Chapter 5: Intelligence tests
• Know the pros and cons of testing intelligence
Pros:
● Intelligence tests can adequately predict short-term scholastic performance
● Assess an individual’s relative strengths and weaknesses
● Predict occupational achievement
● Reveal important personality variables
● Permit researcher, educator or clinician to trace possible changes in an individual or
population
Cons:
● Limited in predicting certain aspects of occupational success and nonacademic skills,
such as creativity, motivational level, social acumen, and success in dealing with
people
● IQ scores are not measure of a innate fixed ability
● Use in classifying minority groups has been questioned
● Overemphasis on understanding the end product of cognitive functioning, and a
relative neglect in appreciating underlying cognitive processes
• Know the assets and limitations of the Wechsler intelligence scales
Assets
- Norms for both the WAIS and WISC represent a further clear strength. THe size is
adequate and, for the most part, has corresponded to the demographics of the U.S.
census.
- Clear precise data obtained regarding the person’s cognitive functioning from the IQ,
index, and subtest scores.
- Ability to aid in assessing personality and emotional variables
Limitation
- Lack of data supporting their ecological (or everyday) validity
- Overinterpretation of subtest and index scores. Specifically, it is believed that
individual subtest reliabilities are too low and that subtests are not sufficiently specific
for interpreting individual outcomes.
- Norms might not be applicable for ethnic minorities or persons from lower
socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Certain degree of subjectivity when scoring many of the items on some subtests
- WAIS and WISC have continued the traditional measurement of intelligence as
represented by the stanford-binet scales and the earlier versions of the wechsler
scales.
, • Know the strategies that can be used for assessing clients that are highly identified
with culture and have minimal proficiency in English, or for persons with visual or
hearing disabilities
- Make extra efforts to ensure that clients feel comfortable and welcomed
- Make extra efforts to increase motivation; encourage clients to do their best
- Make sure that communication is as clear as possible, especially if there are
differences in accents between the clinician and the client
- Resources beyond merely tests should have a greater significance with diverse
clients (e.g., teacher reports, discussions with parents, history, behavioral
observations) than for majority clients
- If language and culture appear to have been a factor in lowering the client’s
performance, subtest that seem to be less influenced by culture and language should
be the focus of interpretation (deemphasize language-based subtests, such as
Vocabulary and Information, and instead emphasize nonverbal tests, such as block
design, Matrix Reasoning and Visual Puzzles)
- When assessing persons from cultures that deemphasize performing tasks rapidly
(e.g., South Pacific islands), deemphasize speeded subtests (Processing Speed
Index; Coding, Symbol Search, Cancellation).
- Be cautious interpreting PRI<VCI differences for African Americans and Native
Americans with right-hemisphere damage; the differences have been found to be
less meaningful when compared with European Americans (based on PIQ<VIQ for
the WAIS-R and WAIS-lll; see Kaufman & Lichtenberger, 2006)
- Be cautious interpreting, VCI<PRI differences for African Americans with
left-hemisphere damage; the expected verbal nonverbal differences found among
European Americans has not been found in this population (based on VIQ<PRI for
the WAIS-R and WAIS-lll; see Kaufman & Lichtenberger, 2006)
• Understand the misinterpretations of IQ scores
- IQ is often incorrectly believed to be fixed, unchangeable and innate.
- IQ scores are not exact, precise measurements; rather, they are estimates in which
there is an expected range of fluctuation between one performance and the next
-
• Know the pros and cons of testing intelligence
Pros:
● Intelligence tests can adequately predict short-term scholastic performance
● Assess an individual’s relative strengths and weaknesses
● Predict occupational achievement
● Reveal important personality variables
● Permit researcher, educator or clinician to trace possible changes in an individual or
population
Cons:
● Limited in predicting certain aspects of occupational success and nonacademic skills,
such as creativity, motivational level, social acumen, and success in dealing with
people
● IQ scores are not measure of a innate fixed ability
● Use in classifying minority groups has been questioned
● Overemphasis on understanding the end product of cognitive functioning, and a
relative neglect in appreciating underlying cognitive processes
• Know the assets and limitations of the Wechsler intelligence scales
Assets
- Norms for both the WAIS and WISC represent a further clear strength. THe size is
adequate and, for the most part, has corresponded to the demographics of the U.S.
census.
- Clear precise data obtained regarding the person’s cognitive functioning from the IQ,
index, and subtest scores.
- Ability to aid in assessing personality and emotional variables
Limitation
- Lack of data supporting their ecological (or everyday) validity
- Overinterpretation of subtest and index scores. Specifically, it is believed that
individual subtest reliabilities are too low and that subtests are not sufficiently specific
for interpreting individual outcomes.
- Norms might not be applicable for ethnic minorities or persons from lower
socioeconomic backgrounds.
- Certain degree of subjectivity when scoring many of the items on some subtests
- WAIS and WISC have continued the traditional measurement of intelligence as
represented by the stanford-binet scales and the earlier versions of the wechsler
scales.
, • Know the strategies that can be used for assessing clients that are highly identified
with culture and have minimal proficiency in English, or for persons with visual or
hearing disabilities
- Make extra efforts to ensure that clients feel comfortable and welcomed
- Make extra efforts to increase motivation; encourage clients to do their best
- Make sure that communication is as clear as possible, especially if there are
differences in accents between the clinician and the client
- Resources beyond merely tests should have a greater significance with diverse
clients (e.g., teacher reports, discussions with parents, history, behavioral
observations) than for majority clients
- If language and culture appear to have been a factor in lowering the client’s
performance, subtest that seem to be less influenced by culture and language should
be the focus of interpretation (deemphasize language-based subtests, such as
Vocabulary and Information, and instead emphasize nonverbal tests, such as block
design, Matrix Reasoning and Visual Puzzles)
- When assessing persons from cultures that deemphasize performing tasks rapidly
(e.g., South Pacific islands), deemphasize speeded subtests (Processing Speed
Index; Coding, Symbol Search, Cancellation).
- Be cautious interpreting PRI<VCI differences for African Americans and Native
Americans with right-hemisphere damage; the differences have been found to be
less meaningful when compared with European Americans (based on PIQ<VIQ for
the WAIS-R and WAIS-lll; see Kaufman & Lichtenberger, 2006)
- Be cautious interpreting, VCI<PRI differences for African Americans with
left-hemisphere damage; the expected verbal nonverbal differences found among
European Americans has not been found in this population (based on VIQ<PRI for
the WAIS-R and WAIS-lll; see Kaufman & Lichtenberger, 2006)
• Understand the misinterpretations of IQ scores
- IQ is often incorrectly believed to be fixed, unchangeable and innate.
- IQ scores are not exact, precise measurements; rather, they are estimates in which
there is an expected range of fluctuation between one performance and the next
-
