Nonverbal Ability Test Research Articles

The Validity and Reliability Study of TONI-3 Test for 4-17 Aged Children.

Since there are not enough scales to evaluate the cognitive performance of adolescents in Türkiye, the aim of this study is to conduct a reliability and validity study of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-3 (TONI-3) for individuals aged between 14 and 17. A total of 566 children between the ages of 14-17 were included in the study. A form of TONI-3 test was administered to all participants. Test-retest and parallel form application were made for reliability analyses, and Raven Standard Progressive Matrices Test (RSPM) and Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT-I) tests were applied for validity analyses. It has been found that the TONI-3 Test has a high reliability with an average reliability coefficient of 0.92. It was determined that there was a high, positive and significant relationship between Form A and Form B of the TONI-3 Test (r=0.76, p<0.01). The correlation coefficient between the scores was found to be 0.83 between the first application of the TONI-3 test and the test repeated after 4 weeks. A high, positive and significant correlation was found between TONI-3 Test, RSPM Test and NNAT-I (r=0.69, p<0.01; r=0.81, p<0.01). This study revealed evidence of the reliability and validity of the TONI-3 test between the ages of 14-17. This is the first study of the TONI-3 test in this age group. It is thought that clinicians can practically evaluate cognitive abilities in children who are clinically referred to or determined to have behavior disorders at school through this test.

Is your blood grouping associated with personality and intelligence?

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Background and Objective: &lt;/strong&gt;Personality and blood group type are both heritable factors. Personality is the compound mannerism or constitution that forms an individual&amp;rsquo;s peculiar state of mind. Intelligence quotient (IQ) is the quantification of one&amp;rsquo;s aptness to reason and solve problems. There is contemplation on the interconnection of the ABO blood group with personality traits and IQ. This study aimed to uncover the relationship between standard personality traits, IQ levels, and the ABO blood group.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;This cross-sectional descriptive study comprised 200 healthy individuals (faculty and students of a teaching hospital). The blood typing of the participants was carried out by the standard tube method and the Big Five Inventory, a personality questionnaire containing 60 questions and the Naglieri nonverbal ability test, a mental capacity testing form, with 20 nonverbal questions were distributed, which were solved by all participants in a given time. After obtaining the results, scoring for personality traits and the levels of their IQ were determined. Data were analysed to find associations between personality traits, IQ level, and the ABO blood group.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;There exists an association between the ABO blood group and one of the personality traits, i.e., agreeableness (p = 0.001), while no significant relationship was found between the ABO blood group and the remaining four personality traits or the IQ level of the participants (p &amp;gt; 0.05).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusion: &lt;/strong&gt;ABO blood grouping may determine distinct personality-wise characteristics of an individual which may or may not be related to the IQ levels.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

Norm and Standardization Study for Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, 5-9 Age Group.

The aim of the present study was to test the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test for children in the 5-9 age group and to determine the psychometric attributes of this tool. Intelligence is a complex and abstract concept. Therefore, it is not possible to observe or measure directly. However, it helps experts to have an idea about the intelligence levels of people with the evaluation scales used. Nonverbal ability tests are also one of the assessment scale types used for this purpose. The study was conducted based on the general survey model. One district from each socioeconomic development region was selected via random assignment taking as a basis the socioeconomic development listing for the districts. The study was carried out with 753 children from 4 different socioeconomic development regions. Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-3, Colored Progressive Matrices Test, and Denver II Developmental Screening Test were used for data collection. Cronbach Alpha reliability, test-retest reliability, and parallel form reliability were calculated during Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test reliability analyses. For validity analysis, the level of correlation between Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test and Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-3 and Colored Progressive Matrices Test tests was examined. It was determined that Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test has high reliability with an average reliability coefficient of .88. High correlation was observed between the A and B forms of Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test A (r = 0.93, P < .001) and during the test-retest analyses (0.87, 0.88). A statistically significant difference was determined between the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test scores and class level and age group, while a statistically significant difference could not be determined based on gender. A high, positive, and statistically significant correlation was determined between Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test and Colored Progressive Matrices Test (r = 0.84, P < .001), whereas a moderate, positive, and statistically significant correlation was determined between Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test and Test of Nonverbal Intelligence-3 (r = 0.52, P < .001). The findings illustrate that Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test is a valid and reliable intelligence test for measuring general intellectual ability and for assessing reasoning skills.

