INTELLIGENCE

TESTING ON WISC/
MISIC
Savita Apte, Ph.D
WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE
FOR CHILDREN (WISC)
⦿ Developed by David Wechsler
⦿ Individually administered test
⦿ 6-16 age range
⦿ 65-80 minutes
⦿ VIQ, PIQ, FSIQ
⦿ IQ test represents a child’s general cognitive
ability.
⦿ Fr Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Indian
Children (MISIC)
VERBAL SUBTESTS
⦿ Information
⦿ Comprehension
⦿ Arithmetic
⦿ Similarities
⦿ Digit-Span
⦿ Vocabulary
PERFORMANCE SUBTESTS
⦿ Picture Completion
⦿ Block Design
⦿ Object Assembly
⦿ Coding
⦿ Mazes
⦿ Picture Arrangement
INFORMATION
⦿ Purpose: to measure the student’s knowledge
of particular facts and overall general
knowledge.
WHAT INFORMATION SUBTEST
MEASURES?
⦿ General information abstracted from
surrounding environment.
⦿ Subtest calls into operation remote memory,
ability to comprehend, capacity for
associative thinking as well as the interest
and reading background of the child.
 RATIONALE
⦿ Questions in this section cover a broad range of
materials allowing adequate sampling of information
⦿ This information can be acquired by an individual
who experiences the usual opportunities in the
society.
⦿ Range of individual information is an indication of his
intellectual capacity.
⦿ More intelligent children have broader interests,
greater curiosity and seek more mental stimulation.
FACTORS AFFECTING INFORMATION
SUBTEST
⦿ Educational exposure
⦿ Interest and motivation
⦿ Memory
⦿ Culture and environmental background
⦿ Associative thinking ability
⦿ Anxiety
⦿ Language skills both receptive and expressive
COMPREHENSION
⦿ Purpose: To measure the ability to evaluate
properly a situation typical of real life and
determine the appropriate set of responses.
COMPREHENSION
Rationale
⦿ Subtest is based on the concept that social
and moral behaviours are acquired by
children through everyday living experiences
as well as through school and formal
education.
⦿ Items cover a wide variety of situation so
that the range of individual’s comprehension
presumably suggests his level of intellectual
operation.
COMPREHENSION
⦿ Children with greater ability, broader
interests and more curiosity will have a
wealth of knowledge to draw from in solving
the practical social problems presented to
them.
WHAT COMPREHENSION SUBTEST
MEASURES?
⦿ Child’s ability to use practical judgment in
everyday social situations.
⦿ Extent to which social maturity and moral
sense has developed.
⦿ Requires use of common sense judgment in a
variety of situations.
⦿ Possession of general information as well as
the ability to evaluate and utilize past
experiences in socially accepted ways. This is
a function of appropriateness of thinking and
reflects the emotional state of child.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE
COMPREHENSION SUBTEST
⦿ Experiential and environmental background.
⦿ Cultural exposure
⦿ Moral values
⦿ Reasoning
⦿ Practical information and judgment
⦿ Social awareness
ARITHMETIC
⦿ Purpose: To measure the ability to solve
arithmetic problems received auditorily
through mental computation.
ARITHMETIC
Rationale
⦿ Based on the concept that ability to
manipulate number concepts is one criterion
of intelligence.
⦿ Richness of culture is directly related to the
use of number concept.
⦿ Understand the role of mental alertness and
concentration.
⦿ Role of time pressure and how the child is
focused to apply himself actively to the
problem.
WHAT ARITHMETIC SUBTEST
MEASURES?
⦿ The child’s ability to utilize abstract
concepts of numbers and numerical
operations, which are measures of cognitive
development.
⦿ Use of attention and concentration in the
manipulation of number operations.
⦿ Ability to translate word problems into
arithmetic operations mentally.
FACTORS AFFECTING ARITHMETIC
SUBTEST
⦿ Numerical fluency.
⦿ Concentration and attention
⦿ Memory
⦿ Education background
⦿ Anxiety
⦿ Mental alertness
⦿ Abstract conceptualization
⦿ Visualization
SIMILARITIES
⦿ Purpose: To measure the ability to think and
reason associatively and logically at concrete
and abstract levels.
SIMILARITES
Rationale
⦿ People use classifications to adjust to their
environment.
⦿ Explicit elaborations of such classifications is
thought to be one measure of intelligence.
⦿ More intelligent the person, broader will be
his interests.
⦿ Classificatory relationships develop in the
child through exposure to materials and
information both at home and at school.
WHAT SIMILARITIES TEST
MEASURES?
⦿ The test calls into operation remote memory,
ability to comprehend, capacity for
associative thinking, interests and reading
pattern of the subject.
⦿ Ability to select and verbalize appropriate
relationships between two apparently
dissimilar objects or concepts.
FACTORS AFFECTING SIMILARITIES
SUBTESTS
⦿ Verbal concept formation- specifically,
sameness and differences.
