Chapter 7 –
Assessment:
Intellectual and
Cognitive Measures
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History of Intelligence Testing
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Alfred Binet , with Theodore Simon,
published the Binet-Simon Scale in 1905 in
France
They have been asked by the French
government to help find a method to
identify, before the onset of formal
schooling, children who may not benefit
from regular instruction
Their scale was of 30 questions, and was an
age-scale- that is- an item was chosen to
represent a given age if 75% of the children
at that age were able to pass it
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Binet Definition of Intelligence
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Binet regarded intelligence as a global
capacity, abandoning the attempt to break it
to its “parts”
However, he recognized that this global
entity is expressed in the processes of
judgment, practical sense, and the ability to
adapt to the environment
Binet: To choose a direction toward a goal,
to monitor the progress, and to make
adaptations if needed
Binet used the term ”auto-criticism” ( in
modern terms “self-monitoring”)
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Current Attempts to Define
Intelligence
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In surveys of experts in psychology,
education, genetics, sociology,
Intelligence was defined as:
Abstract thinking or reasoning
Problem-solving ability
Capacity to acquire Knowledge
Adaptation to the environment
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Wechsler’s Definition
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David Wechsler (1939) defined
intelligence as goal-directed behavior
(act purposefully), think rationally, and
deal effectively with the environment
An important element in the definition
of intelligence was the ability to think
abstractly.
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Factor- Analysis Studies
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The Factor Analysis procedure generated
further attempts to identify the nature of
intelligence
Thorndike (1938) proposed seven primary
mental abilities, whereas Spearman (1927)
maintained a general factor (g), with one or
more specific factors (s) per test account for
performance on intelligence test
Current evidence strongly support the g
factor as important in human ability
Tests with high loadings of g require
reasoning, comprehension, and hypothesistesting
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Theories of Intelligence
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Factor Models: Two or more factors
thought to be more or less at the same
level
Hierarchical Models: Different levels
of factors with some factors being subdomains of other factors
Information Processing Models:
Less on the organization and more on
how the brain processes information
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Theories of Intelligence:
Some Factor Models
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Charles Spearman: General factor g
with specific factors s
– Based on intercorrelations with tests of
sensory abilities
– Idea still is retained in most theories of
intelligence
– Thurstone: primary mental abilities as
relatively distinct abilities
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Theories of Intelligence:
Hierarchical Models
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Raymond Cattell: Believed current
tests were too focused on verbal and
school-based abilities
– Fluid intelligence: ability to solve
problems without drawing on prior
experiences (innate intellectual ability)
– Crystallized Intelligence: what we have
learned from life and our experiences
(including formal education)
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Theories of Intelligence:
Information Processing Models
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Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory: Based
on how humans process information
(three components)
– Componential: executive functioning,
performance speed, knowledge acquisition
– Experiential: the influence of task novelty
on problem solving
– Contextual: adaptation, alteration, and
selection of the environment
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Theories of Intelligence:
Information Processing Models
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Gardner’s Theory of Multiple
Intelligences: Multiple forms of intelligence
ignored in other theories
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– Naturalist
Linguistic
– Spiritual
Musical
– Existential
Logical-Mathematical
– Moral
Spatial
Bodily-kinesthetic
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
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Assessing Intelligence:
Important Concepts
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Intelligence is often assessed in larger
psychological assessments (e.g.,
memory problems, neuropsychological
assessments, head injuries, learning
disability evaluations)
Premorbid IQ: intellectual functioning
prior to an accident or neurological
decline
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The Wechsler Intelligence
Scales
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Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
(WAIS-IV): Designed for ages 16-90
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children
(WISC-IV): Designed for ages 6-16
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale
of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV): Ages 2 yrs
6mo. to 7 yrs 3 mo.
Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of
Intelligence (WASI-II): Shortened
version designed for ages 6-89
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The Wechsler Intelligence
Scales
Early IQ tests measured ‘mental age (MA)’
(most students at a particular age got a
certain number of items on a test correct)
relative to the child’s chronological age
(CA)
– Ratio IQ: MA / CA X 100
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7 yr MA / 8 yr CA X 100 = 87.5
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2.5 yr MA / 3 yr CA X 100 = 83.3
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20 yr MA / 25 yr CA X 100 = 80
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Assumes a linear development of learning
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No longer used
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All
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The Wechsler Intelligence
Scales
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Wechsler developed the Deviation
IQ as a solution to problems of
Ratio IQ: Mean of 100 and a standard
deviation of 15 – based on the age of
the test taker relative to other testtakers at that age
Wechsler scales use a hierarchical
model (with a general IQ and sub-scale
specific abilities)
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IQ and its Correlates
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Important caveats:
– Correlation does not mean causation
– Intelligence is not due to heredity or the
environment but the interplay of the two
– IQ is not the same as intelligence
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Some findings:
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About 50-60% of IQ is related to genetics
Flynn Effect: IQ appears to be increasing over time
IQ scores plateau at 30
Some IQ declines for some at age 70
Environment accounts for most of the differences in
IQ in low SES children
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Wechsler Intelligence
Scales
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Test norms may not be appropiate
for all individuals – e.g., ethnicity, SES,
outside the US
Test biases may be a part of the test –
especially questions specifically drawing
on US related content
Test only focuses on academically related
intelligences
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rights reserved.
The Wechsler Intelligence
Scales
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Previous versions of Wechsler scales used
a Verbal IQ, Performance (non-verbal) IQ
and a Full Scale IQ
Current versions use 4 Index or
Composite Scores
– Verbal Comprehension
– Perceptual Reasoning
– Working Memory
– Processing Speed
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Good reliability scores on Wechsler tests
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WAIS-IV Content
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Verbal Comprehension Scale
– Similarities: Pairs of words (describing
concepts or objects) presented and the subject
must explain how the objects are similar
– Vocabulary: Defining a series of orally and
visually presented words
– Information: Questions that address
knowledge of events, people, and places
– Comprehension: Questions about common
concepts and problems and the person must
provide the answer or solution
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WAIS-IV Content
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Perceptual Reasoning Scale
– Block Design: Colored blocks to create threedimensional representations of two-dimensional
geometric patterns.
– Matrix Reasoning: Incomplete patterns and, from
five choices, must select one that completes the
pattern
– Visual Puzzles: Pieces of a puzzle where images
are chosen that go together to match the example
– Picture Completion: Pictures of common objects
and settings with a missing part
– Figure Weights: The person must chose the
“weight” depicted in a series of images that would
be equivalent to the “weight” depicted in the
example
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WAIS-IV Content
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Working Memory Scale
– Digit Span: The person is presented with a
series of numbers and must repeat them in
the same sequence or in a reversed
sequence
– Arithmetic: The person solves arithmetic
problems and provides the answer orally
– Letter-Number Sequencing: Sequences
of letters and numbers are presented orally
and the person repeats them with the letters
in alphabetical order and numbers in
ascending order
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WAIS-IV Content
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Processing Speed Scale
– Symbol Search: The person must indicate,
by checking a box, whether target symbols
occur in the group of symbols presented
– Coding: Using a key that matches numbers
to symbols, the person must rapidly provide
the correct symbols to a list of numbers
– Cancellation: The person is presented with
a series of shapes of different colors and is
asked to cross out images that have a
specific shape (e.g., circles) and a specific
color
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rights reserved.
Emotional Intelligence
(EI)
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From Gardner’s work on
Intrapersonal & Interpersonal
Intelligence – the ability to understand
oneself and others
Several measures of EI including the
Emotional Quotient Inventory and the
MSCEIT (perceiving, using and managing
emotions)
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Emotional Intelligence
(EI)
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EI is positively correlated with:
– Better social relations for children and
adults
– Better family and intimate relations
– More positive perception by others
– Better academic achievement
– Better psychological well-being
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rights reserved.
Other Intellectual
Functioning Tests
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Stanford-Binet V: Designed for ages 285. Also an IQ mean of 100, SD of 15.
– Not as often used outside the US due to lack
of content adaptations
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Kaufman Assessment Battery-II:
Focuses on how children and adults learn
and compares to achievement scores
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rights reserved.
Other Intellectual
Functioning Tests
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Wechsler Memory Scale IV: Focuses
on episodic memory (person’s direct
experience to visual and auditory
stimuli).
Wechsler Individual Achievement
Test (WIAT-III) Focuses on academic
and problem solving skills. In
conjunction with a Wechsler IQ test a
discrepancy between IQ and
achievement can help diagnose learning
disabilities
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All
rights reserved.