies all cognitive tasks. All cognitive abilities share a common underlying factor.

Flashcard 5: What does the Cattell-Horn distinction between fluid and crystallized intelligence state?

Answer: Fluid = novel problem solving; crystallized = learned knowledge. Distinguishes reasoning ability from accumulated knowledge.

Flashcard 6: Which type of intelligence tends to remain stable or increase with age?

Answer: Crystallized intelligence. Vocabulary and general knowledge often improve throughout life.

Flashcard 7: What does it mean if a trait has high heritability in a given population?

Answer: Much variance is associated with genetic differences, not immutability. High heritability indicates genetic influences on trait variation but allows for environmental modifications to individual outcomes.

Flashcard 8: Identify the key limitation of using $IQ=100\times\frac{MA}{CA}$ for adults.

Answer: Mental age does not increase linearly in adulthood. The formula assumes continuous growth in mental abilities, which plateaus after adolescence, leading to artificially declining IQ scores in older individuals.

Flashcard 9: What is the best interpretation if adopted siblings show near-zero IQ correlation in adulthood?

Answer: Shared family environment has a smaller long-term effect than genetics. Shared genes persist but shared environment effects fade.

Flashcard 10: What is the Flynn effect in the context of IQ score trends?

Answer: Average IQ scores have increased across generations. 3-point gain per decade; likely due to education, nutrition, test familiarity.

Flashcard 11: What did Alfred Binet originally design intelligence tests to identify in schools?

Answer: Children needing additional educational assistance. Binet's tests were developed to screen for intellectual deficiencies in French schoolchildren requiring remedial support.

Flashcard 12: What does 'practical intelligence' mean in Sternberg's triarchic theory?

Answer: Ability to adapt to, shape, and select real-world environments. Street smarts and everyday problem-solving skills.

Flashcard 13: Which type of intelligence tends to decline with age: fluid or crystallized?

Answer: Fluid intelligence. Processing speed and abstract reasoning peak in young adulthood then decline.

Flashcard 14: What is deviation IQ (as used in modern tests such as the WAIS)?

Answer: Score standardized to population mean and standard deviation. Deviation IQ normalizes scores against a population distribution with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15, allowing adult comparisons.

Flashcard 15: What is the definition of a reaction range for intelligence?

Answer: Genotype sets a range; environment determines the expressed level. Reaction range illustrates gene-environment interaction, where genetics define potential limits and environment shapes actual expression.

Flashcard 16: Which model combines a general factor with multiple group factors: Spearman or Cattell-Horn-Carroll?

Answer: Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model. The CHC model integrates Spearman's g with stratified broad and narrow abilities, providing a comprehensive hierarchical framework.

Flashcard 17: What is Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence?

Answer: Analytical, creative, and practical intelligence are distinct components. Proposes three equally important types of intelligence.

Flashcard 18: What is the primary focus of Sternberg's practical intelligence?

Answer: Adapting to, shaping, and selecting real-world environments. Street smarts: solving everyday problems not measured by traditional IQ tests.

Flashcard 19: What is the key claim of Gardner's multiple intelligences theory?

Answer: Intelligence consists of distinct, domain-specific intelligences. Challenges unitary view with 8+ independent intelligences.

Flashcard 20: What is the Flynn effect?

Answer: Average IQ scores have increased across generations over time. About 3 IQ points per decade in developed nations.

Flashcard 21: What does the 'shared environment' component mean in twin/adoption models?

Answer: Environmental factors that make siblings more similar. Family-wide influences affecting all children similarly.

Flashcard 22: What is the definition of a factor analysis result that supports g?

Answer: Positive correlations among diverse cognitive subtests. Factor analysis reveals a general factor when diverse tests show intercorrelations, indicating a common underlying ability.

Flashcard 23: State the formula for the original intelligence quotient (IQ) based on MA and CA.

Answer: IQ=0\times\frac{MA}{CA}. This ratio compares mental age to chronological age, scaled by 100 to yield a quotient reflecting relative intellectual development.

Flashcard 24: What does the 'nonshared environment' component mean in twin/adoption models?

Answer: Experiences that make siblings different (plus measurement error). Unique experiences and random developmental variation.