National Non-verbal Cognitive Ability Test (BNV) Development Study

The aim of the present study is to develop a national non-verbal cognitive ability test in Turkey. Test items were developed during the first stage and applied as a pilot study on 3,073 children in the age interval of 4 to 13. The test was given its final form based on the values of item difficulty, item distinctiveness, item total score correlation. Norm study was carried out at 12 different provinces with a total of 9,129 children comprised of 4,464 females (49%) and 4,665 (51%) males. Test-retest, split-halves, KR-20, and KR-21 methods were applied for the reliability analyses of the study. Standard error, standard deviation, and reliability coefficient were calculated for the measurement. Content and construct validity along with criterion-related validity analysis methods were used for validity analyses. The KR-20 reliability coefficient obtained from the complete sample group was estimated as 0.92. Test-retest reliability coefficient was determined as 0.80. A correlation of .71 was determined between Naglieri Cognitive Ability test and BNV test. A correlation of .67 was determined between Toni-3 test and BNV test while a correlation of .86 was determined between BNV and Colored Progressive Matrices Test.

A Meta-Analytic Evaluation of Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test: Exploring Its Validity Evidence and Effectiveness in Equitably Identifying Gifted Students

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) was developed to more equitably identify students of color, as it advertises itself as a culture-fair measure. In this meta-analytic evaluation, we aimed to investigate (a) the generalizability of validity evidence of NNAT by checking its construct and criterion validity with other measures (Part I) and (b) whether NNAT truly meets its goal to identify more culturally diverse students (Part II). After reviewing 1,714 studies, a total of 29 studies met our criteria (59 effect sizes from 22 studies for Part I and 7 effect sizes from 7 studies for Part II). In Part I, we investigated empirical evidence of validity of NNAT in relationship with different types of measures (overall effect size of r was .44); The results revealed that the correlation between NNAT and the achievement test results was 0.68, followed by the intelligence measures similar to NNAT (e.g., Cognitive Abilities Test, Otis–Lennon School Ability Tests; r = .31) and other alternative measures often used to identify gifted students (e.g., teacher-rating scale; r = .20). The moderator analysis results showed high correlations between NNAT and other measures when Naglieri is an author of the study. In Part II, although NNAT identified more students of color compared with other nonverbal tests (overall effect size of risk ratio was 0.42), findings revealed that students of color remain underrepresented in gifted programs and services.

Identifying Emotional Expressions: Children's Reasoning About Pretend Emotions of Sadness and Anger.

This study aims to further understand children’s capacity to identify and reason about pretend emotions by analyzing which sources of information they take into account when interpreting emotions simulated in pretend play contexts. A total of 79 children aged 3 to 8 participated in the final sample of the study. They were divided into the young group (ages 3 to 5) and the older group (6 to 8). The children were administered a facial emotion recognition task, a pretend emotions task, and a non-verbal cognitive ability test. In the pretend emotions task, the children were asked whether the protagonist of silent videos, who was displaying pretend emotions (pretend anger and pretend sadness), was displaying a real or a pretend emotion, and to justify their answer. The results show significant differences in the children’s capacity to identify and justify pretend emotions according to age and type of emotion. The data suggest that young children recognize pretend sadness, but have more difficulty detecting pretend anger. In addition, children seem to find facial information more useful for the detection of pretend sadness than pretend anger, and they more often interpret the emotional expression of the characters in terms of pretend play. The present research presents new data about the recognition of negative emotional expressions of sadness and anger and the type of information children take into account to justify their interpretation of pretend emotions, which consists not only in emotional expression but also contextual information.

