Types of Norms in Developmental Psychology

A measure of a child's cognitive development, expressed in years and months, based on their performance on standardized tests.

Average performance levels for specific age groups on standardized tests, used for comparison.

Early intelligence tests that categorized items by age groups, forming the basis for later age-based tests.

The highest age level at which a child correctly completes all test items.

Variations in performance across different subtests of a cognitive ability test, indicating inconsistent mastery.

An earlier and arguably more neutral term for mental age, associated with early intelligence testing.

Intelligence tests that organize items into age groups for assessing cognitive development.

A group of people of various ages who take the test to establish norms and averages for the different age ranges. The results from this group help determine how to evaluate test scores given on particular age groups.

Mental age does not reflect the same level of intellectual ability at different stages of life. A 5-year-old with a mental age of 4 is different from a 25-year-old with a mental age of 24.

Mental growth progresses at different rates depending on age. A one-year mental growth from age 3-4 is not the same as a one-year mental growth from age 9-12.

Scores on standardized tests that represent the average performance of children in a specific grade level.

Grade equivalents are calculated by finding the average raw score of children in a specific grade level in a standardization sample.

Grade equivalents have weaknesses, including unequal units across subjects and grades, and variable importance of subjects taught.

A child can progress at different rates in different subjects within the same grade.

Grade equivalents are primarily applicable to common subjects taught across grades, not specialized subjects taught for a short period.

It's difficult to ensure that the same subjects receive equal attention and learning across all grades.

Grade norms can't accurately reflect individual student performance because there's a wide range of abilities within a grade.

Developmental scales that show a child's progress through stages, with each stage building on the last.

A set of assessments that measure a child's development in four areas: motor, adaptive, language, and personal-social.

The order in which a child learns new skills and abilities follows a specific pattern.

Children follow similar patterns of skill development, even if they progress at different paces.

How long a child focuses on a specific object reveals their development level.

As children develop, their hand and finger movements become more precise and controlled.

A child's success at a higher level suggests mastery at all lower levels of development.

Piaget's theory describes how children's thinking develops through a series of stages, each marked by different cognitive abilities.

The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they are hidden from sight.

The ability to understand that a quantity remains the same even when its appearance changes.

The ability to understand that others may have different viewpoints or perceptions than our own.

Specific activities designed to measure a child's cognitive development, revealing their dominant stage.

Comparing a person's performance to the standardization group of people most similar to them, like comparing a child's score to other children of the same age or grade.

A way of describing a person's rank within a group, representing their relative position based on a percentage.

The 50th percentile represents the median score, which is the middle point in a distribution. Half of the scores are below the 50th percentile, and half are above.

Quartiles divide a distribution into four equal parts. The 25th percentile is the first quartile (Q1), the 50th percentile is the second quartile (Q2), and the 75th percentile is the third quartile (Q3).

A standard score expresses an individual's distance from the mean in terms of standard deviations. It shows how far a score is from the average score in a distribution.

A z-score is a type of standard score where the mean of the distribution is subtracted from the raw score and then divided by the standard deviation.

A negative z-score indicates that a person's score is below the average score in the distribution.

A positive z-score indicates that a person's score is above the average score in the distribution.

Normal standard scores transform raw scores into a distribution that follows a normal curve. They are based on percentages of scores within the distribution.

When different tests use different standardization samples, comparing scores can be misleading. Scores may seem higher or lower depending on the groups compared.

Systems for assigning numbers to objects, ensuring that test results are expressed numerically for comparison and analysis.

Converting subjective responses (like 'always' or 'never') into numerical scores allows for meaningful comparisons across individuals.

Even tests with the same label can differ in content, meaning comparing scores from different tests may not be accurate.

Different intelligence tests may use different scales with varying units (like standard deviations), making direct comparison of scores problematic.

Analyzing an individual's scores on the same test over time to track changes and progress.

Different scores by the same individual on seemingly similar tests may be influenced by different test content, scales, and standardization groups.