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PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

Psychological Testing: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Wikipedia
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are the
primary clinical instruments used to measure adult and adolescent intelligence.[1] The
original WAIS (Form I) was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of
the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale.[2] The fourth edition of the test (WAIS-IV) was
released in 2008 by Pearson.
The Wechsler-Bellevue tests were innovative in the 1930s because they gathered tasks
created for nonclinical purposes for administration as a "clinical test battery".[3] Because
the Wechsler tests included non-verbal items (known as performance scales) as well as
verbal items for all test-takers, and because the 1960 form of Lewis Terman's StanfordBinet Intelligence Scales were less cautiously developed than previous versions, Form I of
the WAIS surpassed the Stanford-Binet tests in popularity by the 1960s.[2]

Wechsler defined intelligence as "The global capacity of a person to act purposefully, to

24 Hour Child Crisis think rationally, and to deal effectively with his/her environment."[4
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WAIS

The WAIS was initially created as a revision of the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale
Resources Assessment (WBIS), which was a battery of tests published by Wechsler in 1939. The WBIS was
composed of subtests that could be found in various other intelligence tests of the time,
such as Robert Yerkes' army testing program and the Binet-Simon scale. The WAIS was
first released in February 1955 by David Wechsler

WAIS-R
The WAIS-R, a revised form of the WAIS, was released in 1981 and consisted of six verbal
and five performance subtests. The verbal tests were: Information, Comprehension,
Arithmetic, Digit Span, Similarities, and Vocabulary. The Performance subtests were:
Picture Arrangement, Picture Completion, Block Design, Object Assembly, and Digit Symbol.
A verbal IQ, performance IQ and full scale IQ were obtained.[5]
This revised edition did not provide new validity data, but used the data from the original
WAIS; however new norms were provided, carefully stratified.[5]

WAIS-III

RESOURCES
Basic Information
Introduction to
Psychological Testing
Psychological Testing:
Intelligence Quotient
Psychological Testing:
Wechsler Adult Intelligence
Scale
Psychological Testing:
Stanford-Binet IQ Test
Psychological Testing:
Raven's Progressive
Matrices
Psychological Testing:
Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory
Psychological Testing:
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Psychological Testing:
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Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders
Global Assessment of
Functioning
Psychological Testing:
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Psychological Testing:
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Imaging)
Functional Magnetic
Resonance Imaging
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RELATED TOPICS
Psychotherapy
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The WAIS-III, a subsequent revision of the WAIS and the WAIS-R, was released in 1997. It provided scores for Verbal IQ,
Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ, along with four secondary indices (Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual
Organization, and Processing Speed).
Verbal IQ (VIQ)
Included seven tests and provided two subindexes; verbal comprehension and working memory.
The Verbal comprehension index included the following tests:
Information
Similarities
Vocabulary
The Working memory index included:
Arithmetic
Digit Span
Letter-Number Sequencing and Comprehension are not included in these indices, but are used as substitutions for spoiled
subtests within the WMI and VCI, respectively
Performance IQ (PIQ)
Included six tests and it also provided two subindexes; perceptual organization and processing speed.
The Perceptual organization index included:
Block Design
Matrix Reasoning
Picture Completion
The Processing speed index included:
Digit Symbol-Coding
Symbol Search
Two tests; Picture Arrangement and Object Assembly were not included in the indexes. Object Assembly is not included in
the PIQ.

WAIS-IV
The current version of the test, the WAIS-IV, which was released in 2008, is composed of 10 core subtests and five
supplemental subtests, with the 10 core subtests comprising the Full Scale IQ. With the new WAIS-IV, the
verbal/performance subscales from previous versions were removed and replaced by the index scores. The General Ability
Index (GAI) was included, which consists of the Similarities, Vocabulary and Information subtests from the Verbal
Comprehension Index and the Block Design, Matrix Reasoning and Visual Puzzles subtests from the Perceptual Reasoning
Index. The GAI is clinically useful because it can be used as a measure of cognitive abilities that are less vulnerable to
impairment.
Indices and scales
There are four index scores representing major components of intelligence:
Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
Working Memory Index (WMI)
Processing Speed Index (PSI)

