Mental age

Mental age

Mental age is a concept in relation to intelligence, expressed as the age at which a child is performing intellectually. The mental age of the child that is tested is the same as the average age at which normal children achieve a particular score.[1]

However, a mental age result on an intelligence test does not mean that children function at their "mental age level" in all aspects of life. For instance, a gifted six-year-old child can still in some ways function as a three-year-old child.[2] Mental age was once considered a controversial concept.[3]

Mental age and IQ

Originally, the differences between mental age and chronological age were used to compute the intelligence quotient, or IQ. This was computed using the ratio method, with the following formula: mental age/chronological age * 100 = IQ. No matter what the child's chronological age, if the mental age is the same as the chronological age, then the IQ will equal 100.[4]

An IQ of 100 thus indicates a child of average intellectual development. For a gifted child, the mental age is above the chronological age, and the IQ is higher than 140; for an intellectually challenged child, the mental age is below the chronological age, and the IQ is below 70.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.apa.org/research/action/glossary.aspx#m
  2. ^ L.K. Silverman, 1997. The construct of asynchronous development. Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 72 Issue 3/4
  3. ^ *Thurstone LL. The Mental Age Concept. Psychological Review 33 (1926): 268-278.
  4. ^ http://users.ipfw.edu/abbott/120/IntelligenceTests.html
  5. ^ http://users.ipfw.edu/abbott/120/IntelligenceTests.html

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • mental age — n a measure used in psychological testing that expresses an individual s mental attainment in terms of the number of years it takes an average child to reach the same level * * * a measure of the intellectual level at which an individual… …   Medical dictionary

  • mental age — n. an individual s degree of mental development measured in terms of the chronological age of the average individual of corresponding mental ability …   English World dictionary

  • mental age — S3 n a measure of someone s ability to think, understand etc, expressed as the average age of a child with that level of ability ▪ a 25 year old man with a mental age of seven …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • mental age — noun count usually singular TECHNICAL a measure of intelligence based on the average intelligence of a child of a particular age: Bentley was 19, with a mental age of 11 …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • mental age — mental ages N COUNT: usu sing A person s mental age is the age which they are considered to have reached in their ability to think or reason …   English dictionary

  • mental age — ► NOUN ▪ a person s mental ability expressed as the age at which an average person reaches the same ability …   English terms dictionary

  • mental age — Psychol. the level of native mental ability or capacity of an individual, usually as determined by an intelligence test, in relation to the chronological age of the average individual at this level: a ten year old child with the mental age of a… …   Universalium

  • mental age — noun the level of intellectual development as measured by an intelligence test • Hypernyms: ↑age * * * noun, pl ⋯ ages [count] technical : a measurement of a person s ability to think and understand that is expressed as the age at which an… …   Useful english dictionary

  • mental age — UK / US noun [countable, usually singular] Word forms mental age : singular mental age plural mental ages a measure of intelligence based on the average intelligence of a child of a particular age Bentley was 19, with a mental age of 11 …   English dictionary

  • mental age — /ˈmɛntl eɪdʒ/ (say mentl ayj) noun the degree of mental development or intelligence of an individual in comparison with the average intelligence of normal children at different ages. It is determined by a graded series of tests, in the form of… …  

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”