INTERACTIONISM

- refers to the complex concept by which heredity and environment are presumed to interact and
influence the development of one’s intelligence

PRIMARY MENTAL ABILITIES TEST

-Consists of separate tests, each designed to measure one PMA: verbal meaning, perceptual speed,
reasoning, number facility, rote memory, word fluency, and spatial relations.
-this early model of multiple abilities inspired other theorists and test developers to explore various
components of intelligence and ways to measure them

FACTOR-ANALYTIC THEORIES
-the focus is squarely on identifying THE ABILITY OR GROUPS OF ABILITIES deemed to constitute
intelligence.

INFORMATION-PROCESSING THEORIES
-the focus is on identifying the specific mental processes that constitute intelligence

FACTOR-ANALYTIC THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE

As early as 1904, British psychologist Charles Spearman developed new methods to measure how
different tests are related. He discovered that intelligence tests often show some level of correlation
with each other. In 1927, Spearman formalized this idea into a theory of general intelligence, proposing
that a general intellectual ability (called "g") is present in all mental abilities to some extent. This theory,
known as the two-factor theory of intelligence, suggests that "g" represents the common factor in all
intelligence tests, while the remaining differences are due to specific factors ("s") or errors ("e").

Factor Analysis - is a group of statistical techniques designed to determine the existence of underlying
relationships between sets of variables, including test scores.
REPHRASED:
Factor analysis is a set of statistical methods used to identify connections between different variables, like
test scores. In efforts to define intelligence, researchers have used factor analysis to examine how tests
of different abilities, which are thought to reflect intelligence, are related.

TWO-FACTOR THEORY OF INTELLIGENCE

g -represents the portion of the variance that

all intelligence tests have in common

s -remaining portion of the variance being

accounted by specific components

e -remaining portion of the variance being

accounted by error components of this
general factor--
Test that exhibited high positive correlations with other intelligence tests were thought to be HIGHLY
CORRELATED with g, whereas tests with low or moderate correlations with other intelligence tests were
viewed as possible measures of specific factors (such as visual or motor ability)

All of the perfect 1.00 correlations in the table show that each item perfectly correlates with itself. In the
actual data analysis, these perfect correlations are ignored, and only the correlations below the
diagonal line of 1.00 correlations are analyzed.

Using the correlations shown in Table 1, factor analysis suggests that the behavior rating scale
measures two factors. The high correlations between Items 1 through 3 indicate they all strongly relate
to the first factor, while Items 4 through 6 correlate highly with the second factor. These correlations
with the factors are called factor loadings, and they are shown in Table 2.

Factor analysis helps identify which items relate to which factors, but it doesn't explain what those
factors mean. Researchers usually review the items connected to each factor and, using their intuition
or theoretical knowledge, decide on a name for the factor. For example, Factor 1 could be named
Conduct Problems, Acting Out, or Externalizing Behaviors, while Factor 2 could be called Mood
Problems, Negative Affectivity, or Internalizing Behaviors. This means that the issues on this behavior
rating scale can be effectively summarized with just two scores instead of six. While this reduction may
seem small in this example, in practice, factor analysis can significantly simplify complex behavior
rating scales.

The Cattell-Horn and Carroll models are alike in many ways, such as both identifying broad abilities that
include several narrower abilities. However, merging these two models would need to address their
differences. One key difference is the role of a general intellectual (g) factor. Carroll's model includes g as
the top-level factor, covering broad abilities like fluid intelligence (Gf) and crystallized intelligence (Gc). In
contrast, the Cattell-Horn model does not include g at all. Another difference is how each model treats
"quantitative knowledge" and "reading/writing ability." In the Cattell-Horn model, these are broad abilities,
while Carroll considers them narrow abilities. There are also differences in how they label and define
abilities and how they group factors related to memory.

