RAVEN’S STANDARD PROGRESSIVE MATRICES

(RSPM)

AIM: To measure the level of abstract intelligence of the subject using Standard
Progressive Matrices.

BASIC CONCEPTS:

According to David Wechsler, “intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of

an individual to act purposefully, think rationally and deal effectively with the
environment.” Alfred Binet conceptualized intelligence as, “the ability to judge
well, understand well and reason well.” Gardner & Sternberg have suggested that
“an intelligent individual not only adapts to the environment, but also actively
modifies and shapes it.”

In 1905, Alfred Binet & Theodore Simon, made the first successful attempt
to formally measure intelligence. In 1908 they gave the concept of Mental Age
(MA), which is a measure of a person‟s intellectual development relative to people
of his/her age group. Subsequently in 1912, William Stern, devised the concept of
Intelligence Quotient (IQ). IQ refers to mental age divided by chronological age
(CA) and multiplied by 100. Therefore,

IQ=MA/CA X100

TWO FACTOR THEORY:

This theory was conceived by Spearman who holds that intelligence has two
factors:

a) General intelligence “G” Factor

b) Specific intelligence “S” Factor

General intelligence affects every activity but specific intelligence is confined to

specific activities. General intelligence whether in greater or lesser degree remains
constant. Specific intelligence is of various types, several types being independent
of each other. They differ from individual to individual. This intelligence of the
person is correlated with his/her general intelligence. Intelligence like any other
psychological test seems to be distributed in the population in such a way that most
make score in the middle range, while only a very few people make very high or
very low scores. This produces a bell shaped distribution or curve.

According to Spearman “G” factor has another component:

REPRODUCTIVE ABILITY: it is the ability to recall and use a cultural store of

explicit verbalized concepts. It is measured by the Mill Hill Vocabulary Test.

The SPM was developed for use in home,

school and work places as well as in laboratory; it is therefore, to be
simultaneously short, robust, attractive and valid. The scale is made up of five sets
or series of diagrammatic puzzles, exhibiting serial change into two dimensions.
Each puzzle has a part missing which the person taking the test has to find amongst
the options provided.

The scale consists of 60 problems divided into 5 sets (A, B, C, D, E)

each made up of 12 problems. In each set the first problem is nearly as self-evident
as possible. The problems which follow built arguments of those that have gone
before and become progressively more difficult. The order of items provided in the
standard training. The five sets provide five opportunities to grasp the method of
thought required to solve the problems and five progressive assessments of a
person‟s intellectual ability to ensure sustained interest and freedom from each
problem is boldly presented, accurately drawn as far as possible, pleasing to look
at.

The SPM was originally designed to cover the widest possible range of mental
ability and to be equally useful with persons of all ages, whatever their education,
nationality or physical condition is.

TYPES OF INTELLIGENCE TESTS:

a) Individual or Group
b) Verbal, Non-Verbal or Performance
c) Culture-Fair or Culture-Biased

Individual or Group Tests: An individual intelligence test is one which can

be administered to one person at a time. Such tests require the test administrator
to establish a rapport with the subject and be sensitive to his/her moods,
feelings and expressions during the testing sessions. A group intelligence test
can be administered to several persons simultaneously and therefore do not give
an opportunity to be familiar with the subject‟s feelings. Group tests generally
seek written answers usually in a multiple-choice format.

Verbal, Non-Verbal or Performance Tests: An intelligence test may be fully

verbal, fully non-verbal or fully performance based, or it may consist a mixture
of items from each category. As the name suggests Verbal tests make use of
language (oral or written) for example, CIE Verbal Group Test of Intelligence
by Uday Shankar, but non-verbal tests include such activities which do not
necessitate the use of language. They make use of pictures and illustrations as
test items for example Raven‟s Progressive Matrices (RPM). Both these types
are suitable for individual as well as group test. On the other hand, performance
test usually requires a minimum use of language and require subjects to
manipulate objects and other materials to perform a task, for example, Koh‟s
Block Design, Bhatia‟s Battery of Performance Tests, Draw-a-Mann Test, etc.
Thus, these tests make use of items requiring performance and not language and
these can be applied to children, illiterates, feeble minded individuals and
foreigners.

Culture-Fair or Culture-Biased Tests: Culture-Fair tests are culturally

appropriate tests, i.e. one that does not discriminate against individuals
belonging to different cultures. Non-verbal and performance tests help reduce
the cultural bias usually associated with the verbal tests.

