Which psychologist first used the term mental test?

Which psychologist first used the term mental test?

• A. James McKeen Cattell
• B. B. F. Skinner
• C. Alfred Binet
• D. Lewis Terman

Answer: (A)

The term “mental test” was first introduced to describe standardized procedures for measuring mental processes, and the psychologist who coined that phrase is James McKeen Cattell. In the 1890s, he emphasized using simple, repeatable tasks—like reaction time and sensory discrimination—as a way to quantify mental functioning, and he popularized the idea through his writings and research. This established the vocabulary and approach of assessing mental abilities with standardized tests. Alfred Binet later developed the first practical intelligence test in 1905, but he didn’t coin the term. His work focused on measuring intelligence itself, not on naming the category of measurement. Binet’s test spurred further developments, such as Lewis Terman adapting it into the Stanford-Binet, yet neither is associated with originating the phrase “mental test.” B. F. Skinner contributed to psychology from a behaviorist perspective, rather than to the naming or early development of mental testing terminology.

The term “mental test” was first introduced to describe standardized procedures for measuring mental processes, and the psychologist who coined that phrase is James McKeen Cattell. In the 1890s, he emphasized using simple, repeatable tasks—like reaction time and sensory discrimination—as a way to quantify mental functioning, and he popularized the idea through his writings and research. This established the vocabulary and approach of assessing mental abilities with standardized tests.

Alfred Binet later developed the first practical intelligence test in 1905, but he didn’t coin the term. His work focused on measuring intelligence itself, not on naming the category of measurement. Binet’s test spurred further developments, such as Lewis Terman adapting it into the Stanford-Binet, yet neither is associated with originating the phrase “mental test.” B. F. Skinner contributed to psychology from a behaviorist perspective, rather than to the naming or early development of mental testing terminology.