To bridge these differences, Kevin S. McGrew proposed an integrated model in 1997, later modified by
McGrew and Flanagan in 1998. The current McGrew-Flanagan CHC model includes ten broad abilities,
each covering multiple narrow abilities. These broad abilities are fluid intelligence (Gf), crystallized
intelligence (Gc), quantitative knowledge (Gq), reading/writing ability (Grw), short-term memory (Gsm),
visual processing (Gv), auditory processing (Ga), long-term storage and retrieval (Glr), processing speed
(Gs), and decision/reaction time or speed (Gt).
Notably, the CHC model does not include the general intellectual ability factor (g). The reason for this is
rooted in the model's purpose: to improve psychological assessments in education by identifying and
using tests from different sources to give a complete picture of a student's abilities. The authors felt that g
wasn't useful for these educational evaluations, which is why it was left out of the model.

The greater the MAGNITUDE of g in a test, the better the test was thought to predict overall a specific
variable.

GROUP FACTORS
- is neither as general as g nor as specific as s
- example of these broad group factors include linguistic, mechanical, and arithmetical abilities

INTERPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE
- is the ability to understand other people: what motivates them, how they work, how to work
cooperatively with them
- successful sales people, politicians, teachers, clinicians, and religious leader are all likely to be
individuals with high degrees of interpersonal intelligence

INTRAPERSONAL INTELLIGENCE
- a 7th kind of intelligence
- is a correlative ability, turned inward
- it is a capacity to form an accurate, vertical model of oneself and to be able to use that model to
operate effectively in life

FACTOR ANALYSIS CAN TAKE MANY FORMS

● EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS

- the researcher essentially explores what relationships exist

● CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS

- the researcher is typically testing the viability of a proposed model of theory

Some factor-analytic studies are conducted on the subtests of a single test or from two or more tests

The type of factor analysis employed by a theorist may well be the tool that presents that theorist’s
conclusions in the possible light.

2 MAJOR TYPES OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES ACCORDING TO CATELL: crystallized intelligence & fluid
intelligence

CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE (Gc)

-include ACQUIRED SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE that are dependent on exposure to a particular culture
as well as on formal and informal education (vocabulary for example)
-retrieval of information and application of general knowledge are conceived as elements of this type of
intelligence

FLUID INTELLIGENCE (Gf)

-are nonverbal, relatively culture-free, and independent of specific instruction (such as memory for digits)
VULNERABLE ABILITIES
-abilities that decline with age and tend not to return to preinjury levels following brain damage

MAINTAINED ABILITIES
-abilities that tend to not decline with age and may return to preinjury levels follow brain damage

THREE-STRATUM THEORY OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES BY CARROLL

top stratum - g or general intelligence (narrow abilities yata)

second stratum - composed of eight abilities and processes: fluid intelligence (Gf), crystallized
intelligence (Gc), general memory and learning (Y), broad visual perception (V), broad auditory perception

(U), broad retrieval capacity ( R ) broad cognitive speediness (S), and processing/decision speed (T)

Below each of the abilities in the second stratum are many “level factors” and/or “speed factors” each
different, depednign on the second-level stratum to which they are linked.

For example, three factors linked to Gf are general reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and Piagetian
reasoning. A speed factor linked to Gf is speed of reasoning. Four factors linked to Gc are language
development, comprehension, spelling ability, and communication ability. Two speed factors linked to
Gc are oral fluency and writing ability

With this reason, the three-stratum theory is a

HIERARCHICAL MODEL
-meaning that all of the abilities listed in a stratum are subsumed by or incorporated in the strata above

CATELL-HORN-CARROLL (CHC) MODEL OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES

- their three-stratum theory
"Quantitative knowledge" and "reading/writing
ability" should be treated as separate, broad abilities
according to the Cattell-Horn model. However,
Carroll considered these abilities to be narrow and
part of the first stratum. The two models also differ in
how they label, define, and group abilities, especially
those related to memory.

Kevin S. McGrew proposed combining the

Cattell-Horn and Carroll models in 1997. Later,
McGrew and Flanagan updated this model in 1998,
resulting in the McGrew-Flanagan CHC model. This
model identifies ten broad abilities and over seventy
narrow abilities, where each broad ability includes
two or more narrow abilities. The ten broad abilities
are fluid intelligence (Gf), crystallized intelligence
(Gc), quantitative knowledge (Gq), reading/writing
ability (Grw), short-term memory (Gsm), visual
processing (Gv), auditory processing (Ga),
long-term storage and retrieval (Glr), processing
 speed (Gs), and decision/reaction time or speed
(Gt).

