WAIS-R

Asima Munawar
Introduction
Developed by David Wechsler
 1939: the Wechsler-Bellevue, later called the WAIS.
1955: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale
 1981: WAIS-R (revised form of 1955 test)
What Intelligence Test Measure
Sets of standardized questions and tasks for assessing
 An individual’s potential & useful behavior
Mental abilities
Cognitive abilities
May be used to appraise a subject’s educational,
vocational or other competencies
Wechsler Scales
“Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of the
individual to act purposefully, to think rationally and to
deal effectively with his environment.”
David Wechsler (1939)

 global: one score ultimately describes a person’s

intellectual ability
 aggregate: that one score is composed of a number
of sub-scores
Wechsler’s original test
Wechsler believed that intellectual ability involves two
major types of skills: verbal and performance abilities.
Each of these broad types includes a variety of specific
skills that are assessed by the various subtests of the
WAIS.
Age Range

16 years 0 months – 74 years 11 months

Time

60-90 minutes
The Concept of IQ
Wilhelm Stern first time used this term in 1912
The IQs on this scale also define a level of intelligence
by comparing the performance of an individual of any
age with the average scores attained by members of
his/her age group.
Organization of the Scale
WAIS-R is composed of eleven tests, six verbal and five
performance (non verbal)
Verbal Scale
Information
Digit span
Vocabulary
Arithmetic
Comprehension
Similarties
Conti..
Performance Scale
Picture completion
Picture arrangement
Block design
Object assembly
Digit symbol
Changes From the 1955 WAIS
About 80% of the WAIS-R items are retained from the
1955 WAIS.
Test WAIS 1955 WAIS-R
Verbal scale
Information 20 29
Digit span 14 14
Vocabulary 33 35
Arithmetic 12 14
Comprehension 12 16
Similarities 10 14
Performance scale
Picture completion 14 20
Picture arrangement 6 10
Block design 9 9
Object assembly 4 4
Digit symbol 90 93
Norms
The total sample, comprising 1,880 individuals, was
carefully stratified on the variables of sex, race (white-
nonwhite), geographic region, occupational group,
educational attainment, and urban-rural residence.
The nine age groups ranged in size from 160 to 300.
Standardization Sample by Age and Sex
Age group Male female Total
16-17 100 100 200
18-19 100 100 200
20-24 100 100 200
25-34 150 150 300
35-44 125 125 250
45-54 125 125 250
55-64 80 80 160
65-69 80 80 160
70-74 80 80 160
Derivation of Raw Scores
Bonus Points for Fast Performance
Derivation of Scaled Scores

Scaled scores for each of the eleven tests are based one
a reference group
Classification of Intelligence
IQ Classification
130 and above Very superior
120-129 Suerior
110-119 High average
90-109 Average
80-89 Low average
70-79 Borderline
69 and below Mentally retarded
Reliabilty
Corrected split-half reliability coefficients for Verbal
IQ (.95 to .97) and Full Scale IQ (.96 to .98), and their
respective standard errors of about 2 points, are quite
acceptable. The reliability of Performance IQ is
excellent, averaging .93, although the value of .88 at
ages 16 to 17 is not ideal. Subtest reliability coefficients
average values exceed .80 for 9 of the 11 subtests.
Conti..
Only Picture Arrangement (.74) and Object Assembly
(.68) fall short of expectations. Test-retest reliability
coefficients affirm the excellent reliability of the Verbal
and Full Scales, and show Performance IQ to be quite
acceptable (.89 to .90). Test-retest coefficients for the
subtests confirm the reliability of all tasks except
Object Assembly and Picture Arrangement.
Conti..
Validity
The manual for this revised edition does not provide
new validity data, but refers interested persons to the
manual for the original WAIS.
Uses
The WAIS-R is recommended for use in clinical,
educational, and research settings.
Administration
Physical Conditions
Testing Time
Rapport
Material (stopwatch, two lead pencils without erasers
for digit symbol)
Scoring
The scores derived from this test are a Verbal IQ
(VIQ), a Performance IQ (PIQ), and a Full Scale IQ
(FSIQ). The FSIQ is a standard score with a mean of
100 and a standard deviation of approximately 15.
Scoring
 Information
 1 point for each correct response
 0 for incorrect response
 Maximum score: 29 points
 Picture completeion
 1 point for each correct response
 0 for incorrect response
 Maximum score : 20 points
 Digit span
 2 points if subject passes both trials
 1 point if subject passes only one trials
 0 points if the subject fails both trails
 Maximum score on Digit Farward : 14 points
 Maximum score on Digit Farward : 14 points
Conti..
Picture arrangement
Item 1: 2 points for passing on the first trial, 1 point for
passing on the second trial
Item 2-10: 2 points for each correct arrangement
complated within the time limit( Note: 2 correct
arrangements for item 8 and 10). 1 point for each
acceptable variation completed within the time limit.
(Note: 2 acceptable variations for item 2, and one
acceptable variation for items 5, 8 and 10).
Maximum score: 20 points.
Conti..
Vocabulary
 Each item is scored 2, 1, or 0
 Maximum scores: 70 points
Block design
 Designs 1-2: 2 points for passing on the first trial, 1 point for
passing on the second trial.
 Design 3-9: 4 points for each design successfully completed
within the time limit, plus a maximum of 3 bouns points
per design for quick, perefect performance. No credit is
given for partially correct or incomplete perefoemance.
 Maximum score: 51 points
Conti..
design Time limit 4 5 bonus 6 bonus 7 bonus
points points points
3 60” 16-60” 11-15” 1-10”
4 60” 16-60” 11-15” 1-10”
5 60” 21-60” 16-20” 11-15” 1-10”
6 120” 36-120” 26-35” 21-25” 1-20”
7 120” 61-120” 46-60” 31-45” 1-30”
8 120” 76-120” 56-75” 41-55” 1-40”
9 120” 76-120” 56-75” 41-55” 1-40”
Conti..
Arithmetic
1 point for each correct response. For items 10-14 one
bonus point per item is given for rapid, correct
performance.
Maximum score: 19 points

item 1 bonus point 2 bonus points

10 11-60” 1-10”
11 11-60” 1-10”
12 11-60” 1-10”
13 16-60” 1-15”
14 16-120” 1-15”
Conti..
Object assembly
 The score of each item is equal to the number of cuts
correctly joined, plus a maximum of 3 bonus points per
item for quick perfect performance.
 Maximum score: 41 points
Comprehension
 Each item is scored 2, 1, or 0
 Why do we wash clothes? (2 points: a response which includes

or strongly implies the idea of cleaning, 1 point: the idea of

attractiveness and 0 point: a response which does not include
cleaning & attractiveness)
 Maximum score: 32 points
Conti..
Digit symbol
 1 point for each item filled in correctly
 Seven sample items are not included in the subject’s score.
 Maximum score: 93 points
Similarities
 Each item is scored 2, 1, or 0 (2 points: any general
classification which is primarily pertinent for both
members of pair, 1 point: any specific property or function
which is common to both and constitutes a relevant
similarity.
 Maximum score: 28 points
Prorated
Prorated score on five verbal tests is obtained by
multiplying the sum of the five scaled scores by six-
fifths (6/5).
Prorated score on four performance tests is obtained
by multiplying the sum of the four scaled scores by
five-fourths (5/4).
Sample