Picture Completion Subtests Research Articles

Clinical Validation of the General Ability Index—Estimate (GAI-E): Estimating Premorbid GAI

The clinical utility of the General Ability Index—Estimate (GAI-E; Lange, Schoenberg, Chelune, Scott, & Adams, 2005) for estimating premorbid GAI scores was investigated using the WAIS-III standardization clinical trials sample (The Psychological Corporation, 1997). The GAI-E algorithms combine Vocabulary, Information, Matrix Reasoning, and Picture Completion subtest raw scores with demographic variables to predict GAI. Ten GAI-E algorithms were developed combining demographic variables with single subtest scaled scores and with two subtests. Estimated GAI are presented for participants diagnosed with dementia (n = 50), traumatic brain injury (n = 20), Huntington's disease (n = 15), Korsakoff's disease (n = 12), chronic alcohol abuse (n = 32), temporal lobectomy (n = 17), and schizophrenia (n = 44). In addition, a small sample of participants without dementia and diagnosed with depression (n = 32) was used as a clinical comparison group. The GAI-E algorithms provided estimates of GAI that closely approximated scores expected for a healthy adult population. The greatest differences between estimated GAI and obtained GAI were observed for the single subtest GAI-E algorithms using the Vocabulary, Information, and Matrix Reasoning subtests. Based on these data, recommendations for the use of the GAI-E algorithms are presented.

Predicting denial function of schizophrenic patients by the picture completion subtest of WAIS-R

In the previous study, picture completion (PC) test scores of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised (WAIS-R) were negatively associated with recognition of mental illness measured by Schedule for the Assessment of Insight (SAI). Therefore, it can be hypothesized that function measured by the PC test is positively associated with denial function. To investigate this hypothesis, we investigated the relationship between two picture tests (picture completion and picture arrangement) of the WAIS-R and denial function tests (lie scale, frequency scale and correction scale) of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) in 26 schizophrenic patients. As a result, the lie scale score and the correction scale score were positively and significantly associated with picture completion whereas no scale score was significantly associated with picture arrangement. The present findings suggest that the positive association between function measured by the PC test and denial function measured by lie and correction scale scores. Further studies are warranted to investigate the usefulness of the PC test for the measurement of denial function in schizophrenia.

Differential Estimation of Verbal Intelligence and Performance Intelligence Scores from Combined Performance and Demographic Variables: The OPIE-3 Verbal and Performance Algorithms *

Data from the WAIS-III standardization sample(The Psychological Corporation, 1997)was used to generate VIQ and PIQ estimation formulae using demographic variables and current WAIS-III subtest performances. The sample(n = 2,450)was randomly divided into two groups; the first was used to develop formulas and the second to validate the regression equations. Age, education, ethnicity, gender, region of the country as well as Vocabulary, Matrix Reasoning, and Picture Completion subtests raw scores were used as predictor variables. Prediction formulas were generated using a single verbal and two performance subtest algorithms. The VIQ OPIE-3 model combined Vocabulary raw scores with demographic variables. The PIQ estimation algorithm used Matrix Reasoning and Picture Completion raw scores with demographic variables. The formulas for estimating premorbid VIQ and PIQ were highly significant and accurate in estimation. Differences in estimated VIQ and PIQ scores were evaluated and the OPIE-3 algorithms were found to accurately predict VIQ and PIQ differences within the WAIS-III standardization sample.

Digit Span as a measure of everyday attention: a study of ecological validity.

This study investigated the effectiveness of the WAIS-III Digit Span subtest to predict the everyday attention of 75 participants with heterogeneous neurological conditions who were administered the Digit Span subtest as well as the ecologically valid Test of Everyday Attention. In addition, the more visually oriented Picture Completion subtest along with the verbally loaded National Adult Reading Test were administered. Analysis indicated that, although Digit Span was a weak but statistically significant predictor of attentional ability (accounting for 12.7% of the unique variance). Picture Completion was a somewhat stronger predictor (accounting for 19% of the unique variance). The weak association of Digit Span and the Test of Everyday Attention, along with the finding that Picture Completion was a better predictor of performance on the Test of Everyday Attention, question the clinical utility of using Digit Span as a measure of everyday attention.