The CHC model does not include a general

intelligence factor (g). The authors left out g
because it was not useful for educational
assessments. Their model aimed to improve how
psychological assessments in education are
conducted by identifying and combining tests that
give a full evaluation of a student's abilities.
Although g was excluded, this does not mean that g
doesn't exist or isn't important; it just isn't practical
for the specific purpose of cross-battery assessment
and interpretation.

The model was the product of efforts designed to improve the practice of psychological assessment in
education (aka PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT)by identifying tests from different batteries that
could be used to provide a comprehensive assessment of a student’s abilities.

CROSS-BATTERY ASSESSMENT
-assessment that employs tests from different tests batteries and entails interpretation of data from
specified subtests to provide a comprehensive assessment

INTELLIGENCE ACCORDING TO E.L. THORNDIKE

intelligence can be conceived in terms of three clusters of ability:
● social intelligence (dealing with people)
● concrete intelligence (dealing with objects)
● abstract intelligence (dealing with verbal and mathematical symbols)
(g) according to Thorndike, is the total number of modifiable connections or “bonds” available in the brain

For Thorndike, one’s ability to learn is determined by the number and speed of the bonds that can be
marshaled.

No major tests of intelligence were ever developed based on Thorndike’s multifactor theory.

THE INFORMATION-PROCESSING VIEW

-by Russian Psychologist Aleksandr Luria
- this approach focuses on the mechanisms by how information is processed rather than what is
processed

2 BASIC TYPES OF INFORMATION-PROCESSING STYLES

● SIMULTANEOUS (PARALLEL) PROCESSING

- information is integrated all at ONE TIME
- are “synthesized” where information is integrated and synthesized at once and as a
whole
- e.g;. map reading

● SUCCESSIVE (SEQUENTIAL) PROCESSING

- each bit of information is individually processed in sequence
- is logical and analytic in nature
- piece by piece and one piece of another
- information is arranged and rearranged
 - e.g. memorizing a phone number

PASS MODEL
-(planning, attention, simultaneous, successive)

planning - strategy development for problem solving

attention (arousal) - receptivity of information

simultaneous & successive - refers to the type of information processing employed

MEASURING INTELLIGENCE
-entails sampling an examinee’s performance on different types of tests and tasks as a function of
developmental level

Measuring intelligence involves testing a person's performance on various tasks based on their
developmental stage. This process also allows for a standardized way to observe how the person
approaches these tasks. The insights gained from this assessment can be very useful in different
settings, such as schools, the military, and businesses.

In infancy (the period from birth through 18 months), intellectual assessment consists primarily of
measuring sensorimotor development - measurement of nonverbal motor responses such as turning over,
lifting the head, sitting up, following a moving object with the eyes, imitating gestures, reaching for a group
of objects

According to Wechsler, adult intelligence scales should tap abilities such as retention of general
information, quantitative reasoning, expressive language and memory, and social judgment

-Tests of Intelligence are more administered in a clinical setting to obtain clinically relevant information or
some measure of learning potential and skill acquisition.
- It is seldom administered for purposes of EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENT
- can be also used to evaluate an impaired individual for the purpose of judging that person’s competency
to make important decisions
- it can also be used to help make decisions about vocational and career decisions and transitions

SOME TESTS USED TO MEASURE INTELLIGENCE

From the test user’s standpoint, several considerations figure into a test’s appeal:
● the theory (if any) on which the test is based
● the ease with which the test can be administered
● the ease with which the test can be scored
● the ease with which results can be interpreted for a particular purpose
● the adequacy and appropriateness of the norms
● the acceptability of the published reliability and validity indices
● the test’s utility in terms of costs versus benefits

SAMPLE ITEMS USED TO MEASURE INTELLIGENCE

SUBTEST DESCRIPTION

INFORMATION In what continent is Brazil? Questions

 such as these, which are wide-ranging
and tap general knowledge, learning,
and memory, are asked. Interests,
education, cultural background, and
reading skills are some influencing
factors in the
score achieved.