⦿ Cultural background
⦿ Interests
⦿ Memory
⦿ Associative thinking
⦿ Receptive and expressive language skills
⦿ Visualization
VOCABULARY
⦿ Purpose: to measure the child’s ability to
define specific words
VOCABULARY
Rationale
⦿ Definition of words implies the
reorganization of ideas with help of verbal
signs and symbols. This has been considered
one criterion of intelligence.
⦿ Family background and educational
opportunity can contribute significantly to
this factor.
WHAT VOCABULARY SUBTEST
MEASURES?
⦿ Gives ideas of child’s learning ability, fund of
information, richness of ideas, quality and
kind of language, degree of abstract thinking
and character of thought processes.
⦿ Vocabulary reflects child’s level of education
and environment.
FACTORS AFFECTING VOCABULARY
SUBTEST
⦿ Cultural background
⦿ Educational exposure
⦿ Memory
⦿ Conceptual development
⦿ Verbal comprehension and expression
⦿ Language development
⦿ Auditory discrimination
⦿ Attention
DIGIT- SPAN
⦿ Purpose: to measure the ability to retain and
repeat in correct sequence both forward and
backward numerical information received
auditorily.
 DIGIT SPAN
Rationale
⦿ It assumes that rote memory is one of those abilities of
which a certain minimum is required for all levels of
intellectual functioning.
⦿ A marked failing off of rote memory span is often one
of the earliest indication of disorganization organic or
functional.
⦿ It may demonstrate poor ego control, anxiety and
inability to suspend irrelevant thought processes while
attending to task
WHAT THE DIGIT- SPAN SUBTEST
MEASURES?
⦿ Child’s ability to attend to rather simple situations.
⦿ Measures immediate auditory recall or immediate
auditory memory.
⦿ Child’s level of mental alertness.
⦿ Effects of anxiety and inability for self control of
mental operations.
FACTORS AFFECTING DIGIT-SPAN
SUBTEST
⦿ Attention
⦿ Concentration
⦿ Anxiety
⦿ Organization and reorganization
⦿ Memory
⦿ Conceptualization
PICTURE COMPLETION
⦿ Purpose: to measure the ability to identify
visually a relevant part that is missing within
a picture
PICTURE COMPLETION
Rationale
⦿ This test is founded on the premise that the
ability to comprehend familiar objects
visually and to determine the absence of
essential rather than non-essential or
irrelevant details is a valid measure of
intelligence.
WHAT THE PC SUBTEST MEASURES?

⦿ PC calls for visual identification of familiar

objects, forms and living things and further
capacity to identify and isolate essential
from the non-essential characteristics.
⦿ Attention and concentration are important
elements in the test.
FACTORS AFFECTING THE PC
SUB-TEST
⦿ Visual conceptualization
⦿ Perceptual organization
⦿ Memory
⦿ Visual discrimination
⦿ Cultural experiences and background
⦿ Concentration and attention
BLOCK DESIGN
⦿ Purpose: To measure the ability to look at an
abstract design, analyze it into parts and
reproduce it using appropriately coloured
blocks.
Rationale
⦿ The ability to analyze, synthesize and
reproduce an abstract two dimensional
geometrical pattern is considered a valid
criterion of intelligence.
WHAT BLOCK DESIGN SUBTEST
MEASURES?
⦿ Perception, analysis, synthesis and
reproduction of abstract designs are aspects
measured by this subtest.
⦿ Logic and reasoning must be applied to space
relationships.
⦿ Non-verbal concept formation
⦿ Visual motor coordination
FACTORS AFFECTING
BLOCK-DESIGN SUBTEST
⦿ Discrimination
⦿ Visualization of parts
⦿ Perceptual organization
⦿ Spatial orientation
⦿ Concrete and abstract conceptualization
⦿ Visual motor integration and co-ordination
⦿ Anxiety
⦿ Concentration
⦿ Colour consciousness
⦿ Time element
OBJECT ASSEMBLY
⦿ Purpose: to measure the ability to assemble
individual concrete parts to make a
recognizable whole.
Rationale
⦿ The synthesis of parts into organized whole is
considered to be one criterion of intelligence
WHAT OA SUBTEST MEASURES?
⦿ Adequate perception, visual motor
coordination and simple assembly skills.
⦿ Visual anticipation of part-whole
relationships
⦿ Flexibility of working towards a goal.
⦿ Measures ability to assemble material drawn
from life into meaningful whole.
⦿ Measures ability to see spatial relationships.
FACTORS AFFECTING OA SUBTEST
⦿ Visual-motor coordination and integration.
⦿ Spatial relationships and orientation
⦿ Visual and perceptual organization
⦿ Gestalt awareness
⦿ Goal orientation
⦿ Time
⦿ Body imagery
⦿ Problem-solving technique
⦿ Concentration
MAZES
⦿ Purpose: To measure the ability to plan, use
foresight, and perceptually organize
according to a visual pattern.
