The prevalence rate of clinical intellectual disability has _________ over the last 80 years because intelligence scales have been ______.
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Answer: D. increased; restandardized
Explanation
Periodically restandardizing intelligence scales resets the population average score back to one hundred points. As population raw test scores rise due to the Flynn effect, restandardization shifts score thresholds upward. Raising the scoring thresholds alters the statistical percentage of individuals classified with clinical intellectual disability. Psychometric test publishers update normative samples every decade to account for shifting population performance baselines. Clinical intellectual disability is diagnosed when an individual scores significantly below the population mean. Standard deviation units determine the cutoff scores used for clinical psychological diagnoses worldwide.
Clinical psychologists must use up-to-date test norms to avoid misdiagnosing patients during cognitive evaluations. Understanding standardization prevents erroneous conclusions regarding generational shifts in cognitive impairment rates. Legal and educational systems rely on standardized cutoff scores to allocate disability support resources. Option A correctly notes the prevalence rate change but misattributes it solely to factor analysis techniques. Option B is wrong because clinical prevalence rates have shifted rather than decreased through factor analysis. Option C is incorrect because prevalence rates changed due to restandardization rather than factor analysis.
- Subject
- Psychology
- Category
- Psychology
- Topic
- —
- Difficulty
- medium
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