COMPREHEN In general, these questions tap social

SION comprehension, the ability to organize
and apply knowledge, and what is
colloquially referred to as “common
sense.” An illustrative question is Why
should children be cautious in speaking
to strangers?

SIMILARITIES How are a pen and a pencil alike? This

is the general type of question that
appears in this subtest. Pairs of words
are presented to the examinee, and the
task is to determine how they are alike.
The ability to analyze relationships and
engage in logical, abstract thinking are
two cognitive abilities tapped by this
type of test.

ARITHMETIC Arithmetic problems are presented and

solved verbally. At lower levels, the
task may involve simple counting.
Learning of
arithmetic, alertness and concentration,
and short-term auditory memory are
some of the intellectual abilities tapped
by
this test

VOCABULARY The task is to define words. This test is

thought to be a good measure of
general intelligence, although
education and
cultural opportunities clearly contribute
to success.

RECEPTIVE The task is to select from four pictures

VOCABULARY what the examiner has said aloud. This
tests taps auditory discrimination and
processing, auditory memory, and the
integration of visual perception and
auditory input.

PICTURE The task is to name a picture

NAMING displayed in a book of stimulus
pictures. This test taps expressive
language and word retrieval ability.

DIGIT SPAN The examiner verbally presents a

series of numbers, and the
examinee’s task is to repeat the
numbers in the same
 sequence or backward. This
subtest taps auditory short-term
memory, encoding, and attention.

LETTER Letters and numbers are orally

-NUMBER presented in a mixed-up order. The
SEQUENCING task is to repeat the list with
numbers in ascending
order and letters in alphabetical
order. Success on this subtest
requires attention, sequencing
ability, mental manipulation, and
processing speed.

PICTURE The subject’s task here is to identify

COMPLETIO what important part is missing from
N a picture. For example, the
testtaker might be
shown a picture of a chair with one
leg missing. This subtest draws on
visual perception abilities,
alertness, memory,
concentration, attention to detail,
and ability to differentiate essential
from nonessential detail. Because
respondents
may point to the missing part, this
test provides a good nonverbal
estimate of intelligence. However,
successful
performance on a test such as this
still tends to be highly influenced by
cultural factors.

PICTURE In the genre of a comic-strip panel,

ARRANGEM this subtest requires the testtaker
ENT to re-sort a scrambled set of cards
with pictures on them into a story
that makes sense. Because the
test taker must understand the
whole story before a successful
re-sorting will occur, this subtest is
thought to tap the ability to
comprehend or “size up” a
situation. Additionally, attention,
concentration, and ability to see
temporal and cause-and-effect
relationships are tapped.

BLOCK A design with colored blocks is

DESIGN illustrated either with blocks
themselves or with a picture of the
finished design, and the
examinee’s task is to reproduce the
design. This test draws on
 perceptual-motor skills,
psychomotor speed, and the
ability to analyze and synthesize.
Factors that may influence
performance on this test include
the examinee’s color
vision, frustration tolerance, and
flexibility or rigidity in problem
solving.

OBJECT The task here is to assemble, as

ASSEMBLY quickly as possible, a cut-up picture
of a familiar object. Some of the
abilities called on
here include pattern recognition,
assembly skills, and psychomotor
speed. Useful qualitative
information pertinent to the
the examinee's work habits may
also be obtained here by careful
observation of the approach to the
task. For example, Does the
examinee give up easily or persist
in the face of difficulty?

CODING If you were given the dot-and-dash

equivalents of several letters in
Morse code and then had to write
out letters in Morse
code as quickly as you could, you
would be completing a coding task.
The Wechsler coding task involves
using code from a printed key. The
test is thought to draw on factors
such as attention, learning ability,
psychomotor speed, and
concentration ability

SYMBOL The task is to visually scan two

SEARCH groups of symbols, one search
group and one target group, and
determine whether the target
symbol appears in the search
group. The test is presumed to tap
cognitive processing speed.

