Question

A child whose mental age is much lower than his chronological age can be considered as:

• A. Intellectually superior
• B. Intellectually average
• C. Intellectually subnormal
• D. Intellectually normal

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Intellectually subnormal

Chronological age is a person's age in years, months, and days, calculated from the date of their birth to the current date. In psychology, chronological age can be used to: 

• Understand development: Chronological age can help explain the underlying processes of development and psychopathology. 

• Predict cognitive capacity: Chronological age can be a rough indicator of cognitive capacity. 

• Understand relationships: Chronological age can be a rough indicator of peer and family relationships. 

• Understand self-awareness: Chronological age can be a rough indicator of self-awareness. 

• Calculate psychological tests: Psychological tests are based on the dates used to calculate chronological age. 

• Determine legal age requirements: Some activities have legal age requirements based on chronological age. 

• Measure typical behaviors: Chronological age can be used to measure typical behaviors in a particular age group. 

However, chronological age is not a guarantee that basic cognitive and social-cognitive processes have occurred. This is because individual growth rates vary widely, so children of the same chronological age can have different strengths and motor proficiency. 

In psychology, intellectual subnormality, also known as mental retardation, is a condition where a person's mental abilities are below normal, making it difficult for them to learn and perform normally: