Assessment

Chapter 7 –
Assessment:
Intellectual and
Cognitive Measures
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All
rights reserved.
History of Intelligence Testing
 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
 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
 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
 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
 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 hypothesis-testing
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Theories of Intelligence
 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 sub-
domains 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
 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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Hierarchical Models
 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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Information Processing Models
 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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Information Processing Models
 Gardner’s Theory of Multiple
Intelligences: Multiple forms of intelligence
ignored in other theories
– Linguistic – Naturalist
– Musical – Spiritual
– Logical-Mathematical – Existential
– Spatial – Moral
– Bodily-kinesthetic
– Intrapersonal
– Interpersonal
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Assessing Intelligence:
Important Concepts
 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
 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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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
 7 yr MA / 8 yr CA X 100 = 87.5
 2.5 yr MA / 3 yr CA X 100 = 83.3
 20 yr MA / 25 yr CA X 100 = 80
 Assumes a linear development of learning
 No longer used
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Scales
 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 test-
takers 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
 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
 Some findings:
– 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.
Scales
 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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Scales
 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
 Good reliability scores on Wechsler tests
WAIS-IV Content
 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
WAIS-IV Content
 Perceptual Reasoning Scale
– Block Design: Colored blocks to create three-
dimensional 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 Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
WAIS-IV Content
 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 Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
WAIS-IV Content
 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 Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All
rights reserved.
Emotional Intelligence
(EI)
 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)
 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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Other Intellectual
Functioning Tests
 Stanford-Binet V: Designed for ages 2-
85. Also an IQ mean of 100, SD of 15.
– Not as often used outside the US due to lack
of content adaptations
 Kaufman Assessment Battery-II:
Focuses on how children and adults learn
and compares to achievement scores

rights reserved.
Other Intellectual
Functioning Tests
 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
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Chapter 7 –

 Alfred Binet , with Theodore Simon, published

 Binet regarded intelligence as a global

 In surveys of experts in psychology,

 David Wechsler (1939) defined

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All

 The Factor Analysis procedure generated

 Factor Models: Two or more factors

 Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory: Based

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All

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