5 Steps to a 5 AP Psychology, 2014-2015 Edition

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Testing and Individual Differences

IN THIS CHAPTER

Summary:Are you taking the AP Psychology exam in May? Have you taken

the SAT or ACT? These are all standardized tests. You’ve already taken lots of

tests in your lifetime, and you will likely take many more, but all tests are not

created equal. Some tests are better than others at predicting or evaluating

your potential, or measuring your achievement. Tests are important to you

because they are used to make decisions that affect your life

This chapter focuses on test quality and qualities of tests, ethics in

testing, intelligence and intelligence testing, and the interactions of heredity

and environment on intelligence.

Key Ideas

Standardization and Norms

Reliability and Validity

Types of tests

Ethics and standards in testing

Intelligence

Intelligence testing

Kinds of intelligence

Heredity/environment and intelligence

Human diversity

Standardization and Norms

Psychometrics is the measurement of mental traits, abilities, and processes. Psychometricians

are involved in test development in order to measure some constructor behavior that

distinguishes people. Constructs are ideas that help summarize a group of related phenom-

KEY IDEA

CHAPTER

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