Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Subtests Research Articles

A factor-analytic study of the Wechsler intelligence scales as administered to a clinical sample in Chile

Principal components analysis was carried out on the data from 120 Chilean patients tested in Spanish on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). The factor structure revealed was almost identical to those found for the original WAIS sample and the WAIS-Revised sample. The first factor is a measure of ‘general ability’ and the second (orthogonal) factor is a measure of ‘verbal-spatial contrast’, that is well able to distinguish between unilateral lesions. These IQ measures appear in many ways superior to traditional measures of verbal and performance IQ, and may be calculated on the basis of as few as five WAIS subtests. In addition preliminary evidence is presented that females are less cognitively specialised than males.

Schizophrenic Dementia

Twenty-seven chronic schizophrenic patients and nine other psychiatric patients closely matched in education were compared on the Halstead-Reitan Battery and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). The schizophrenic patients as a group showed significantly poorer performance on the WAIS (full scale: X +/- SD, 92.9 +/- 2.9 vs. 110.8 +/- 2.1, p less than .002) and the Halstead-Reitan Battery (HRB; Average Impairment Range = 2.1 +/- .2 vs. 1.12 +/- .06, p less than .003). In addition the schizophrenic patients did significantly worse than did nonschizophrenic patients on all WAIS subtests and scored in the impaired range on most HRB subtests. Computed axial tomography scans revealed large ventricles on nine schizophrenic patients and cortical atrophy on three others. Among schizophrenics, the enlarged ventricle group consistently scored the worst. No relationship was seen between neuropsychological test performance and degree of ongoing psychopathology as measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. These findings are consistent with previous reports of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and are discussed in terms of regional localization. They provide additional evidence that the impairment is related to the disease process and that structural abnormalities are associated with the more severe condition.

An examination of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) subtests from a neuropsychological perspective.

Individual subtest scores of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) were regressed on measures of the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery (HRNB) for 408 psychiatric and neurologic patients. The results suggested that language skills (Aphasia Screening Test), auditory attention (Seashore Rhythm Test), psychomotor speed and general cognitive functioning (Category Test) were underlying the performance in the majority of WAIS subtests. A canonical correlation was performed to consider the degree of commonality between the WAIS and the HRNB. One significant canonical correlation between the linear components of the WAIS and HRNB tests emerged. Canonical variates showed that Block Design, Digit Symbol, and Similarities subtests of the WAIS overlapped with the Aphasia Screening Test and the Category Test of the HRNB. It was concluded that, while shared variance does exist between the WAIS and the HRNB, each offers nonredundant information regarding neuropsychological functioning.

Cognitive dysfunction and aging among male alcoholics and social drinkers.

The relationship between aging and various drinking styles was examined. Four age groups (25-34, 35-44, 45-54, and 55-65 years) and four drinking styles (nondrinkers, social drinkers, alcoholics, and abstinent alcoholics) were compared. A battery of eight neuropsychological tests was administered to 322 men; 72 nondrinkers, 100 social drinkers, 58 abstinent alcoholics, and 92 alcoholics. Cognitive dysfunction related to aging was found to be a more significant factor than decline with alcohol use. Cognitive dysfunction associated with alcohol use was significant for three Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests; Vocabulary, Digit Symbol and Block Design. Alcohol-related differences in intellectual functioning tended to diminish with increasing subject age.

Visuoperception and visuospatial and visuorotational performance in Parkinson's disease.

Forty patients with Parkinson's disease were compared with 33 normal controls with respect to their performance in the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests "information", "similarities", "block design", and "picture completion", in a test for visual neglect (Hamsher's line cancellation test) and in tests for visuospatial and visuorotational abilities (cube task from Amthauer's intelligence structure test and Rybakoff figure test, as revised by Meili). The findings show that the patients scored significantly worse than the controls (Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.004) in the Rybakoff figure test, testing visual concept finding, imagination and visual rotation. In the other tests no significant differences were found between the patients and the controls. The deficit of the patients in the figure test of Rybakoff correlated significantly with tremor (P = 0.013), akinesia (P = 0.009), disability (P = 0.043), and age (P = 0.004, Spearman rank correlation).

Patterns of intellectual development in later life.

Temporal changes in 16 measures of cognitive and intellectual functioning (11 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests, 3 Wechsler Memory Test subscales, 2 measures of reaction time) were studied in the full data set from the First Duke Longitudinal Study of Aging. Patterns of change in these 16 measures were identified through a 'grade-of-membership' analysis -- a general model for identifying patterns in temporal variation that does not require parametric assumptions about the trajectory of change or assumptions about the homogeneity of the sampled population. The analyses showed that the temporal variation of the 16 measures could be described by five latent patterns that reflected the complex patterning of intellectual functioning in extreme late life. The relation of these five patterns of intellectual ability to age was examined, as were the relationships to measures of mental and physical health. These results underline the needs for comprehensive models of health and functioning in later life that describe changes in a multidimensional form.

