Cautions in interpretation of comparisons between the WAIS—R and the Wechsler Memory Scale.

Investigated the relation of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) to the Wechsler Memory Scale Memory Quotient (MQ) when the WAIS—R rather than the WAIS is used, noting that G. P. Prigatano (1978) found that a MQ at least 12 points below the WAIS FSIQ may be an indication of memory impairment. 120 psychiatric inpatients (mean age 39.95 yrs) completed the MQ and either the WAIS or WAIS—R. Mean WAIS—R FSIQ and MQ were not equivalent, and a 12-point discrepancy between FSIQ and MQ occurred less often with the WAIS—R than with the WAIS. (6 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

IQ-memory discrepancies in normal and clinical samples.

The potential utility of IQ—Memory Index discrepancy scores derived from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) and the Wechsler Memory Scale—Revised (WMS—R; D. Wechsler, 1987) was examined in a clinical sample, whose scores were then compared to those of subjects from the WMS—R standardization sample. The clinical sample included patients with diagnoses associated with memory deficits. Discrepancy scores between Full-Scale IQ and the Delayed Memory Index differentiated the groups, but material-specific discrepancies between IQ scores and immediate recall memory scores did not. The largest mean discrepancy and the greatest prevalence of scores beyond a criterion score of 15 were found in patients with presumed Alzheimer's disease. Issues related to limitations in the application of such discrepancy scores are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the WAIS and the WAIS—R in the upper ranges of IQ.

35 medical students were administered 1 of 2 combination forms of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the WAIS—Revised (WAIS—R) in a single session, with the WAIS and WAIS—R components presented in a counterbalanced order using a procedure that avoided the repetition of identical items. The WAIS IQ scores were higher than were the WAIS—R IQ scores. The higher the WAIS Full Scale IQ, the smaller the Full Scale IQ difference between the 2 tests. Unexpectedly, the Verbal minus Performance discrepancy was greater on the WAIS—R than on the WAIS. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual intelligence testing without the examiner: Reliability of an automated method.

Designed and constructed a system capable of totally automating the administration of several psychological tests and treatment procedures, programmed to administer the WAIS. A total of 30 volunteers and clients in counseling programs were given 2 sessions of the automated WAIS with a mean of 9.4 days between tests. The product-moment reliability coefficients for Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ were .97, .95, and .98. The subtest reliabilities were higher than the split-half subtest reliabilities reported in the WAIS manual. High test-retest reliabilities were found for several non-IQ response dimensions, including total time for responding, total words used, and the ratio of the number of different words divided by the total number of words. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the WAIS and WAIS—R: Different results for different IQ groups.

Using a procedure that eliminated repetition of identical items, thus avoiding order effects, we administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the WAIS—Revised to 108 subjects. All correlations between the two tests were significant and similar to those reported in the WAIS—R manual. For the group as a whole, verbal, performance, and full scale IQ scores on the WAIS—R were significantly lower than their respective WAIS scores; however, this difference was not consistent across IQ levels. Subjects of both average and borderline intelligence had WAIS IQ scores significantly above their WAIS—R scores. For the mildly retarded subjects, the performance IQs were equal for the WAIS and WAIS—R, whereas the WAIS—R verbal and full scale IQ scores were higher than the corresponding WAIS IQ scores. However, these score differences were small (1 point) and of little practical value. The differences of moderately retarded subjects, on the other hand, were large and in the reverse direction: the WAIS—R IQ scores were significantly higher than the WAIS IQ scores. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal-performance IQ discrepancies on the WAIS-R: An examination of the old-age standardization sample.

Compared base rate information on verbal IQ (VIQ) and performance IQ (PIQ) discrepancies for the old-age standardization sample of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) and 130 normal volunteers (aged 75+ yrs). VIQ–PIQ difference was 0.13 and was similar to the original WAIS—R standardization. Inspection of frequency distributions revealed that 38.5% of the Ss had VIQ–PIQ discrepancies greater than or equal to 9 points and 32.3% had differences greater than or equal to 12 points. The variables of gender, age, and race did not influence VIQ–PIQ differences. However, trends for educational attainment and level of full scale IQ did emerge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison study of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised in a college population.

Administered the WAIS and the WAIS-R to 70 18–29 yr old college students in a counterbalanced order. A highly significant test?×?order interaction was found such that the WAIS-R resulted in significantly higher estimates of ability when administered following the WAIS than did the WAIS when following the WAIS-R. However, a comparison of scores for Ss taking their 1st Wechsler scale revealed that for this group the WAIS-R resulted in significantly lower estimates of intellectual ability than the WAIS—Verbal IQ 8 points lower, Performance IQ 9 points lower, and Full Scale IQ 9 points lower. Results are discussed in terms of the clinical implications, particularly as they pertain to the interaction effect. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are IQ scores valid for children who are poor readers?