Flashcard 25: What is Spearman's s factor in the context of intelligence testing?

Answer: A task-specific ability that contributes to performance on one domain. Specific abilities unique to particular cognitive tasks.

Flashcard 26: What is the nonshared environment in behavior genetics studies of intelligence?

Answer: Environmental factors that make siblings different. Unique experiences, different peer groups, birth order effects.

Flashcard 27: What is Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences?

Answer: Distinct intelligences (for example, linguistic, spatial, musical). Gardner argued for eight or more autonomous intelligences, each adaptive in specific domains beyond traditional IQ measures.

Flashcard 28: What is emotional intelligence (EI) as a measurable construct?

Answer: Ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions. Emotional intelligence encompasses emotional competencies that contribute to social functioning and personal well-being, distinct from cognitive IQ.

Flashcard 29: What does the hierarchical model of intelligence (e.g., Carroll) propose?

Answer: Broad abilities and specific skills are organized under a top-level g. Three-stratum model: g at top, broad abilities middle, specific skills bottom.

Flashcard 30: Identify the design that best estimates genetic influence by comparing MZ vs DZ twins.

Answer: Twin study (monozygotic vs dizygotic comparison). MZ share 100% genes, DZ share 50% on average.

Flashcard 31: Which type of intelligence is most dependent on education and cultural learning?

Answer: Crystallized intelligence. Accumulates through formal education and experience.

Flashcard 32: What is the key claim of Thurstone's primary mental abilities theory?

Answer: Intelligence consists of several independent primary abilities, not one g. Rejected g factor; proposed 7 distinct abilities like verbal, spatial, numerical.

Flashcard 33: What is Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences?

Answer: Intelligence comprises distinct domains (e.g., linguistic, spatial, musical). Challenges g; proposes 8+ independent intelligences, not hierarchically related.

Flashcard 34: Identify the meaning of a heritability estimate of $0.60$ for IQ in a population.

Answer: About $60\%$ of IQ variance is attributed to genetic variation in that population. In that specific population and environment, genes explain most IQ differences.

Flashcard 35: What is Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence?

Answer: Analytical, creative, and practical intelligence. Three aspects: analyzing problems, creating novel solutions, applying to life.

Flashcard 36: What is the definition of the stereotype threat effect on test performance?

Answer: Performance decreases when a negative group stereotype is salient. Stereotype threat induces anxiety and cognitive load, impairing performance among stereotyped groups in evaluative settings.

Flashcard 37: What is the definition of intelligence in the context of psychometric testing?

Answer: General mental ability to learn, reason, solve problems, and adapt. Psychometric testing operationalizes intelligence as a broad cognitive capacity encompassing learning, reasoning, problem-solving, and adaptation to new situations.

Flashcard 38: Which type of intelligence tends to decline earlier with aging: $G_f$ or $G_c$?

Answer: Fluid intelligence ($G_f$). Fluid intelligence peaks in early adulthood and declines due to age-related reductions in processing speed and neural efficiency.

Flashcard 39: What is the difference between reliability and validity in intelligence testing?

Answer: Reliability is consistency; validity is measuring the intended construct. Reliability ensures stable measurements across time or forms, while validity confirms the test assesses the targeted attribute accurately.

Flashcard 40: What is the formula for an IQ score using a mean of $100$ and SD of $15$?

Answer: $IQ=100+15z$. Converts z-scores to IQ scale with mean 100, SD 15.

Flashcard 41: What does Thurstone's primary mental abilities theory propose instead of one g factor?

Answer: Intelligence comprises several independent primary mental abilities. Rejects single g factor for multiple distinct abilities.

Flashcard 42: What is the difference between genotype and phenotype in intellectual variation?

Answer: Genotype: genetic makeup; phenotype: observable traits such as IQ score. Genes provide potential; environment determines actual expression.

Flashcard 43: What is fluid intelligence ($G_f$) in Cattell's theory?

Answer: Ability to solve novel problems independent of prior knowledge. Fluid intelligence involves abstract reasoning and adaptation to new problems without relying on acquired knowledge.

Flashcard 44: What is Cattell's distinction between fluid and crystallized intelligence?