An Evaluation of the Clinical Utility of the OPIE-3 as an Estimate of Premorbid WAIS-III FSIQ

The clinical utility of the Oklahoma Premorbid Intelligence Estimate – 3 (OPIE-3; Schoenberg, Scott, Duff, & Adams, 2002) in estimating premorbid FSIQ was investigated with the WAIS-III standardization sample. The OPIE-3 algorithms combine Vocabulary, Information, Matrix Reasoning, and Picture Completion subtest raw scores with demographic variables to predict FSIQ. Estimated WAIS-III FSIQ scores are presented for patients’ diagnosed with dementia, traumatic brain injury, Huntington’s disease, Korsakoff’s disease, chronic alcohol use, temporal lobectomy, and schizophrenia. A group of patients with depression was employed as a clinical control group. The OPIE-3Vand OPIE-3MR algorithms performed well, with the average predicted FSIQ of the combined clinical sample approximating the mean FSIQ of healthy adults. The OPIE-3(Best), which is a procedure that employs either the OPIE-3V, OPIE-3MR, or OPIE-3(2ST) algorithms in a best performance method, is presented. Recommendations in the application of the OPIE-3 are made and future research is proposed.

Solitary play and convergent and divergent thinking skills in preschool children

This study examined the relationship between multiple forms of solitary play (solitary-active, solitary-passive, reticence) and convergent and divergent thinking. Seventy-two children (42 boys, 30 girls, M age=4.5 years) were observed and social and cognitive play, types and use of materials were recorded. All children were administered the Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement Test (TCAM) (Torrance, 1981) to assess divergent thinking and the PPVT test and the Picture Completion subtest (WISC-R) to measure convergent thinking. Reticent behavior was more strongly negatively associated with convergent and divergent thinking than either solitary-active or solitary-passive play, whereas solitary-active play was more strongly positively related to divergent thinking. Associations between types of materials (open-, closed-ended) and use (intended, nonintended ways) and (a) types of solitary players and (b) thinking skills were investigated. Findings are discussed in terms of recent theoretical advances in understanding types of solitary activity and links with thinking skills. Practical recommendations are advanced for supporting solitary play in the early childhood classroom.

A comparison of methods to estimate premorbid intelligence in an Australian sample: data from the Macquarie University Neuropsychological Normative Study (MUNNS)

A variety of methods for estimating premorbid intelligence were compared in an Australian sample participating in the Macquarie University Neuropsychological Normative Study (MUNNS). Predictors included a contextual version of the AUSNART, the WRAT-3 Reading subtest, Spot-the-Word Test and sub-tests from the WAIS-R. The study involved 244 healthy participants aged between 18 and 34 years, with half of them serving as a cross-validation sample. Multiple regression was used for all analyses. When taking into account both the statistical results and clinical utility of the methods, the Sydney Premorbid Intelligence Estimate (SPIE), consisting of Vocabulary and Picture Completion subtests from the WAIS-R, was considered to be the best predictor. Combining all measures into one regression did not substantially increase the amount of variance explained. Base rate tables for predicted IQ versus obtained IQ, and the discrepancy between predicted 10 and Delayed Recall Index of the WMS-R are provided for each of the prediction methods. Further research to examine the clinical utility of these methods is required.

Estimation of WAIS-III Intelligence from Combined Performance and Demographic Variables: Development of the OPIE-3

Data from the WAIS-III standardization sample (The Psychological Corporation, 1997) was used to generate several FSIQ estimation formulas that used demographic variables and current WAIS-III subtest performance. The standardization sample (N =2,450) was randomly divided into two groups, the first was used to develop the formulas and the second group was used to validate the prediction equations. Age, education, ethnicity, gender, region of the country as well as Vocabulary, Information, Matrix Reasoning, and Picture Completion subtests raw scores were used as predictor variables. Regression formulas were generated using four subtest, two subtest, single verbal, two performance subtest, and single performance algorithms. The four-subtest model combined Information, Vocabulary, Matrix Reasoning, and Picture Completion raw scores with demographic variables. The two-subtest algorithm used Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning raw scores with demographic variables. Formulas to estimate FSIQ using only verbal or performance subtests were developed for use with lateralized populations. The formulas for estimating premorbid FSIQ were highly significant and accurate in predicting FSIQ scores of participants in the WAISIII normative sample.

Elevated picture completion scores: a possible indicator of hypervigilance in maltreated preschoolers

Objective: The Picture Completion subtest of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) measures visual alertness and the ability to differentiate essential from nonessential details. In children who are hypervigilant as a result of maltreatment, these skills may be over-functioning. It was hypothesized that the Picture Completion subtest scores of these children would be significantly elevated in comparison to their other nonverbal scores and their overall intellectual functioning. Method: Fourteen children from a therapeutic day treatment preschool program for maltreated children were administered the WPPSI-R. Standardized discrepancy scores between Picture Completion scores and Performance mean scores (PC-Performance Discrepancy) and the mean of all subscale scores (PC-Overall IQ Discrepancy) were formed and then analyzed. Results: The abused preschoolers scored significantly lower than the population mean on four of the five WPPSI-R Performance subscales. Only on Picture Completion did they score significantly higher. Average PC-Performance Discrepancy and PC-Overall IQ Discrepancy scores were greater than one, indicating that the mean difference of children’s Picture Completion score from either their Performance mean score or all of their mean scores was more than one standard deviation. Conclusion: Elevated Picture Completion score may serve as a marker for hypervigilance and/or PTSD in children with histories of maltreatment.