MATRIX A nonverbal analogy-like task

REASONING involving an incomplete matrix
designed to tap perceptual
organizing abilities and reasoning

WORD The task is to identify the common

REASONING concept being described with a
series of clues. This test taps
verbal abstraction ability and the
 ability to generate alternative
concepts.

PICTURE The task is to select one picture

CONCEPTS from two or three rows of pictures
to form a group with a common
characteristic. It is designed to tap
the ability to abstract as well as
categorical reasoning ability

CANCELLAT The task is to scan either a

ION structured or an unstructured
arrangement of visual stimuli and
mark targeted images within a
specified time limit. This subtest
taps visual selective attention and
related abilities.

THE STANFORD-BINET INTELLIGENCE SCALE: FIFTH EDITION (SB5)

-was the first published intelligence test to provide organized and detailed administration and scoring
instructions

-first American test to employ the concept of IQ

*Lewis Madison Terman - authored the English Translation of the Binet-Simon Test

-was the first test to introduced the concept on an alternate item

*The first edition of the Stanford-Binet test had lack of representativeness of the standardization sample

ALTERNATE ITEM
-an item to be substituted for a regular item under specified conditions

*Innovations in the 1937 scale included the development of 2 EQUIVALENT FORMS, labeled
L (Lewis) M (Maud)
as well as new types of tasks for use with preschool-level and adult test takers

*A serious criticism of the test remained: lack of representation of minority groups during the test’s
development

Another revision of the Stanford-Binet was well under way at the time of Terman’s death at age 79 in
1956. This edition of the Stanford-Binet, the 1960 revision, consisted of only a single form (labeled L-M)
and included the items considered to be the best from the two forms of the 1937 test, with no new items
added to the test. A major innovation, however, was the use of the deviation IQ tables in place of the ratio
IQ tables. Earlier versions of the StanfordBinet had employed the ratio IQ, which was based on the
concept of mental age.

MENTAL AGE
-the age level at which an individual appears to be functioning intellectually as indicated by the level
of items responded to correctly

RATIO IQ
- is the ratio of the test taker’s mental age divided by his or her chronological age, multiplied by 100 to
eliminate decimals

A child whose mental age and chronological age were EQUAL would thus have an IQ of 100.

DEVIATION IQ
-reflects a comparison of the performance of the individual with the performance of others of the same
age in the standardization sample

*Essentially, test performance is converted into a standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard
deviation of 16. Meaning that if a performance of a standard deviation above the mean for the
examinee’s age group, the deviation IQ is 116.

AGE SCALE

The Stanford-Binet: Fourth Edition (SB:FE) was a point scale.

POINT SCALE
-is a test organized into subtest by category of item, not by age at which most test takers are presumed
capable of responding in the way that is keyed correct

TEST COMPOSITE
-a test score or index derived from the combination of, and/or a mathematical transformation of, one
or more subtest scores

CATELL-HORN-CARROLL (CHC) AND CORRESPONDING SB5 FACTORS

The fifth edition of the Stanford-Binet was designed for administration to assessees as young as 2
and as old a 85 (or older)
-It measures 5 CHC factors by different types of tasks and subsets at different levels.
CHC FACTOR NAME: Fluid Intelligence (Gf)

SB5 FACTOR NAME: Fluid Reasoning

BRIEF DEFINITION: Novel problem solving; understanding of relationships that are not culturally
bound

SAMPLE SB5 SUBTEST:

Verbal - Analogies
Nonverbal - Object Series / Matrices

CHC FACTOR NAME: Crystallized Knowledge (Gc)

SB5 FACTOR NAME: Knowledge (KN)

BRIEF DEFINITION: Skills and knowledge acquired by formal and informal education

SAMPLE SB5 SUBTEST:

 Verbal - Vocabulary
Nonverbal - Picture Absurdities

CHC FACTOR NAME: Quantitative Knowledge (Gq)

SB5 FACTOR NAME: Quantitative Reasoning (QR)