Differences in Using the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) 7 Nonverbal Battery Versus the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) 2 to Identify the Gifted/Talented

The two most commonly used nonverbal tests for gifted identification, the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) and the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) nonverbal battery, have not been compared in their newer versions to explore the effects of their use on the identification of underserved populations. Additionally, the effects of the use of various norming groups and cutoff scores on both instruments’ identification abilities has not been compared. This study compared 15,733 CogAT7 nonverbal battery scores and 14,421 NNAT2 scores of kindergartners between 2013 and 2015 from one large urban school district to explore the differences between how each test relates to major demographic variables and examine the effects on who is selected for participation in gifted programming based on which instrument, which norming group, and which cutoff scores are used. Both instruments were less likely to identify students from demographic groups that have been traditionally underrepresented than students from traditionally overrepresented demographic groups, but identification varied based on the type of norming plan used and which instrument was taken. Suggestions are made as to the best instrument for use with various demographic groups and norming plans.

Measuring Goal Setting in School-Aged Children: Studying the Effects of Demographic Variables in Regression-Based Norms

The aim of the study was to establish demographically representative norms for tasks measuring goal setting, and more specifically planning and reasoning in children. Three tasks were administered to n = 195 Ukrainian children aged 5.10 to 14.5 years old: the Spatial Working Memory (SWM), the Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) test, and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT). Main outcome per test was accuracy: i.e., the total number correct for the SOC and NNAT, and the total amount of incorrect responses for the SWM. Correlations among accuracy measures varied from − 0.51 to 0.60, indicating these tasks measure related but at the same time unique constructs. Higher age was associated with more accurate test performances on all outcome measures. On the NNAT, we found a curvilinear association between age and accuracy, indicating that younger children’s NNAT accuracy scores increased more with age compared with older children. We found a cubic age effect on accuracy for the SWM and SOC: i.e., test scores were relatively stable at younger and older ages, with a curvilinear increase in test scores in the other age groups. Demographically corrected norms were calculated and presented per test. These indicated that sex was not associated with accuracy scores on any of the tests. Last, a higher level of parental education (LPE) was associated with higher accuracy scores, but only on the NNAT. We conclude that demographic variables in norm analyses enhance insight in the scores and allow for application in clinical settings and research.

The matrix reasoning item bank (MaRs-IB): novel, open-access abstract reasoning items for adolescents and adults.

Existing non-verbal ability tests are typically protected by copyright, preventing them from being freely adapted or computerized. Working towards an open science framework, we provide 80 novel, open-access abstract reasoning items, an online implementation and item-level data from 659 participants aged between 11 and 33 years: the matrix reasoning item bank (MaRs-IB). Each MaRs-IB item consists of an incomplete matrix containing abstract shapes. Participants complete the matrices by identifying relationships between the shapes. Our data demonstrate age differences in non-verbal reasoning accuracy, which increased during adolescence and stabilized in early adulthood. There was a slight linear increase in response times with age, resulting in a peak in efficiency (i.e. a measure combining speed and accuracy) in late adolescence. Overall, the data suggest that the MaRs-IB is sensitive to developmental differences in reasoning accuracy. Further psychometric validation is recommended.

Associations of Childhood and Adulthood Cognition with Bone Mineral Density in Later Adulthood: A Population-Based Longitudinal Study.

