Selected Wechsler Memory Scale norms and aging: Implications for assessment

Abstract

The Wechsler Memory Scale-I was published in 1945, although it had been used clinically since 1940. Since the original publication, there have been three major revisions. The Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised was published in 1987, the Wechsler Memory Scale-III in 1997, and the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV in 2009. It is significant to note that all official versions of the memory scale have remained in clinical and research use well into the second decade of the 20th century. Each version of the scale was designed to assess memory and attention dysfunction in various clinical populations by comparing the discrepancy between intelligence and memory test performance using age-corrected standard scores. It has long been known that intellectual and memory performance declines with age. Most psychologists, however, are likely unaware of the extent of the decline with age or how this decline is manifested in the various versions of the Wechsler Memory Scale. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what selected norms accompanying each official version of the Wechsler Memory Scale reveal about aging and memory performance and discuss the possible clinical implications of such.