BRIEF DEFINITION: Knowledge of mathematical thinking including number concepts, estimation,

problem solving, and measurement

SAMPLE SB5 SUBTEST: Verbal Quantitative Reasoning (verbal) Nonverbal Quantitative Reasoning
(nonverbal)

CHC FACTOR NAME: Visual Processing (Gv)

SB5 FACTOR NAME: Visual-Spatial Processing (VS)

BRIEF DEFINITION: Ability to see patterns and relationships and spatial orientation as well as the
gestalt among diverse visual stimuli

SAMPLE SB5 SUBTEST:

Verbal - Position and Direction
Nonverbal - Form Board

CHC FACTOR NAME: Short-Term Memory (Gsm)

SB5 FACTOR NAME: Working Memory (WM)

BRIEF DEFINITION: Cognitive process of temporarily storing and then transforming or sorting
information in memory

SAMPLE SB5 SUBTEST:

Verbal - Memory for Sentences
Nonverbal - Delayed Responses

The test yields a number of composite scores, including a Full Scale IQ derived from the administration of
10 subsets.

All composite scores of the SB5 have a mean set at 100 and a standard deviation of 15.

To check the reliability of the SB5 Full Scale IQ, a formula for multiple tests was used, showing
consistently high reliability across different ages (.97 to .98) and a good reliability for the Abbreviated
Battery IQ (average .91). Test-retest reliability was high, with a shorter interval of 5 to 8 days compared to
other tests. Inter-scorer reliability varied from .74 to .97, with a median of .90. Poorly agreed-upon items
were removed during development.

ROUTING TEST
-is administered after the examiner has established rapport with the test taker
-it directs or routes an examinee to a particular level of questions that have a high probability of being at
an optimal level of difficulty

ABBREVIATED BATTERY IQ SCORE

● Object Series/ Matrices and Vocabulary
● Nonverbal Fluid Object Series/ Matrices and Vocabulary
- are subsets used for the purpose of obtaining abbreviated battery IQ score

TEACHING ITEMS
-are designed to illustrate the task required and assure the examiner that the examinee understands

FLOOR
-refers to the lowest level of the items on a subtest
e.g; at one end of the spectrum and the other at the former end

CEILING
-highest level item of the subtest

BASAL LEVEL (from Binet)

-used to describe a subtest with REFERENCE to a SPECIFIC TEST TAKER’S PERFORMANCE
-it has a criterion that must be met for testing on the subtest to continue

If and when examinees fail a certain number of items IN A ROW, a ceiling level is said to have been
reached and testing is discontinued.

TESTING THE LIMITS

-is a procedure that involves administering test items BEYOND THE LEVEL at which the test manual
dictates discontinuance
-the procedure may be employed when an examiner has reason to believe that an examinee can respond
correctly to items at the higher level

*For each subtest on the SB5, there are explicit rules for where to start, where to reverse, and where to
stop (or discontinue).
*Test takers do not earn formal credit for passing the more difficult items. Rather, the examiner would
simply note on the protocol that testing the limits was conducted with regard to a particular subtest and
then record the findings.

For example, an examiner might start at the examinee’s estimated present ability level. The examiner
might reverse if the examinee scores 0 on the first two items from the start point. The examiner would
discontinue testing (stop) after a certain number of item failures after reversing.
If a vague or ambiguous response (open to more than one interpretation) is given on some verbal items
in items in subtests such as Vocabulary, Verbal Absurdities, or Verbal Analogies, the examiner is
encourage to give the examinee a prompt such as “Tell me more”.

Most of the SB5 items are not times.

The test was constructed this way to accommodate test takers with special needs and to fit the item
response theory model used to calibrate the difficulty of items.

SB5 has a test administration protocol that could be characterized as adaptive in nature.
ADAPTIVE TESTING (tailored testing, sequential testing, branch testing, and response-contingent
testing)
-testing individually tailored (customized) to the test taker
- Adaptive testing might entail beginning a subtest with a question in the middle range of difficulty. If the
test taker responds correctly to the item, an item of greater difficulty is posed next. If the test taker
responds incorrectly to the item, an item of lesser difficulty is posed

Computerized Adaptive Testing is designed to “mimic automatically what a wise examiner would
do”.