This study explores the association between cognitive ability in childhood and midlife and bone health outcomes in early old age; and the relationships of these bone measures with contemporaneous and subsequent cognitive ability in the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD). This British birth cohort assessed areal and volumetric bone mineral density (aBMD and vBMD) at age 60–64, derived from peripheral quantitative computed tomography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and cognitive performance from childhood to age 69, among 866 women and 792 men. Cognitive performance at age 15 was assessed using tests of verbal and non-verbal ability, and mathematics; and memory and search speed tasks were administered at ages 53, 60–64, and 69. Covariates included body size, pubertal timing, smoking, leisure time physical activity, socioeconomic circumstances and menopause timing. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that higher childhood cognitive ability was associated with higher hip aBMD, in women, and greater cortical and trabecular vBMD, in men. For women, there were positive associations between hip aBMD and total vBMD, and contemporaneous cognitive ability with associations also extending to subsequent cognitive ability for total vBMD. For men, some associations with trabecular and total vBMD emerged at ages 60–64 and 69 but only after adjusting for education, occupational class and health behaviors. Our findings highlight that higher cognitive ability in childhood is associated with BMD in early old age and these associations might be explained by social and behavioral pathways. The results suggest that individuals with greater cognitive ability in early life are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors (e.g., leisure time physical activity) in adulthood, which in turn are associated with greater BMD later in life. Associations between bone health and cognitive performance should be considered within a life course framework; and the potential role of smoking and physical activity should be addressed when advising adults at high future risk of osteoporosis and fracture.

Study on Morphological Awareness and Rapid Automatized Naming Through Word Reading and Comprehension in Normal and Disabled Reading Arabic-Speaking Children

ABSTRACTThis study explored the role and extent of the involvement of morphological awareness (MA) in contrast to rapid automatized naming (RAN) in word reading and comprehension of Arabic as a morphologically based orthography. We gave measures of word reading, reading comprehension, MA, and RAN in addition to a nonverbal mental ability test to 3 groups of readers: a group with dyslexia (n = 20) from the 6th grade compared to a group of normal readers matched in age (n = 20) and a younger reader group from the 4th grade (n = 18). Results indicated that RAN was a significant predictor of word reading and reading comprehension, whereas MA explained only the variance in reading comprehension. We conclude that RAN and MA have important roles in predicting reading skills, and we suggest that they should be included more frequently in assessments and instruction.

Group Differences on the Naglieri Non-Verbal Ability Test and the Naglieri Non-Verbal Ability Test - Second Edition

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT) and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test-Second Edition (NNAT-2) are figural reasoning tests used by many school districts in an effort to diversify their gifted programs. The author of the NNAT and NNAT-2 claims that using these tests will result in similar percentages of racial and ethnic minority students and White students obtaining scores in the gifted range. The Baker County School District, a small rural school district in Baker County, Florida has used the NNAT and NNAT-2 for the 2006-07 through 2015-16 school years to screen all second grade students. Those students obtaining the requisite cut-score were then referred for an individual intellectual evaluation by the district school psychologist to determine eligibility for the Gifted Program. For each school year for the ten year period, statistically significant mean score differences between Black and White students and between all students receiving a free or reduced price lunch (used as a proxy for low socioeconomic status) and all students who did not were manifested. For the 2007-08 school year there was no statistically significant difference in mean IQ between the Black and White samples matched for free or reduced lunch status. For the other nine school years groups matched for free or reduced lunch status exhibited a statistically significant difference in mean IQ. Data for the entire ten year period were combined to obtain more definitive results. The results of this study do not support the claim of the test’s author. Key Words: NNAT; Blacks; Whites; Minorities; Adverse impact; Under-representation; Naglieri; Gifted children

Misconceptions About the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test: A Commentary of Concerns and Disagreements

Black and Hispanic students are undeniably underidentified as gifted and underrepresented in gifted education. The underrepresentation of the two largest groups of “minority” students is long-standing, dating several decades, and is a serious area of contention. Most debates focus on the efficacy of traditional intelligence tests with verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal scales compared to intelligence tests that are nonverbal when identifying underserved gifted students. Test developers; researchers; federal, state, and local government officials; policymakers; administrators; and educators have debated different solutions to the problem of underrepresentation of minorities in gifted educational programs for decades. Controversies surrounding how to equitably identify these gifted students abound, and arguments are quite polemic and entrenched; nonetheless, in many instances gifted Hispanic and Black students are often disproportionally denied access to gifted education because of the methods and instruments used. In this article, we review a study by Giessman, Gambrell, and Stebbins regarding one Nonverbal Test of General Ability (NNAT2), which has been widely used for identification of gifted non-White students. We address concerns about conclusions raised by Giessman and coauthors and present cautions about the problems involved in reporting archival data.