(TABLE TO BE MADE ON THE BLANK PAGE)

MISUSE OF INTELLIGENCE
TESTS
 Poor performance on test may attach a
stigma to children and thereby adversely
affect their performance and self-respect.
 The test may invite discriminating practices
from parents, teachers and elders in the
society.
 Administering a test biased in favor of the
middle class and higher class populations
may underestimate the IQ of children
coming from disadvantaged sections of the
society.
 Intelligence tests do not capture creative
potentialities and practical side of
 intelligence and they also do not relate
much to success in life.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TEST:

The SPM is one such test that measures an individual‟s intelligence through non-
verbal means. It developed in England to evaluate a person‟s ability to utilize a
logical relationship with the help of non-verbal materials. The test requires
analytical and integrating powers in varying degrees for its solution.

The SPM was constructed to measure the adaptive component of „G‟

factor as defined in Spearman‟s theory of cognitive ability. Adductive ability is the
ability to forge new insights, the ability to perceive and identify relationships.
These essential features of adductive ability are the ability to generate, new largely
non-verbal concepts which make it possible to think it clearly.

RELIABILITY: Test-retest correlation of SPM and Mill Hill Vocabulary Test

demonstrate high reliability.

VALIDITY: has high validity.

NORMS: Class & Percentile norms were referred to in the manual (Table D2).

METHODOLOGY:

PRELIMINARIES:

Name: ABC

Age: 16 years

Gender: Female

Place of conduction: Online Psychology Classroom

General condition of the subject: Fresh & co-operative

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

SPM booklet, answer sheet, scoring key, manual, screen, pencil & eraser.
PRECAUTIONS:

1. The room should provide adequate lighting, ventilation & seating facilities
for the test takers.
2. The room should be free from undue noise & distraction.
3. The aim of the test should not be disclosed to the subject.
4. The subject should not skip any item and it should be in order.
5. Confidentiality of the test results to be assured to the subject.

RAPPORT FORMATION:

“Good morning, my name is NMB relax, feel comfortable. Let me assure you that
there is nothing for you to feel nervous or anxious about. This is a very simple test.
That will help you to gain insight into your own behavior i.e. the way you feel and
act in various circumstances. Your test results will be kept strictly confidential and
be made available to a third person only after your knowledge and consent.”

INSTRUCTIONS:

“This is a very simple test. Open your booklet to the first page it is like this. At
the top it says set A and you have a column here on your answer sheet for set A
this is A, you see what it is, the upper part is a pattern with a bit missing. Each
of these pieces below is the right shape to complete the pattern No. 1is quiet a
wrong a pattern 2 & 3 are also wrong; they fit the space but they are not the
right pattern. What about No. 6 is this the right on pattern? As you see it is the
same pattern but it does not go all over. Put your finger on one which is quiet
right yes No. 4 is the right one so the answer to A1 is 4 write four here next to
No. 1 in column A in your answer sheet do not turn over yet.

On every page in your booklet there is a pattern with a bit missing. You have to
decide each time which of the pieces below is the right one to complete the
pattern below. When you have found the right bit please write the number on
your answer sheet next to the number of the pattern. Do not write on the
problem booklet. The problems are simpler in the beginning and get harder as
you go on, there is no catch. If you pay attention to the easier ones, you‟ll find
the later ones less difficult. Try each in turn from the beginning right till the end
of the booklet. Work at your own pace. Don‟t miss out any, don‟t turn back, see
how many you can get right, you can have as much time as you like. If you are
clear turn over and do the next one.”

CONDUCTION:

Subject was brought to the laboratory and made comfortable. Rapport was
established and instructions were given. After which the test booklet was given
out. Subject was told that the booklet was not to be opened until he/she was
instructed to do so. Subject was explained that the booklet consisted of a
number of matrices and write the response in the corresponding column in the
answer sheet. After all matrices are completed, the scoring was done using the
scoring keys from the manual. Time taken was noted and introspective report
was taken.

SCORING:

Scoring key in the manual was used to correct responses. Norm table was used
to calculate percentile grades were allotted accordingly.

INTROSPECTIVE REPORT:

“The test was very interesting. I am eagerly awaiting the results.”

DATA:

Attached on the facing page.

DATA TABLE: Showing Grand Total, Percentile Score, Grade and

Discrepancies obtained by the subject.

Grand Total Score 54

Percentile Score 90th
Grade II+
Discrepancy Scores -1, 0, 0, 1, 0

RESULTS: The subject obtained a Grand Total of 54 and discrepancies of -1,

0, 0, 1, 0 with a percentile of 90 and a II+ Grade. This suggests that the subject
is Intellectually Superior.
 INTERPRETATION:

According to Wechsler (1956), “intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of

an individual to think rationally, to act purposefully and to deal efficiently with the
environment.” The RSPM measures an individual‟s intelligence through non-
verbal means as a solution test items require analytical and integrating powers of
the subject. The subjects grand total score was______ and the subject obtained a
corresponding percentile of ______ indicating grade ( ). This shows that the
subject is intellectually________. The discrepancy scores were…

CONCLUSION:

Using the RSPM, it has been observed that the subject is intellectually superior in
abstract intelligence.