Genetic and environmental contributions to the covariation between the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) subtests: a study of twins.

The Wechsler Adult Interlligence Scale (WAIS) subtest scores of 40 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) and 40 pairs of like-sexed dizygotic (DZ) twins were analyzed. Estimates were obtained with respect to the relative influence of genetic and environmental sources of variance common for the subtests of WAIS and sources specific for each subtest. A model was also specified to detect variance common only for the subtests usually reported to load on the same Cohen factor. The major part of the covariance between subtests seemed to be due to common genes. Freedom from Distractibility seemed to be influenced by specific genes, but the other two “Cohen factors,” Verbal Comprehension and Perceptual Organization did not. Environmental sources acting between families seemed to be mostly common, but except for the Perceptual Organization and the Digit Symbol subtests, the relative contribution from these sources was modest.

IQ, Inspection time, and response strategies in a university population

Abstract The relationship between Inspection Time (a perceptual discrimination task designed to estimate the rate at which a subject processes sensory input) and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was assessed in a sample of 29 university students. Sixteen of the subjects (“strategy users”) independently developed a strategy for performing the task, based on apparent movement cues. The remaining 13 (“non-users”) did not develop the strategy and could not easily be trained in its use. Strategy users had slightly faster Inspection Times than non-users, but were not significantly different from the non-users on the WAIS or any of the subtests. However, the two groups differed substantially in the relationship of Inspection Time to IQ. In the strategy users, Inspection Time was not significantly related to IQ or to any of the WAIS subtests. In the non-users, Inspection Time was highly correlated with Performance IQ and with scores on two of the subtests. Methodological implications of the difference...

Attention dysfunction and psychopathology in college men.

Four hundred college men were screened on a measure of vigilance, the Continuous Performance Test (CPT). The individuals with good and poor attention (the upper and lower 5% of the CPT score distribution) were compared on multiple measures of psychiatric disturbance, cognition, and psycho-physiologic function. The attention dysfunction group (lower 5%) had a higher incidence of symptoms of hyperactivity both in childhood and as adults, but had no higher incidence of other psychopathology as assessed with either the Research Diagnostic Criteria or the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Cognitive differences between the lower and upper CPT groups, including differences on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests, the Stroop test, reaction time, and evoked potentials, substantiated an attention dysfunction syndrome. Thus, attentional dysfunction in young adults seems more closely linked to hyperactivity than to current psychopathology.

Intellectual function in primary affective disorder.

The possible effects of clinical depression on intellectual function were investigated in unipolar and bipolar patients. Ninety-six hospitalized depressed patients completed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) on admission and 34 were retested on remission. The high average full scale IQs found remained relatively stable throughout, consistent with earlier studies indicating a limited relationship between intellectual function and clinical severity of depression. No evidence was found for retarded psychomotor activity in bipolar groups or increased psychomotor activity in unipolar groups on three WAIS subtests of psychomotor function, but full scale IQ increased slightly in hypomania.

精神遅滞者の知能構造に関する研究 ＷＡＩＳ成人知能診断検査による検討

A comparison was conducted, with the purpose of investigating the intelligence structure of the mental retardates, on the results of an administration of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) to the groups of both normal and mentally retarded persons. Intercorrelations among the WAIS subtest scores for each group were separately analyzed by the method of principal component analysis. Three common factors were found for the two groups: (1) the factor of general intelligence, (2) the factor separating verbal subtests from all other subtests, and (3) the factor separating numerical subtests from all other subtests. There were no clear difference in intelligence structure between the mental retardates and the normals.

Comparison of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale indices of cerebral disfunction.

This study assessed and compared the diagnostic accuracies of eight cerebral dysfunction indices based upon the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). Patients with extreme values of the Halstead Impairment Index were used to compose Impaired and Not Impaired groups. The Impaired group did significantly worse than the Not Impaired group on all 11 WAIS subtests, and there was little overlap between the groups in Full Scale IQ. The WAIS cerebral dysfunction indices ignore such differences in over-all level of performance and instead use the eight indices predicted impairement status at levels which exceed chance, but the total correct classification rates were quite modest. Statistical correction for group age differences reduced classification rates even more. Deviation score analyses were employed to assess relative strengths and deficits on the WAIS subtests, controlled for over-all level of performance. Compared to the Not-impaired group, Impaired subjects did relatively poorly on Block Design and Object Assemby, and relatively well on Information, Comprehension, Vocabular, and Picture Completion. Significant education effects and education by impairment status interactions also occurred for several subtests. It was concluded that the WAIS indices have limited value in screening for cerebral dysfunction, and reasons for this were discussed.

Factor analysis of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests and the Halstead-Reitan Category and Tapping tests.

Factor analysis of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests and the Halstead-Reitan Category and Tapping tests.