Remedial services for children with reading problems are often allocated according to discrepancies between reading and IQ scores. Results of some recent research suggest, however, that IQ scores of poor readers do not covary with their levels of functioning in other cognitive domains. This study evaluated whether the external validity of IQ scores (from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised [WAIS—R]) was moderated by reading levels within 2 separate samples of a total of 382 referred children (aged 7–16 yrs). It was found that IQ scores had expected correlations with external measures of verbal, visual-spatial, short-term memory, and arithmetic ability, and that these relations were invariant across levels of reading skill. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Memory functioning in children and adolescents with autism.

Objective: Memory functioning in children and adolescents ages 5–19 with autism (n = 50) and typically developing controls (n = 36) was assessed using a clinical assessment battery, the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL). Method: Participant groups were statistically comparable in age, nonverbal IQ, handedness, and head circumference, and were administered the TOMAL. Results: Test performance on the TOMAL demonstrated broad differences in memory functioning in the autism group, across multiple task formats, including verbal and nonverbal, immediate and delayed, attention and concentration, sequential recall, free recall, associative recall, and multiple-trial learning memory. All index and nearly all subtest differences remained significant even after comparing a subset of the autism group (n = 36) and controls that were matched for verbal IQ (p > .05). However, retention of previously remembered information after a delay was similar in autism and controls. Conclusions: These findings indicate that performance on measures of episodic memory is broadly reduced in autism, and support the conclusion that information encoding and organization, possibly due to inefficient cognitive processing strategies, rather than storage and retrieval, are the primary factors that limit memory performance in autism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive processes in normal and hyperactive children and their response to amphetamine treatment.

14 normal (mean age 10.1 yrs) and 15 hyperactive (mean age 9.4 yrs) children were compared on cognitive tasks following placebo or amphetamine administration (.5 mg/kg) in a double-blind crossover study. A no-treatment control group of normal children who were matched with the hyperactive Ss on age, IQ, and socioeconomic status were also tested on the cognitive measures. In the undrugged state, normals remembered more information under free-recall retrieval conditions than did hyperactives; cued recall did not differentiate between the 2 groups. Both normals and hyperactives demonstrated similar, amphetamine-related increases in the recall of semantically and acoustically processed words. This enhancement of cognition occurred along with improvements in attention but was independent of such attentional changes. The pattern of amphetamine-induced changes in cognition is generally similar in normal and hyperactive children. Differences in response to amphetamine that do appear involve components of cognition that distinguish these children in the undrugged state (e.g., semantic processing, organization in recall, and free retrieval of information). (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further appraisal of the Verbal scale as a short form of the WAIS.

Verbal IQ from the WAIS has been found to overestimate Full Scale IQ, and consequently, the Verbal scale has been judged unsatisfactory as a WAIS short form. To investigate this question further, a regression equation relating Verbal and Full Scale IQs was derived from the scores of 100 psychiatric and medical patients and was cross-validated on a 2nd sample (40 Ss from the same S pool). In both groups, scores were highly correlated, and Verbal IQ significantly exceeded Full Scale IQ. Regression estimates, however, closely estimated mean Full Scale IQ, suggesting that the Verbal scale can serve effectively as a WAIS abbreviation. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimation of WAIS—R premorbid intelligence: Current ability and demographic data used in a best-performance fashion.

The validity of a technique for estimating premorbid intellectual functioning based on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R; D. Wechsler, 1981) subtest performance and demographic information used in a best-performance fashion was investigated. Premorbid IQ scores were predicted using the highest score from (a) all 11 R. D. Vanderploeg and J. A. Schinka (see record 1996-13380-001) regression equations (BEST-11) and (b) the 3 most robust regression equations (BEST-3). These results were compared with premorbid estimates based solely on demographic information. In the WAIS—R standardization sample the BEST methods were more highly correlated with actual WAIS—R IQ than were A. Barona et al (see record 1985-04035-001) estimates. The BEST-11 and BEST-3 approaches resulted in overestimates of about 9 points and 5 points, respectively. In matched samples of neurologic patients and normal controls, Pearson correlations between actual and estimated IQ scores were significantly higher for the BEST-3 than the Barona et al method. The BEST-3 method also was superior at predicting group membership (normal vs brain-damaged). These studies support the use of the BEST-3 approach to premorbid estimation of cognitive abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trauma-induced weight loss and cognitive deficits among former prisoners of war.

Former prisoners of war (POWs) from the Korean Conflict and WWII reporting confinement weight losses of >35% (n?=?60) and ≤35% (n?=?113) and non-POW combat veterans (n?=?50) were compared on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) and Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) Logical Memory indices. High weight-loss POWs performed more poorly than combat veterans on Performance IQ, Arithmetic, Similarities, and Picture Completion subtests, Witkin-Goodenough Attention–Concentration Factor, and WMS Immediate and Delayed Recall and more poorly than low weight-loss POWs on Arithmetic, Attention–Concentration Factor, and the WMS immediate memory measure. Low weight-loss POWs and combat veterans differed only on WMS immediate memory. Findings support the hypothesis of P. Thygesen et al (1970) that severity of POW confinement stress reflected by trauma-induced weight-loss is predictive of long-term compromise in cognitive performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An evaluation of the sensitivity of premorbid IQ estimators for detecting cognitive decline.

