General and Specific Mental Abilities

General and Specific Mental Abilities
Author: Dennis J. McFarland
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 485
Release: 2020-05-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1527550478

The history of testing mental abilities has seen the dominance of two contrasting approaches, psychometrics and neuropsychology. These two traditions have different theories and methodologies, but overlap considerably in the tests they use. Historically, psychometrics has emphasized the primacy of a general factor, while neuropsychology has emphasized specific abilities that are dissociable. This issue about the nature of human mental abilities is important for many practical concerns. Questions such as gender, ethnic, and age-related differences in mental abilities are relatively easy to address if they are due to a single dominant trait. Presumably such a trait can be measured with any collection of complex cognitive tests. If there are many specific mental abilities, these would be much harder to measure and associated social issues would be more difficult to resolve. The relative importance of general and specific abilities also has implications for educational practices. This book includes the diverse opinions of experts from several fields including psychometrics, neuropsychology, speech language and hearing, and applied psychology.

The G Factor

The G Factor
Author: Arthur R. Jensen
Publisher: Praeger
Total Pages: 714
Release: 1998-02-28
Genre: Education
ISBN:

However, Jensen does not draw back from its most controversial conclusions - that the average differences in IQ and other abilities found between sexes and racial groups have a substantial hereditary component, and that these differences have important societal consequences.

The Mismeasure of Man (Revised and Expanded)

The Mismeasure of Man (Revised and Expanded)
Author: Stephen Jay Gould
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2006-06-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0393340406

The definitive refutation to the argument of The Bell Curve. When published in 1981, The Mismeasure of Man was immediately hailed as a masterwork, the ringing answer to those who would classify people, rank them according to their supposed genetic gifts and limits. And yet the idea of innate limits—of biology as destiny—dies hard, as witness the attention devoted to The Bell Curve, whose arguments are here so effectively anticipated and thoroughly undermined by Stephen Jay Gould. In this edition Dr. Gould has written a substantial new introduction telling how and why he wrote the book and tracing the subsequent history of the controversy on innateness right through The Bell Curve. Further, he has added five essays on questions of The Bell Curve in particular and on race, racism, and biological determinism in general. These additions strengthen the book's claim to be, as Leo J. Kamin of Princeton University has said, "a major contribution toward deflating pseudo-biological 'explanations' of our present social woes."

The Psychology of Personnel Selection

The Psychology of Personnel Selection
Author: Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2010-01-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1139485261

This engaging and thought-provoking text introduces the main techniques, theories, research and debates in personnel selection, helping students and practitioners to identify the major predictors of job performance as well as the most suitable methods for assessing them. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic and Adrian Furnham provide a comprehensive, critical and up-to-date review of the constructs we use in assessing people – intelligence, personality, creativity, leadership and talent – and explore how these help us to predict differences in individuals' performance. Covering selection techniques such as interviews, references, biographical data, judgement tests and academic performance, The Psychology of Personnel Selection provides a lively discussion of both the theory behind the use of such techniques and the evidence for their usefulness and validity. The Psychology of Personnel Selection is essential reading for students of psychology, business studies, management and human resources, as well as for anyone involved in selection and assessment at work.

The General Factor of Intelligence

The General Factor of Intelligence
Author: Robert J. Sternberg
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2002-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135655154

Book takes a refreshing approach on a classic topic of intelligence, inviting proponents of opposite viewpoints to debate pros & cons of the general factor of intelligence. For graduate & professionl level scholars in cog psy, educatn & indiv differences

Psychology, Seventh Edition (High School)

Psychology, Seventh Edition (High School)
Author: David G. Myers
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 932
Release: 2003-06-06
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780716706212

This new edition continues the story of psychology with added research and enhanced content from the most dynamic areas of the field—cognition, gender and diversity studies, neuroscience and more, while at the same time using the most effective teaching approaches and learning tools

Exploring Psychology (cloth)

Exploring Psychology (cloth)
Author: David G. Myers
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 776
Release: 2004-04-02
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780716786221

The cloth version of the new edition of Myers's best-selling brief text with exceptional writing, integrated use of the SQ3R learning system, current research, and superior supplements returns in a new edition that contains enhanced coverage of personality, neuroscience, and more.

Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination

Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2015-06-29
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309370930

The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two disability programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), for disabled individuals, and their dependent family members, who have worked and contributed to the Social Security trust funds, and Supplemental Security Income (SSSI), which is a means-tested program based on income and financial assets for adults aged 65 years or older and disabled adults and children. Both programs require that claimants have a disability and meet specific medical criteria in order to qualify for benefits. SSA establishes the presence of a medically-determined impairment in individuals with mental disorders other than intellectual disability through the use of standard diagnostic criteria, which include symptoms and signs. These impairments are established largely on reports of signs and symptoms of impairment and functional limitation. Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination considers the use of psychological tests in evaluating disability claims submitted to the SSA. This report critically reviews selected psychological tests, including symptom validity tests, that could contribute to SSA disability determinations. The report discusses the possible uses of such tests and their contribution to disability determinations. Psychological Testing in the Service of Disability Determination discusses testing norms, qualifications for administration of tests, administration of tests, and reporting results. The recommendations of this report will help SSA improve the consistency and accuracy of disability determination in certain cases.

Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction

Intelligence: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Ian J. Deary
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2020-03-26
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0192515993

Some people are cleverer than others. This everyday observation is the subject of an academic field that is often portrayed as confused and controversial, when in fact, the field of intelligence holds some of psychology's best-replicated findings. This Very Short Introduction describes what psychologists have discovered about how and why people differ in their thinking powers. Drawing on large scale data Ian Deary considers how many types of intelligence there are, and how intelligence changes with age. Along the way he tackles some of the most burning questions surrounding intelligence, such as whether larger brains are cleverer, and how genes and environments contribute to people's intelligence differences. He also considers the new field of cognitive epidemiology, which draws links between intelligence and better health, less illness, and longer life, and asks whether intelligence is increasing. In this new edition Deary also addresses the controversial question of whether men and women differ in intelligence. Throughout he provides a clear description of the data we can use to answer these questions and more. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Psychology, Eighth Edition in Modules

Psychology, Eighth Edition in Modules
Author: David G. Myers
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 976
Release: 2007
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780716779278

This modular version of Myers's full-length text, Psychology, reflects the author's research-supported belief that many students learn better using a text comprised of brief modules, as opposed standard-length chapters. Psychology, Eighth Edition, in Modules breaks down the 18 chapters of Psychology into 58 short modules, retaining that acclaimed text's captivating writing, superior pedagogy, and wealth of references to recent cutting-edge research. The modular version has its own extensive media and supplements package, with content organized to match its table of contents.