Neuropsychological prediction of dementia in Parkinson’s disease

OBJECTIVETo identify neuropsychological characteristics predictive of later dementia in Parkinson’s disease.METHODSA comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered to a cohort of 89 initially non-demented patients with Parkinson’s disease consecutively enrolled...

Oklahoma premorbid intelligence estimation (opie): Utilization in clinical samples

The present research is an effort to evaluate a new method of estimating premorbid IQ in which both demographic and current performance methods are utilized in a regression algorithm. Two hundred and twenty-seven patient files from the archives of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center were used to evaluate the Oklahoma Premorbid Intelligence Estimation (OPIE) procedure. This procedure combines both premorbid demographic variables of age, education, occupation, and race with current performance on the WAIS-R Vocabulary and Picture Completion subtests in estimating premorbid IQ. The results are presented for clinical populations including those with dementia, traumatic brain injury, cerebral vascular accident, neoplasm, epilepsy, and a medical control chronic pain group. Results indicate that the OPIE produces a less restricted range of scores than other currently available methods of estimating premorbid IQ without systematic under or over-estimation of IQ. Considerations for the use of this method with diffuse and cerebrally lateralized populations are discussed.

Effects of the Addition of Color to Assessment Instruments

Color has been incorporated in recent revisions of individually administered ability tests, yet, to date, no decisive evaluation of the effect that color has on test performance has been made. To this end, the Absurdities subtest of the Stanford-Binet, Fourth Edition (Thorndike, Hagen, & Sattler, 1986) and the Picture Completion subtest of the WISC-III (Wechsler, 1991) were administered in both a colored and a noncolored version to 80 children. The children were in either kindergarten/first grade or fifth/sixth grade and in either remedial assistance or regular educational placements. Grade differences in test performance were in the predicted direction; however, expected school placement differences were not obtained in all instances. For the Absurdities subtest, there were no differences between the colored and black and white versions; Picture Completion subtest results were complicated by several interactions. Clear student preferences existed for colored stimuli. In general, changing subtests to color appears advantageous.

ATTENTION, MEMORY AND LEARNING ARE INVERSELY RELATED TO DEGREE OF IRON DEFICIENCY IN ADOLESCENT FEMALES. † 801

Objective: To examine the association in adolescents between iron deficiency and specific neurocognitive functions, including attention, memory and learning. Methods: 28 girls, age 15 +/- 1.5 years, all> Tanner III, participated. New patients to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Adolescent Medicine are routinely screened with a Complete Blood Count (CBC). Indications of possible iron deficiency are mean corpuscular volume (MCV) 12.5%. Girls with suspected iron deficiency and with normal values underwent several hematological tests: hemoglobin (hb), MCV, iron, total iron binding capacity(% Saturation), and free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP). All also underwent a 2-hour neurocognitive battery: measures of intelligence (Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, WISC-III, Information and Picture Completion subtests), attention (Digit Vigilance Test), memory and learning(Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning, WRAML, and Child Selective Reminding Test) and behavior (Child Behavior Checklist, CBCL, internalizing and externalizing scores). Results: 10 girls were found to have normal iron status; 10 were iron depleted but not anemic; 8 were iron deficient and anemic. Below are the correlation coefficients of the neurocognitive and behavioral battery versus hematological parameters. Values in bold are in the expected direction and significant at p<.05. Values with * are p<.10. Table Discussion: These data suggest that reductions in circulating levels of iron during adolescence are associated with adverse effects on aspects of neurocognitive and behavioral function. These associations can be identified in some non-anemic but iron-depleted individuals.

A comparison of indices of premorbid intelligence in clinical populations

Estimation of premorbid intelligence using the regression formula developed by Barona et al. (1984) was compared with prorated IQ's based on the higher of the Vocabulary or Picture Completion subtests from the WAIS-R. Actual and predicted premorbid IQ's of 50 brain-damaged patients were compared to those of 35 non-brain-damaged patient controls equated on age and education. For both groups, the Barona et al. (1984) formula produced mean IQ's close to 100, though greatly restricted the range. The prorated IQ's tended to be over-estimated in the patient control group, but not the brain-damaged group. Compared with the regression based formula, the distribution of these prorated IQ's was more consistent with the WAIS-R standardization sample.

