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mental measurement

mental measurement

6.8
A way to check thinking skills with standard tests
  • noun
  • /ˈmɛntəl ˈmɛʒərmənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : medición mental
  • Psychologists often rely on mental measurement to assess a person's IQ and cognitive abilities.

Examples

  • Taken together, the reduction of empirical investigation of childhood learning, coupled with the increased emphasis on refining the technical features of mental measurements, presents a picture of a research field redefining itself in a mathematical mode.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The actuarial studies adopted the philosophical positions of objectivism and atomism through the use of a variety of mental measurements and statistical procedures.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Standardized tests are a common tool used in mental measurement to evaluate educational aptitude.

  • The study focused on the effectiveness of various mental measurements in predicting future academic success.

Synonyms

psychometrics
vsmental measurement
  • Specialized
1 8.6

Measuring people's intelligence, personality, and abilities with tests

is the applied field focusing on theory and technique of assessing cognitive abilities
psychometry
vsmental measurement
  • Specialized
1 8.6

The study of tests that measure people's intelligence, skills, and personality

is a broader scientific branch covering theory and practice of assessing abilities
mental testing
vsmental measurement
3.7

A process of giving standard tests to measure thinking, memory or personality

covers the wider technique of quantifying cognitive skills beyond test giving

How Accurate

psychometric test
  • Specialized
1 5.1
mental measurement
  • Specialized
6.8
screening
23 3.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

mental + measurement

The meaning 'the process of quantifying mental functions or abilities' is directly and compositionally derived from 'mental' (pertaining to the mind) + 'measurement' (the act of quantifying). This ADJ+NOUN combination follows a standard, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Mental measurement comes from the idea of measuring the mind like you measure length, with tests acting as simple rulers. Mental means the mind and measurement means using a tool to give a number, so the phrase means 'testing' or 'putting a number on' someone's memory, intelligence, or skills.