Revisiting the Rybakov Figures

The Rybakov Test is a traditional nonverbal spatial ability test for which promising results have been reported in the few validation studies that have been conducted to date. In order to more thoroughly determine the psychometric properties of the test, we subjected it to systematic validation in two samples of 338 participants in total. Our analyses demonstrated that the Rybakov Test is a reliable measure of spatial visualization ability that exhibits convergent associations with other spatial visualization tests (r = .45–.62) and general intelligence tests (r = .43–.44). The Rybakov Figures showed high internal consistency (α = .79–.84) and high retest reliability (rtt = .77) – and even proved to be Rasch scalable. Because of the widely varying item difficulties, the test can be administered even in highly skilled samples without generating ceiling effects.

The Undergraduate Medical and Health Sciences Admissions Test: What is it measuring?

Background: The Undergraduate Medical and Health Sciences Admissions Test (UMAT) is used to select medical students in Australia and New Zealand but empirical evidence of its construct validity has never been reported.Aims: To identify the underlying constructs assessed in each of the three sections of the UMAT. Based on conclusions from an early qualitative study (Mercer & Chiavaroli 2006), it was expected that Section 1 scores would correlate with scores obtained from standard measures of cognitive ability (verbal and numeric reasoning), Section 2 scores would correlate with emotional intelligence, and Section 3 scores would be most strongly related to abstract or non-verbal reasoning ability.Method: Final year high school students (n = 432) completed tests of numerical, verbal, and non-verbal cognitive ability, and emotional intelligence. Correlations and multiple regressions assessed the relationship of these tests with scores on each section of the UMAT.Results: UMAT Section 1 was significantly related to verbal, non-verbal, and numerical reasoning tests. Section 2 was significantly related to emotional intelligence and verbal reasoning, but the majority of variance in this section's scores remained unexplained. Section 3 scores significantly correlated with non-verbal and numerical reasoning.Conclusions: The UMAT Sections 1 and 3 appear to be tests of cognitive abilities. Further research is required to identify the constructs being measured by Section 2.

Antisocial Behavior: Exploring Behavioral, Cognitive, and Environmental Influences on Expulsion

SummaryWe investigated the role of three significant potential contributors to antisocial behavior (ASB)—behavior, cognitive, and environmental influences—and their impact on expulsion. The following measures were administered to a community sample of antisocial adolescents: nonverbal ability and working memory, behavioral profile (rated by the social worker and self‐rated), and environmental background (socio‐economic background and family structure). The data indicated that their working memory performance was in the average range; however, group means were significantly lower in the nonverbal ability test. Although social workers' assessments of the adolescents' behavior were closely related to their self‐reports, it was the latter that was best able to correctly classify those who had been expelled from their non‐expelled ASB peers. Environmental background did not appear to have a strong role in expulsion rates. The results are discussed in the context of persistency of ASB and ways forward to provide support and intervention for adolescents. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Adaptación española de la versión reducida multicanal del Perfil de Sensibilidad No Verbal (MiniPONS)