Answer: Fluid: novel problem solving; crystallized: learned knowledge and skills. Gf = reasoning with new info; Gc = applying accumulated knowledge.

Flashcard 45: Which term refers to the genetic contribution to observed variation in intelligence in a population?

Answer: Heritability. Heritability estimates the proportion of phenotypic variance attributable to genetic factors within a specific population.

Flashcard 46: What did Spearman propose about the relation between g and s factors?

Answer: Each task reflects g plus a task-specific ability (s). Performance = general intelligence + specific skill for that particular task.

Flashcard 47: What is Spearman's g factor in theories of intelligence?

Answer: A single general intelligence underlying performance on diverse tasks. Spearman found all cognitive abilities correlate, suggesting one underlying factor.

Flashcard 48: What is Spearman's g factor theory of intelligence?

Answer: A single general intelligence underlies performance on all tasks. Spearman proposed that a unitary general factor accounts for the positive correlations observed across various cognitive tasks.

Flashcard 49: Which type of intelligence tends to decline earlier with aging: fluid or crystallized?

Answer: Fluid intelligence. Peaks in early adulthood then gradually declines.

Flashcard 50: Identify the term for a test that predicts future performance in school or work.

Answer: Predictive validity. Predictive validity evaluates how well test scores forecast outcomes in relevant domains like academic or occupational success.

Flashcard 51: What is emotional intelligence as tested in psychology research?

Answer: Ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions. Four-branch model of emotion-related cognitive abilities.

Flashcard 52: What is the formula for a z-score in standardized testing?

Answer: $z=\frac{x-\mu}{\sigma}$. Standardizes scores relative to population mean and SD.

Flashcard 53: What does it mean if a trait has high heritability in a population?

Answer: Differences are more attributable to genes within that environment. In that specific environment, not across all contexts.

Flashcard 54: What is a gene–environment interaction as applied to intellectual outcomes?

Answer: Genetic effects depend on environment, and environmental effects depend on genes. Same genes produce different outcomes in different environments (and vice versa).

Flashcard 55: What is the definition of the Flynn effect?

Answer: Population IQ scores have risen across generations. The Flynn effect reflects environmental improvements like better nutrition and education leading to generational IQ gains.

Flashcard 56: What is emotional intelligence as used in MCAT psychology?

Answer: Ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions. Four branches: perceiving, using, understanding, and regulating emotions.

Flashcard 57: What does heritability mean when describing intelligence variation?

Answer: Proportion of score variance due to genetic differences in a population. Not about individuals; describes population-level genetic contribution to differences.

Flashcard 58: What is Thurstone's primary mental abilities theory?

Answer: Intelligence consists of several independent cognitive abilities. Thurstone identified seven distinct factors through factor analysis, arguing against a single dominant general intelligence.

Flashcard 59: What is the shared environment in behavior genetics studies of intelligence?

Answer: Environmental factors that make siblings more similar. Family SES, parenting style, home resources affecting all children similarly.

Flashcard 60: Which type of intelligence tends to remain stable or improve with age: $G_f$ or $G_c$?

Answer: Crystallized intelligence ($G_c$). Crystallized intelligence benefits from lifelong accumulation of knowledge and experience, offsetting declines in other cognitive areas.

Flashcard 61: What is stereotype threat in the context of intelligence test performance?

Answer: Performance reduction caused by fear of confirming a negative stereotype. Anxiety about group stereotypes impairs working memory and test performance.

Flashcard 62: Identify the term for a test that yields consistent results across repeated trials.

Answer: Reliable. Test-retest reliability means scores remain stable over time.

Flashcard 63: What is Sternberg's triarchic theory of intelligence?

Answer: Analytical, creative, and practical intelligence components. Sternberg's model divides intelligence into components for problem-solving, novelty handling, and real-world application.

Flashcard 64: What is crystallized intelligence ($G_c$) in Cattell's theory?

Answer: Accumulated knowledge and skills from education and experience. Crystallized intelligence reflects the application of learned information and cultural knowledge in familiar contexts.

Flashcard 65: What is heritability in behavioral genetics?

Answer: Proportion of trait variance in a population due to genetic variance. Not about individuals, only population-level variance.