Factor analysis of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests and the Halstead-Reitan Category and Tapping Tests.

Factor analysis of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subtests and the Halstead-Reitan Category and Tapping Tests.

Brain perfusion and neuropsychological test scores: A correlation study in aphasics

In 26 patients suffering from the pure types of aphasias (11 total, 6 motoric, 5 sensory, and 5 amnesic), hemispheric and regional cerebral blood flow were measured and the flow values were correlated with psychological test scores including Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), Token Test, Benton Test, and word fluency tests. With respect to the flow values, an overall difference between the groups of aphasics was proved by analysis of variance [regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF): F(3,22) = 13.77, p < .001]. The location of mainly impaired brain perfusion was not always confined to the centers within the speech area expected in view of the clinical disturbance, but most patients had neurologic deficits in addition to their aphasia. High correlations were found between the rCBF values within ischemic foci and WAIS subtests, as well as Token Test and word fluency tests. The correlation coefficients calculated between hemispheric flow and the psychological data indicated, in many instances, the same dependency, but did not attain the high statistical significance obtained with the regional values. The results show dependencies of several aspects of mental function upon cerebral perfusion and provide information for possible mechanisms responsible for the disturbance of nonverbal intelligence in aphasics.

Cognitive recovery after severe head injury. 2. Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale during post-traumatic amnesia.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was administered to two matched groups of severely head-injured patients. The first administration was early in the recovery period, when group I was still in post-traumatic amnesia. The WaiS results for this group were significantly lower than those of group II, who were fully conscious. A follow-up at a later stage of recovery found that group I had substantially caught up with group II on the WAIS. At both administrations the WAIS subtest scores were correlated with clinical data, and changes in the pattern of correlations between PTA and full consciousness suggested that the former represents a qualitatively, and not merely quantitatively, distinct phase of recovery.

Intellectual Changes Associated With Levodopa Therapy

To the Editor:— In addition to changes in motor behavior associated with levodopa (L-Dopa) therapy in Parkinson's disease, 1 we have been monitoring the intellectual functioning of these patients by means of the Wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS) 2 and the Porteus maze test. 3 Although previous preliminary investigations 4 did not reveal measurable changes in intellectual functioning after L-Dopa therapy (Boshes B., et al: Trans Amer Neurol Assoc 94 :229, 1969), it seemed appropriate to examine possible intellectual effects of the drug in a larger series of patients. The WAIS and Porteus procedures were administered while the patient was being treated with conventional medication and again after six weeks of L-Dopa therapy. The extension series of the Porteus was utilized in the second testing to reduce practice effects. The WAIS subtest scores were subdivided into factor scores or deviation quotients which were derived from earlier factor analyses of this

Relationships between Intelligence and Reasoning with Immediately Remembered Discrete Materials

IMMEDIATE MEMORY for discrete symbols I and reasoning comprise two processes of the hu man mind which have challenged psychologists' systematic exploration for years. Scientific in vestigations have been conducted in order better to understand the existence of these two abilities as separate processes. Positive relationships be tween intelligence and reasoning with immediately remembered nondiscrete symbols have been found by French and Hunt (1952). However, a controlled investigation of performance on tasks involving both immediate memory for discrete symbols and reasoning with these symbols as immediately re membered has apparently not yet been reported in the literature. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the relationships between scores obtained on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and scores obtained on the Immediate Memory Reasoning Test (IMRT) designed by the investigaI tor to measure ability to reason with immediate ly remembered series of discrete symbols. Discrete was used in the sense that there was no appar e nt relationship within each series of symbols. It was intended that the results of this study answer two questions, a) Do Ss of superior intel lect make significantly higher scores on the IMRT than Ss of average intellect? b) What is the corre lation between a group of Ss' IMRT scores and their corresponding WAIS Full Scale scores? In a similar fashion, each of these two questions was asked in terms of WAIS Verbal, WAIS Performance, and the 11 WAIS subtest scores.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Performance of Familial and Undifferentiated Mental Subnormals

Patients with the diagnoses of familial and undifferentiated mental retardation are often treated as a homogeneous group in research on mental subnormality, particularly in psychological studies where intelligence is a variable. This study investigated the homogeneity of subtest performance of familial and undifferentiated retardates1 on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ( WAIS) . From a larger pool of WAIS data, 40 familial and 40 undifferentiated Ss were selected at each of three age levels (16 to 24 yr., 25 to 34 yr., and 35 to 44 yr.) and individually matched for age, sex, and Full Scale IQ. The total sample was thus set at 240. Critical ratios between the mean subtest scores of the two diagnostic groups were calculated at each age level. As none of the 33 differences were significant at .05, combined Ms and SDs are given in Table 1. Familial and undifferentiated mental retardates are alike wich respect to their WAIS subtest performance. This finding provides some empirical justification for combining the two diagnostic groups in psychological studies.