The Spanish version of the MiniPONS (Bänziger, Scherer, Hall y Rosenthal, 2011), the short version multichannel of the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (PONS), is presented. This scale was designed to measure individual differences in the ability to recognize emotions, interpersonal attitudes, and communicative intentions in nonverbal channels. This short multichannel version is composed of 64 items nonverbal audio and/or visual scenes portrayed by a female in black and white color. The main aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of MiniPONS using a large sample of university students (N = 1154) aged 18-60, this study also examined gender and age differences in nonverbal sensitivity. Normative data, reliability and validity were examined in three studies with 168, 254, and 1154 university students. The Spanish version of the MiniPONS has psychometric properties similar to those of the original version, the MiniPONS had moderate internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and shows reasonable convergent validity through significant correlations with other tests of non-verbal emotion recognition ability. Results revealed an advantage of women in all the conditions of stimulus presentation; women not only process more efficiently unisensory nonverbal information (face, body and voice) but may also be better at integrating emotional expressions. We conclude that the MiniPONS Spanish version is an adequate instrument to be used in measure of socio-nonverbal sensitivity. Limitations and potential applications for research are described. : E�F' p�Pr�span&gt;have not been studied for current literature. The aim of this study was to analyse changes in cortical arousal, blood lactate, muscle strength, autonomic modulation and rate of perceived exertion in a simulated urban combat. We analyzed 20 soldiers before and after an urban combat simulation. The results showed how urban combat produced high sympathetic nervous system activation, increasing the muscle strength, heart rate and blood lactate concentration of the soldiers. Despite this effort, rate of perceived exertion were not consistent with the physiological response that soldiers presented, the rate of perceived exertion was lower than the physiological response evaluated. Furthermore, the information processing and cortical arousal decreased after the urban combat simulation. These results have showed the psycho-physiological response of soldiers in combat, helping to better understanding and enabling an improvement of current training methods of soldiers.

Minority Performance on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, Second Edition, Versus the Cognitive Abilities Test, Form 6

The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, Second Edition (NNAT2), is used widely to screen students for possible inclusion in talent development programs. The NNAT2 claims to provide a more culturally neutral evaluation of general ability than tests such as Form 6 of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT6), which has Verbal and Quantitative batteries in addition to a Nonverbal battery. This study compared the performance of 5,833 second graders who took the CogAT6 and 4,038 kindergartners, first graders, and second graders who took the NNAT2 between 2005 and 2011 as part of a grade-wide screening for a gifted program. Comparison between minorities and Whites on the CogAT6 and the NNAT2 found slightly larger gaps on the CogAT6 Composite for Hispanics and English-Language Learners (ELL) but the same gap for Black students. Considered alone, the Nonverbal battery of CogAT6 produced smaller gaps than the NNAT2 for Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and ELL students. Fisher’s exact tests showed no significant differences between the CogAT6 Composite and the NNAT2 in subgroup identification rates at hypothetical cuts for gifted identification (top 20%, 10%, or 5%), except for Asian and ELL students. The CogAT6 Nonverbal score appeared to identify as many or more high-ability students from underrepresented groups as the NNAT2. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition, follow-up on the top 5% showed greater predictive validity for the CogAT6 Composite. These results suggest that gifted programs should not assume that using a figural screening test such as the NNAT2, without other adjustments to selection protocol, will address minority underrepresentation.

Computerized working memory training: Can it lead to gains in cognitive skills in students?

Given that working memory is an important cognitive skill that is linked to academic success, there is increasing attention given to exploring ways to support working memory problems in struggling students. One promising approach is computerized training, and the aim of the present study focused on whether computerized working memory training could result in both near and far transfer training effects; and whether such effects would be maintained over time. Students were allocated into one of three groups: Nonactive Control, Active Control, where they trained once a week (WMT-Low frequency); Training group, where they trained four times a week (WMT-High frequency). All three groups were tested on measures of working memory, verbal and nonverbal ability, and academic attainment before training; and re-tested on the same measures after training, as well as 8months later. The data indicate gains in both verbal and visuo-spatial working memory tasks for the high-frequency Training group. Improvements were also evidenced in tests of verbal and nonverbal ability tests, as well as spelling, in the high-frequency Training group. There were some maintenance effects when students were tested 8months later. Possible reasons for why the computerized working memory training led to some far transfer effects in the high-frequency Training group are included in the discussion.

Associations between maternal experiences of racism and early child health and development: findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

BackgroundEmerging evidence suggests that experienced racism might help explain observed ethnic inequalities in early child health and development. There are few studies outside the US context and none that consider...