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Two broad scores are also generated, which can be used to summarize general intellectual abilities:
Full Scale IQ (FSIQ), based on the total combined performance of the VCI, PRI, WMI, and PSI
General Ability Index (GAI), based only on the six subtests that comprise the VCI and PRI
Subtests
The Verbal Comprehension Index includes four tests:
Similarities: Abstract verbal reasoning (e.g., "In what way are an apple and a pear alike?")
Vocabulary: The degree to which one has learned, been able to comprehend and verbally express vocabulary
(e.g., "What is a guitar?")
Information : Degree of general information acquired from culture (e.g., "Who is the president of Russia?")
Comprehension [Supplemental]: Ability to deal with abstract social conventions, rules and expressions (e.g., "What
does Kill 2 birds with 1 stone metaphorically mean?")
The Perceptual Reasoning Index comprises five tests
Block Design: Spatial perception, visual abstract processing & problem solving
Matrix Reasoning: Nonverbal abstract problem solving, inductive reasoning, spatial reasoning
Visual Puzzles: non-verbal reasoning
Picture Completion [Supplemental]: Ability to quickly perceive visual details
Figure Weights [Supplemental]: quantitative and analogical reasoning
The Working Memory Index is obtained from three tests
Digit span: attention, concentration, mental control (e.g., Repeat the numbers 1-2-3 in reverse sequence)
Arithmetic: Concentration while manipulating mental mathematical problems (e.g., "How many 45-cent stamps can
you buy for a dollar?")
Letter-Number Sequencing [Supplemental]: attention and working memory (e.g., Repeat the sequence Q-1-B-3-J2, but place the numbers in numerical order and then the letters in alphabetical order)
The Processing Speed Index includes three tests
Symbol Search: Visual perception, speed
Coding: Visual-motor coordination, motor and mental speed
Cancellation [Supplemental]: visual-perceptual speed
Standardization
The WAIS-IV was standardized on a sample of 2,200 people in the United States ranging in age from 16 to 90. An
extension of the standardization has been conducted with 688 Canadians in the same age range. The median Full Scale IQ
is centered at 100, with a standard deviation of 15.[6] In a normal distribution, the IQ range of one standard deviation
above and below the mean (i.e, between 85 and 115) is where approximately 68% of all adults would fall.

Other test variants and uses

The WAIS-IV measure is appropriate for use with individuals aged 1690 years. For individuals under 16 years, the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC, 6-16 yrs) and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence
(WPPSI, 2 1/2-7yrs, 3 mos) are used.
A short, four-subtest version of the WAIS-III battery has been released, allowing clinicians to form a validated estimate of
verbal, performance and full scale IQ in a shorter amount of time. The Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)
uses vocabulary, similarities, block design and matrix reasoning subtests similar to those of the WAIS to provide an
estimate of full scale IQ in approximately 30 minutes.
Intelligence tests may also be utilized in populations with psychiatric illness or brain injury, in order to assess level of
cognitive functioning, though some regard this use as controversial. Some neuropsychologists use the technique on people
suffering brain damage as it leads to links with which part of the brain has been affected, or use specific subtests in order
to get an idea of the extent of the brain damage. For example, digit span may be used to get a sense of attentional
difficulties. Others employ the WAIS-R NI (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised as a Neuropsychological
Instrument), another measure published by Harcourt. Each subtest score is tallied and calculated with respect to nonnormal or brain-damaged norms. As the WAIS is developed for the average, non-injured individual, separate norms were
developed for appropriate comparison among similar functioning individuals.

References
1. ^ Lichtenberger, Elizabeth O.; Kaufman, Alan S (2002). Assessing adolescent and adult intelligence. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon. pp. 3. ISBN 020530527x.
2. ^ a b Lichtenberger, Elizabeth O.; Kaufman, Alan S (2002). Assessing adolescent and adult intelligence. Boston:
Allyn and Bacon. pp. 7. ISBN 020530527x.
3. ^ Lichtenberger, Elizabeth O.; Kaufman, Alan S (2002). Assessing adolescent and adult intelligence. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon. pp. 6. ISBN 020530527x.
4. ^ Wechsler, David (1939). The measurement of adult intelligence. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. p. 229.
5. ^ a b "Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Revised". http://www.cps.nova.edu/~cpphelp/WAIS-R.html. Retrieved
2009-03-31.
6. ^ "Distribution of IQ Scores". MSN Encarta.
http://encarta.msn.com/media_461540296/Distribution_of_IQ_Scores.html. Retrieved 2007-0708.[dead link] (no longer available)

External links

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Axelrod, BN; Ryan, JJ (2000). "Prorating Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III summary scores". Journal of Clinical
Psychology 56 (6): 80711. PubMed
Ryan, JJ; Schnakenberg-Ott, SD (2003). "Scoring reliability on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition
(WAIS-III)". Assessment 10 (2): 1519. PubMed
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