Module 4

Question 1

What are some reasons why an individual would need a cognitive assessment?

Answer 1

1. The identification or assessment of learning difficulties
2. The identification of pervasive developmental disorders and dementia
3. To establish a baseline prior to brain surgery
4. To determine the extent and recovery from brain surgery
5. To aid in employment planning

Question 2

Define intelligence (according to Wechsler, 1944)

Answer 2

“The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his/her environment”

Question 3

How did Spearman contribute to intelligence research?

Answer 3

Pioneer of factor analysis
Observed positive manifold - if someone did well on one test, they usually did well on all of them
He theorised a general factor of intelligence ‘g’ and devised the two factor model: general intelligence factor and specific factors

Question 4

How did Thurstone expand on Spearman’s work?

Answer 4

He developed a more expanded factor analysis that could detect multiple factors - he found 7 ‘primary abilities’
He also introduced a standardised mean and standard deviation for IQ tests

Question 5

Explain the difference between crystallised and fluid intelligence. Who developed these concepts?

Answer 5

Crystallised - capacity to use skills, knowledge and experience
Fluid - ability to reason and solve problems
Cattell and Horn

Question 6

How does the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model and Spearman’s g all fit together?

Answer 6

1) Overall cognitive ability (Spearman’s g)
2) Broad CHC abilities (7)
3) Specific CHC abilities (>70)

Question 7

Boake (2002): Used in the late 1800s, what process was the digit span test designed to measure, according to Jacobs?

Answer 7

Prehension - “the mind’s power of taking on certain material”

Question 8

Boake (2002): Which test came after the digit span test? What did it involve?

Answer 8

Substitution test - it involved numbers enclosed by different shapes.

Question 9

Boake (2002): Through their ‘measuring scale of intelligence’, in what 2 ways did Binet and Simon progress intelligence testing?

Answer 9

1) They calculated subjects’ ‘intellectual level’ (later, mental age)
2) They combined different mental tests to yield a composite score

Question 10

Boake (2002): What was the major advancement of Terman’s Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale?

Answer 10

It replaced mental age with intelligence quotient (IQ)

Question 11

Boake (2002): What was the main criticism of the Binet-Simon scale?

Answer 11

It helped very little when there was a language barrier

Question 12

Boake (2002): What does Boake suggest was the important event in the spread of intelligence testing?

Answer 12

The testing program carried out in the US Army during the first world war.

Question 13

Boake (2002): What two things is Weschler most regarded for?

Answer 13

1) Developing tests still widely used today
2) Technical innovations in the wider field of intelligence testing (eg: calculating deviation scores, whereby verbal and performance tests are combined into a single scale

Question 14

Boake (2002): What were some of the reasons for the postwar (1920s and 30s) growth in intelligence testing?

Answer 14

• Army testing
• Many psychologists were now trained in test construction and interpretation
• The Psychological Corporation was founded in 1921
• Publication of group intelligence tests expanded applications, especially in schools
• Development of performance tests increased, possibly due to concerns over Stanford-Binet inadequacies

Question 15

Boake (2002): What were some of the reasons that led to the newly released Weschler-Bellevue scale advancing the field and becoming the dominant adult individual intelligence test?

Answer 15

• It was based on familiar tests that psychologists accepted as valid, and were organised into a composite scale
• Tests were organised into verbal and performance scales that could be administered/interpreted separately
• Use of deviation score obviated statistical artefacts and provided a statistical basis for interpreting the subtest profile and verbal-performance discrepancy
• The large standardisation sample, spanning from childhood to adulthood, had been selected in a principled and precise manner
• It met the need created by the rapid growth of clinical psychology during the 1940s, particularly in adult psychiatry

Question 16

Kaufman (2000): How did IQ assessment transform from Galton to Binet?

Answer 16

IQ assessment went from non-verbal and extremely objective (but not very valid), to verbal and subjective (but seemingly more valid)

Question 17

Kaufman (2000): “Wechsler single-handedly changed the face of intellectual assessment, converting it from a … to a …”

Answer 17

Converting it from a psychometric exercise to a clinical art.

Question 18

Kaufman (2000): During the first 100 years of IQ testing (1880s to 1980s), was theory or practice the most dominant force in determining which tests were developed and used?

Answer 18

Practice. Theory was not a guiding force until the late 20th century and now.

Question 19

Kaufman (2000): What has been the main criticism of critics of IQ testing during the past 20 years?

Answer 19

Lack of treatment validity

Question 20

Kaufman (2000): What are the elements of the approach Kaufman’s endorses in terms of IQ test interpretation?

Answer 20

One that integrates test scores, test behaviours, background data, and diverse theoretical perspectives in order to interpret each individual’s test score profile in some unique way.

Question 21

What is the most widely used intelligence scale today?

Answer 21

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th version (WAIS-IV)

Question 22

What are the 4 index scores that comprise the WAIS-IV?

Answer 22

Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
Working Memory Index (WMI)
Processing Speed Index (PSI)

Question 23

What are the 2 broad scores derived from the WAIS-IV?

Answer 23

Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) - based on the total combined performance of VCI, PRI, WMI and PSI
General Ability Index (GAI), based only on the 6 subtests included in the VCI and PRI

Question 24

Between all of the index scores of the WAIS-IV, how many core and supplementary subtests are there?

Answer 24

10 core subtests

5 supplementary subtests

Question 25

What is one of the limitations of the Wechsler suite of tests? Australian referrers have recommend that Australians are assessed with what test?

Answer 25

They are inconsistent in the provision of geographically diverse norms.
It has been recommended Australians are assessed with the Woodcock-Johnson-IV.

Question 26

Hannan (2005): What is one reason why Australian kids perform slightly better than American kids on intelligence scales?

Answer 26

Higher levels of parental education in Australia

Question 27

What are the main cognitive domains in cognitive assessment? List them in order of most to least complex

Answer 27

Executive function
Memory
Verbal/Visuospatial
Complex attention, basic attention, processing speed
Awake and arousal

Question 28

When interpreting test performance, a psychologist should consider:

Answer 28

1) Validity and reliability of tests and the relevance of normative data for the client
2) Individual test influences such as sleep, medication, anxiety etc.
3) Test performance in the context of the person’s history - eg: whether it is expected, reflects difficulties, or reflects a general decline

Question 29

When conducting a cognitive assessment, what are some factors that need to be considered (besides cognitive performance?

Answer 29

Personality
Social cognition
Psychological distress
Academic abilities
Malingering
Effort testing

Question 30

Flynn doesn’t think that the IQ differences between us and our grandparents isn’t because we’re smarter and/or they’re dumber. How does he explain the difference?

Answer 30

Flynn believes it’s due to our grandparents thinking more practically (i.e. dogs and rabbits are related in that one chases the other), while we intellectually classify (i.e. rabbits and dogs are both mammals)

Question 31

What does Flynn believe intelligence tests actually measure (instead of intelligence)?

Answer 31

Our adaptation to modernity

Question 32

What is construct bias in intelligence testing?

Answer 32

Construct bias exists when a test measures different constructs in different groups, and/or when the test measures the same construct but with different degrees of accuracy eg: if a respondent has low proficiency in English, is the testing assessing intelligence or English comprehension?

Question 33

What is method bias in intelligence testing?

Answer 33

Method bias is where bias exists pertaining to the sample, instrument, or administration eg: conducting a test without an interpreter

Question 34

What is item bias in intelligence testing?

Answer 34

Also referred to as ‘content bias’. It occurs when an item or subscale is more difficult for people in one group than in another group eg: fork and spoon question.