Estimation of premorbid intelligence from combined performance and demographic variables

Abstract Data from the WAIS-R standardization sample was used to generate a premorbid IQ estimation formula using both demographic and current performance variables. The sample was randomly divided into two groups for development and cross-validation of the formula. Age, education, occupation, race, Vocabulary subtest raw score, and Picture Completion subtest raw score were used as predictor variables. The formulas for Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ were highly significant and accurate in prediction, without the substantial restriction of range or overestimation found in other methods. Formulas for use with a lateralized population are also presented.

Dopamine D2 receptor binding in the basal ganglia in schizophrenia: Relationship to stereotypy

The cognitive profile differences between adult patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are not well characterized. We examined the cognitive profiles of adults having either ASD (n = 120) or ADHD (n = 76) with no intellectual disabilities (IQ ≥ 70) using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale III (WAIS-III). Verbal Intelligence (VIQ) − Performance Intelligence (PIQ) difference discrepancies were detected between the two groups. Information subtest scores of the Verbal Comprehension index and Arithmetic and Digit Span subtests of the Freedom from Distractibility index were significantly higher in ASD than in ADHD, while the Picture Completion subtest was significantly lower in ASD. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the difference in the cognitive profiles of adults with ASD and those with ADHD based on the WAIS III with a large number of participants.

Psychological Performance of Accident-Prone Automobile Drivers in China: A Case-Control Study

To evaluate the role of neurobehavioural factors in the aetiology of recurrent automobile accidents, we administered the Revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and choice and simple reaction time tests to 31 accident-prone automobile drivers. These drivers who had caused three or more traffic accidents during the years 1980-1984, were selected from records of 2723 traffic accidents registered by Hefei Traffic Police Department during the years 1980-1984. The same tests were administered to an equal number of sex- and age-matched control drivers who had no reported involvement in automobile accidents. None of the subjects had suffered from any neuropsychiatric illness or head injury. Comparisons between the two groups indicated that for accident-prone drivers scores on picture completion and block design subtests of the WAIS-R were significantly lowered (p less than 0.05); scores for neurosis extrovert behaviour and psychosis (EPQ) were significantly higher (p less than 0.05); and the number of errors in the choice reaction time test was significantly higher (p less than 0.01). It is suggested that accident-prone drivers have lower psychological performance, poorer judgement and a higher tendency than safe drivers to be neurotic, extrovert and psychotic.

WAIS-R pattern clusters after blunt-head injury

Abstract Few data have existed regarding common patterns of performance on the WAIS-R after head injury. A cluster analysis was used to divide 93 WAIS-R profiles from patients with blunt-head injury on the basis of pattern of performance on the WAIS-R subtests. Six clusters of 10 or more members emerged. The Digit Span, Arithmetic, and Picture Completion subtests contributed most to the clustering process, while Verbal-Performance discrepancies played a part in the formation of five of the six clusters. Clusters from analysis of the head-injury data set were substantially more differentiated than those derived from random data. Further research is needed to cross-validate these findings. If they can be cross-validated, these common patterns of performance could prove useful in diagnosis, development of prognosis, and rehabilitative treatment, as well as in understanding brain function after blunt-head injury.

Decelerative changes in heart rate are associated with performance on tasks that assess intelligence

Changes in heart rate, chin electromyographic (EMG) activity, and respiration rate were monitored during the performance of three tasks that are commonly employed to assess intelligence in human adults. Stimuli from the digit span subtest (Expt. 1) of the Wechsler scales of intelligence, the picture completion subtest (Expt. 2), and the picture arrangement subtest (Expt. 3) were employed. A 10-s warning preceding the onset of each stimulus was also used in each of the experiments. During all three tasks there was an initial increase in heart rate during the first 3–4 s of the warning signal, followed by a decrease in heart rate during the last 5–6 s of the warning signal. Mean heart rate during the 5 s immediately preceding the presentation of stimuli to which subjects gave correct responses was significantly lower than mean heart rate during the 5 s immediately preceding the presentation of stimuli to which subjects gave incorrect responses. In addition, mean heart rate during the 5 s immediately preceding the presentation of stimuli to which subjects gave correct responses decreased significantly below the pre-warning baseline level, whereas mean heart rate during the 5 s preceding the presentation of stimuli to which subjects gave incorrect responses did not decrease below the baseline level. The differential heart rate results for correct and incorrect responses were consistent across the three tasks. No significant changes in chin EMG and respiration rate were noted during any of the tasks. Relationships among heart rate, attention to environmental information, and the role of attention in measures of intelligence are discussed.

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 greater than 35% (n = 60) and less than or equal to 35% (n = 113) and non-POW combat veterans (n = 50) were compared on 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 Thygesen, Hermann, and Willanger (1970) hypothesis that severity of POW confinement stress reflected by trauma-induced weight loss is predictive of long-term compromise in cognitive performance.