Rationale
⦿ This subtest is based on the concept that the
ability to plan ahead and move accurately
through a paper maze is a meaningful
criterion of intelligence.
WHAT MAZES SUBTESTS
MEASURES?
⦿ Planning and foresight
⦿ Attention to instructions
⦿ Visual-motor coordination
⦿ Speed combined with accuracy
⦿ Pencil control
FACTORS AFFECTING MAZES
SUBTEST
⦿ Attention skills
⦿ Visual- motor control
⦿ Speed and accuracy
⦿ Visualization
⦿ Spatial organization
⦿ Time
⦿ Foresight
CODING
⦿ Purpose: to measure the ability to reproduce
symbols through pencil manipulation as a
part of set code.
Rationale
⦿ This test is based on the concept that the
ability to learn combination of symbols,
shapes and numbers and then to recreate
these combinations with paper and pencil is
one criterion of intelligence.
WHAT CODING SUBTEST
MEASURES?
⦿ Visual- motor dexterity.
⦿ Ability to absorb new material presented in
an associative context
⦿ Speed and accuracy
FACTORS AFFECTING CODING
SUBTEST
⦿ Visual-motor dexterity
⦿ Speed
⦿ Flexibility in learning
⦿ Associative thinking
⦿ Anxiety
⦿ Spatial orientation
⦿ Visualization
⦿ Memory
⦿ Time
⦿ Motivation and goal orientation
PICTURE-ARRANGEMENT
⦿ Purpose: to measure the ability to place in
correct sequence a series of pictures
reflecting a real-life situation.
Rationale
⦿ The ability to evaluate what is going on in a
particular picture and to then place it
logically in relation to other pictures so that
a sensible and consistent story emerges is
considered one criterion of intelligence.
WHAT PA MEASURES?
⦿ Perception
⦿ Visual comprehension
⦿ Planning involving sequential and causal
events and synthesis into intelligible wholes
⦿ Social alertness and common sense
⦿ Intelligence applied to social or interpersonal
situations
FACTORS AFFECTING PA SUBTEST
⦿ Visual attention
⦿ Visual comprehension of total situation
⦿ Concentration
⦿ Anxiety
⦿ Cultural and environmental background
⦿ Directionality
⦿ Planning and organization
⦿ Time element
USES OF WISC/MISIC
⦿ Level of Intellectual functioning
⦿ Learning Disabilities
⦿ Intellectual giftedness
⦿ Cognitive strengths and weaknesses
⦿ Neurological problems
⦿ Pointers of ADHD
VERBAL COMPREHENSION INDEX
⦿ Is an overall measure of verbal concept
formation and is influenced by knowledge
learned from environment.
◼ Information
◼ Comprehension
◼ Similarities
◼ Vocabulary
PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION INDEX
⦿ Is an overall measure of non-verbal concept
formation. Child needs to have proper
understanding of the gestalt, visuo-spatial
ability, flexibility in thinking, creative
approach.
◼ Picture Completion
◼ Block Design
◼ Object Assembly
◼ Picture arrangement
◼ Mazes
FREEDOM FROM DISTRACTIBILITY
⦿ Is an measure of attention and
concentration, needs ability to plan and
organize as well as speed and accuracy.
◼ Arithmetic
◼ Digit-Span
◼ Coding
VIQ- PIQ DIFFERENCE
⦿ The discrepancy between VIQ and PIQ may
well suggest important differences in the
child’s learning style and ability to handle
different types of stimuli
⦿ Large VIQ-PIQ discrepancy (25+points) is
associated with neurological dysfunction or
brain damage. Should be correlated with BG
and clinical history.
VIQ- PIQ DIFFERENCE
⦿ PIQ>VIQ may suggest a better developed
right hemisphere which is responsible for
visuo-spatial handling
⦿ VIQ>PIQ may suggest a better developed left
hemisphere which is efficient in processing
linguistic stimuli
FLUID V/S CRYSTALLISED ABILITY
⦿ Fluid ability involves problem solving where
the key is adaptation and flexibility when
faced with unfamiliar stimuli. This is
measured by performance sub-tests.
⦿ Crystallised ability is related to intellectual
functioning on tasks calling upon previous
training, education and acculturation. This is
measured by verbal sub-tests.
MEASURES OF G (GENERAL INTELLIGENCE)
⦿ Good measures of g
◼ Vocabulary
◼ Information
◼ Similarities
◼ Block design
◼ Comprehension
MEASURES OF G (GENERAL INTELLIGENCE)
⦿ Fair measures of g
◼ Arithmetic
◼ Picture Completion
◼ Object Assembly
◼ Picture Arrangement
MEASURES OF G (GENERAL INTELLIGENCE)
⦿ Poor measures of g
◼ Digit Span
◼ Mazes
◼ Coding
Thank you