Adaptive testing helps ensure that the early test or subtest items are not so difficult as to frustrate the test
taker and not so easy as to lull the testtaker into a false sense of security or a state of mind in which the
task will not be taken seriously enough.

3 OTHER ADVANTAGES OF BEGINNING AN INTELLIGENCE TEST OR SUBTEST AT AN OPTIMAL

DIFFICULTY

(1) It allows the test user to collect the maximum amount of information in the minimum amount of
time
(2) it facilitates rapport
(3) it minimizes the potential for examinee fatigue from being administered too many items

THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE & THE BINET SCALE

ALFRED BINET -”the tendency to take and

maintain a deficit direction;
the capacity to make
adaptations for the PURPOSE
OF ATTAINING A DESIRED
END (goal), and the power of
autocriticism”

SPEARMAN “ability to educe (bring out)

either relations or correlated”

FREEMAN “adjustment or adaptation of

the individual to his total
environment”, “ability to
learn”; “ability to carry on
abstract thinking”

DAS “ability to plan and structure

one’s behavior with an end in
view”
 H. GARDNER “ability to resolve genuine
problems or difficulties as they
are encountered”

STERNBERG “mental activities involved in

purposive adaptation to,
shaping of, and selection of
real-world environments
relevant to one’s life”

ANDERSON “intelligence is
two-dimensional and based
on individual differences in
information-processing speed
and executive functioning
influenced largely by inhibitory
processes

T.R. TAYLOR identified three independent

research traditions that have
been employed to study the
nature of human intelligence
● psychometric
approach
● information
processing
● cognitive approaches

PSYCHOMETRIC APPROACH
- the oldest
-examines the ELEMENTAL STRUCTURE OF A TEST

*Following the psychometric approach, we examine the properties of a test through an evaluation of its
correlated and underlying dimensions.

INFORMATION-PROCESSING
-we examine the processes that underlie how we learn and solve problems

COGNITIVE TRADITION
-focuses on how humans adapat to real-world demands

Binet’s approach is based heavily on the psychometric tradition.

EXTRA-TEST BEHAVIOR
-the way the examinees cope with frustration; how the examinee reacts to items considered very easy;
the amount of support the examinee seems to require; the general approach to the task; how anxious,
fatigued, cooperative, distractible, or compulsive the examinee appears to be—these are the types of
behavioral observations that will supplement formal scores.

CUTOFF BOUNDARIES WITH THEIR CORRESPONDING NOMINAL CATEGORIES

 MEASURED IQ RANGE CATEGORY

145-160 Very gifted or highly advanced

130-144 Gifted or very advanced

120-129 Superior

110-119 High Average

90-109 Average

80-89 Low Average

70-79 Borderline Impaired or Delayed

55-69 Mildly impaired or Delayed

40-54 Moderately impaired or Delayed

THE WECHSLER TESTS

(Wechsler-Bellevue 1 / W-B1)
Unlike the most popular individually administered intelligence test of the time, the StanfordBinet, the
W-B 1 was a point scale, not an age scale. The items were classified by subtests rather than by
age. The test was organized into six verbal subtests and five performance subtests, and all the items in
each test were arranged in order of increasing difficulty. An equivalent alternate form of the test, the
W-B 2, was created in 1942 but was never thoroughly standardized (Rapaport et al., 1968). Unless a
specific reference is made to the W-B 2, references here (and in the literature in general) to the
Wechsler-Bellevue (or the W-B) refer only to the Wechsler-Bellevue 1.

THE WECHSLER ADULT INTELLIGENCE SCALE (WAIS, WECHSLER, 1955)

-this test was organized into Verbal and Performance scales. Scoring yielded a Verbal IQ, a Performance
IQ, and a Full Scale IQ.

The WAIS-III contained updated and more user-friendly materials.