Twenty-two studies were reviewed that estimated Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS/WAIS—R; D. Wechsler, 1981) IQs for normal individuals using demographic regression equation estimators and/or ability estimators such as the National Adult Reading Test. None of these studies originally reported the sensitivity of their method for detecting cognitive decline. The potential utility of each method was quantified by using psychometric theory to calculate the magnitude of cognitive decline that could be reliably detected. Results showed that for a cognitive decline in WAIS-R Verbal Scale IQ (VIQ) to be detected 80% of the time, the decline would have to be at least 25 VIQ points for demographic predictor methods, and at least 20 VIQ points for reading test predictor methods. Implications of the limited sensitivity of these methods for clinical applications are discussed and interpretation recommendations are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Lateralized brain damage, intelligence, and memory: A failure to find sex differences.

Tested the validity of findings by J. McGlone (1977) of a difference in the sexes in the cognitive sequelae of lateralized brain damage. The present study tested 28 male and 17 female patients with left and right hemisphere infarcts. Although Ss with left and right hemisphere infarcts showed differential impairment on measures of visual and verbal memory and on Performance scale IQ of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), there were no differences between male and female Ss. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficacy of the Satz-Mogel short form WAIS—R for tumor patients with lateralized lesions.

The ability of the P. Satz and S. Mogel (1962) short form Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) to provide equivalent information about IQ scores and age-corrected scale scores was examined as a function of side of lesion for 34 left hemisphere damaged (LHD) and 29 right hemisphere damaged (RHD) patients having primary brain tumors. Correlations between the 2 forms were significant for all WAIS—R scores with the exception of the Object Assembly subtest for RHD patients. The short form significantly overestimated Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, Full Scale IQ, Similarities, and Picture Arrangement subtest scores. It significantly underestimated Object Assembly subtest scores. A marked percentage of patients showed 1 or more category changes for most WAIS—R scores and 2 or more category changes for some of these scores. The distribution of discrepancies between scores and the number of category changes did not differ significantly for LHD and RHD patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An economical method for the evaluation of general intelligence in adults.

Evaluated the ability of the Wonderlic Personnel Test to replicate the WAIS using 120 persons divided into principal and cross-validation groups. The correlations between Wonderlic IQs and WAIS Full Scale IQs were .93 for the main group and .91 for the cross-validation group. The Wonderlic IQ scores were within 10 points of the WAIS Full Scale scores in 90% of the cases. Differences in age, sex, years of education, level of intelligence, and emotional adjustment did not adversely impact on the reproduction of WAIS Full Scale IQs by the Wonderlic. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Imagery, encoding, and retrieval of information from memory: Some specific encoding-retrieval changes in Huntington's disease.

Used mixed lists of 10 high-imagery and 10 low-imagery words as stimuli in a prompted, free-recall experiment. On each trial, only words not recalled on the previous trial were presented again as stimuli. Normal controls recalled more words on each test of recall than did 8 41–53 yr old patients with Huntington's disease. Controls remembered more high-imagery words after fewer presentation trials and could recall them with greater consistency than low-imagery words. Patients with Huntington's disease required far more trials to remember words, never recalled all 20 words, and did not differentiate high- and low-imagery words with respect to their recall probability. Results indicate that these patients, unlike controls, cannot consistently retrieve responses that were recalled previously. Findings are discussed in terms of the relationship between encoding and retrieval processes. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in seizure frequency and test-retest scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Test-retest performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) of two groups of adult epilepsy patients are presented and compared. In one group, Seizures Improved (SI) group, seizure frequency had decreased during the test-retest interval, and in the other group, Seizures Unimproved (SU) group, the number of seizures had either increased or stayed the same over the test-retest interval. The SI group showed a significant test-retest improvement on WAIS Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ, as well as on eight of 11 WAIS subtests. In comparison, the SU group showed significant increases only on the Performance IQ and Object Assembly subtest. Furthermore, differences between the two groups were observed in the pattern of test-retest changes seen on the Performance measures relative to the Verbal measures. The results suggest that change in seizure frequency is one of the factors associated with test-retest changes in the intellectual functioning of epilepsy patients.     

Composite reliability and standard errors of measurement for a seven-subtest short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised.

The composite reliability and standard errors of measurement were computed for prorated Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ scores derived from a 7-subtest short form of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) proposed by L. C. Ward (see record 1991-00137-001). The results indicate that this short form provides IQ scores that are as reliable as the complete WAIS—R. Together with previous findings that this short form has better concurrent validity than other short forms, the present findings justify substituting it for the complete WAIS—R in most clinical and research applications. The advantages of and objections to using short forms of the WAIS—R are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)