WAIS-IV
- is the current Wechsler adult scale that is made up of subtests that are designated either as core or
supplemental.
-contains 10 core subtest (Block Design, Similarities, Digit Span, Matrix Reasoning, Vocabulary,
Arithmetic, Symbol Search, Visual Puzzles, Information, and Coding) and 5 Supplemental Subtest
(Letter-Numbering Sequencing, Figure Weights, Comprehension, Cancellation, and Picture Completion)

CORE SUBTEST
-is one that is administered to obtain a composite score

SUPPLEMENTAL SUBTEST(optimal subtest)

-is used for purposes such as providing additional clinical information or extending the number of abilities
or processes sampled

A supplemental subtest might be substituted for a core subtest if:

 ● the examiner incorrectly administered a core subtest
● the assessee had been inappropriately exposed to the subtest items prior to their administration
● the assessee evidenced a physical limitation that affected the assessee’s ability to effectively
respond to the items of a particular subtest

The success of the Wechsler adult intelligence scale led to the development of similar tests for children,
including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), first published in 1949 and now in its fifth
edition, and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI), first published in 1967
and now in its fourth edition.

In general, the Wechsler tests have been evaluated favorably from a psychometric standpoint.
Although the coefficients of reliability will vary as a function of the specific type of reliability
assessed, reported reliability estimates for the Wechsler tests in various categories (internal
consistency, test-retest reliability, inter-scorer reliability) tend to be satisfactory and, in many
cases, more than satisfactory. Wechsler manuals also typically contain a great deal of
information on validity studies, usually in the form of correlational studies or factor-analytic
studies.

From a psychometric perspective, the accuracy of a test (its validity) is closely related to its consistency
(reliability). If changes are made to a test that reduce its reliability, its validity may also decrease. For
example, shortening a test by reducing the number of items often leads to lower reliability, which can
make the test less accurate. Therefore, decisions based on short forms of tests should be made carefully.
If a short form suggests the need for intervention or placement, it might be better to administer the full test
to get more accurate results.

Given the demand for shorter tests, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) was
introduced in 1999. It was designed to quickly assess intellectual ability in individuals aged 6 to 89 years.
The WASI is available in two versions: a two-subtest form that takes about 15 minutes and a four-subtest
form that takes about 30 minutes. These subtests were chosen because they had strong correlations with
the Full Scale IQ on other Wechsler tests, and they measure a broad range of cognitive abilities. The
WASI provides scores for Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ, with a mean of 100 and a
standard deviation of 15. Although the WASI is generally considered reliable and useful, some experts
have expressed concerns about how its validity was tested and reported.

In 2011, a revised version called the WASI-2 was released, with improvements aimed at better integration
with other Wechsler tests, user-friendliness, and enhanced psychometric reliability. Despite these
improvements, users are still cautioned that an abbreviated test like the WASI-2 may not be as clinically
accurate as a full-length test.

SHORT FORMS OF INTELLIGENCE TEST

The term SHORT FORM refers to a test that has been abbreviated in length, typically to reduce the time
needed for test administration, scoring, and interpretation.
-Sometimes, when the test taker is believed to have an atypically short attention span or other problems
that would make administration of the complete test impossible, a sampling of representative subtests is
administered.
-Ryan and Ward advised that anytime a short form is used, the score should be reported on the official
record with the abbreviation “Est” next to it, indicating that the report value is only an estimate.
 GROUP TESTS OF INTELLIGENCE

ARMY ALPHA TEST

-are administered to Army recruits who could read
-contains task such as general information questions, analogies, and scrambled sentences to reassemble

ARMY BETA TESTS

-designed for administration to foreign-born recruits with poor knowledge of English or illiterate recruits
(someone who could not read a newspaper or write a letter home)
-contains tasks such as mazes, coding, and picture completion

The tests give a reliable index of a man’s ability to learn, to think quickly and accurately, and to
comprehend instructions. They do not measure loyalty, bravery, dependability, or the emotional traits that
make a man “carry on”. A man’s value to the service is measured by his intelligence plus other necessary
qualifications.

In general, group tests are useful screening tools when large numbers of examinees must be evaluated
either simultaneously or within a limited time frame. We qualify group testing with traditional
because more contemporary forms of group testing, especially testing with all test takers seated at a
computer station, might more aptly be termed individual assessment simultaneously administered in a
group rather than group testing.