Administration of nonverbal tests of intelligence to deaf or hard of hearing and Native Indian children has been problematic. Communication difficulties between examiner and examinee have resulted in modifications to the administration of the test. A standard method of test administration has not been reported in the literature. The current study investigated the use of pantomime instruction to administer performance scales of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition (WISC-IlI) and the Stanford Binet: Fourth Edition (SB:FE). Subjects included a group of otitis prone Native Indian children (n=87) and hearing peers (n=80). Subjects in the hearing peer group were randomly assigned to verbal (n=40) or pantomime instruction (n=40) to compare verbal and pantomime administration of the tests. T-test and ANOVAs were used to investigate comparisons between verbal administration method (hearing peer) and between groups receiving pantomime instruction (otitis prone and hearing peer). Multiple regression analyses were used to determine whether nonverbal tests of intelligence were predictors of academic achievement. Results demonstrated pantomime instruction gave subjects information required to complete test and subtest tasks of the WISC-lll and SB:FE. There was not a significant difference between verbal and pantomime instruction for the hearing peer group. When the otitis prone group and the hearing peer group were compared there was no significant differences between groups for the WISC-lll. Item analysis provided additional support to pantomime instruction giving adequate information to understand tasks. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that nonverbal measures of intelligence should not be used to predict math or reading achievement for this population. Language measures administered yielded very low scores across all three groups. Although this was expected for the otitis prone group, low scores were not expected for the hearing peer group. The short term memory subtests for the SB:FE were also very low indicating another area of weakness for all three groups which was not expected. Results of the present study provides evidence to indicate pantomime instruction is a viable method of administration when used with otitis prone and hearing Native children. Further research is necessary to determine if standard pantomime administration can be utilized to administer nonverbal measures of intelligence to other groups of children with delayed language skills or communication difficulties.

Administration of nonverbal tests of intelligence to deaf or hard of hearing and Native Indian children has been problematic. Communication difficulties between examiner and examinee have resulted in modifications to the administration of the test. A standard method of test administration has not been reported in the literature. The current study investigated the use of pantomime instruction to administer performance scales of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition (WISC-IlI) and the Stanford Binet: Fourth Edition (SB:FE). Subjects included a group of otitis prone Native Indian children (n=87) and hearing peers (n=80). Subjects in the hearing peer group were randomly assigned to verbal (n=40) or pantomime instruction (n=40) to compare verbal and pantomime administration of the tests. T-test and ANOVAs were used to investigate comparisons between verbal administration method (hearing peer) and between groups receiving pantomime instruction (otitis prone and hearing peer). Multiple regression analyses were used to determine whether nonverbal tests of intelligence were predictors of academic achievement. Results demonstrated pantomime instruction gave subjects information required to complete test and subtest tasks of the WISC-lll and SB:FE. There was not a significant difference between verbal and pantomime instruction for the hearing peer group. When the otitis prone group and the hearing peer group were compared there was no significant differences between groups for the WISC-lll. Item analysis provided additional support to pantomime instruction giving adequate information to understand tasks. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that nonverbal measures of intelligence should not be used to predict math or reading achievement for this population. Language measures administered yielded very low scores across all three groups. Although this was expected for the otitis prone group, low scores were not expected for the hearing peer group. The short term memory subtests for the SB:FE were also very low indicating another area of weakness for all three groups which was not expected. Results of the present study provides evidence to indicate pantomime instruction is a viable method of administration when used with otitis prone and hearing Native children. Further research is necessary to determine if standard pantomime administration can be utilized to administer nonverbal measures of intelligence to other groups of children with delayed language skills or communication difficulties. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Stereotype threat is defined as a sociopsychological threat evoked by an evaluative situation in which a negative stereotype about one's group could be confirmed (Steele, 1997). While the deleterious effects of stereotype threat have been demonstrated numerous times in laboratory settings (McKay, Doverspike, Bowen-Hilton, & Martin, 2002; Ngyuen & Ryan, 2008; Spencer, Steele & Quinn, 1999; Steele & Aronson, 1995), generalization to actual testing situations has been limited (Stricker & Ward, 2004). The current study sought to increase ecological validity by examining stereotype threat among racial/ethnic minority students undergoing assessment using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) without explicit priming. Another aim was to reduce stereotype threat by emphasizing the malleability of intelligence, as recommended by previous researchers (Aronson, Fried, & Good, 2002; Good, Aronson, & Inzlicht, 2003). Additionally, the relationship of ethnic identity to stereotype threat and test performance and the role of anxiety, a proposed mechanism of stereotype threat, were examined. Participants were also interviewed about their experiences of stereotype threat using a phenomenological approach. A 2(condition) x 3(race/ethnicity) experimental design was used, and 138 college students were randomized to the control or malleability conditions. Due to manipulation failure, the hypothesis that African and Latino American students would experience less stereotype threat and perform better on the WAIS-IV in the malleability condition could not be tested. Qualitative findings suggested that while participants endorsed perceptions of stereotype threat in general societal settings, they did not report stereotype threat while undergoing the WAIS-IV. The hypothesis that ethnic identity moderates the relationship between stereotype threat and performance received mixed support: ethnic identity-affirmation interacted with perceived stereotype threat on Digit Span, but all other interactions were nonsignificant. Lastly, the hypothesis that anxiety mediates the relationship between perceived stereotype threat and WAIS-IV performance was not supported. However, post-hoc analyses suggested that perceived stereotype threat mediates the relationship of anxiety and WAIS-IV performance. Correlational results revealed that perceived stereotype threat and stereotype vulnerability were related to WAIS-IV scores. In addition, students of color reported greater test and state anxiety than their European American counterparts. Implications for researchers, test administrators, and admissions officers are discussed. / text

Anxiety and depressive disorders are among the most common mental health problems diagnosed in children and adolescents, and numerous theories explaining why children experience these debilitating disorders have been proposed. Established diagnostic criteria that differentiate anxious and depressive symptomatology characterize both groups of disorders as having an adverse effect on the child's academic and social functioning. While research has sought to examine the cognitive effects these disorders have on adults, there is relatively limited research on the cognitive effects in children and adolescents. The available research literature examining effects of anxiety and depression on intelligence test performance is also inconclusive, and there are no studies that characterize the effects of these disorders on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth edition. The purpose of the study was to clarify the effects of childhood anxiety and depression on intelligence test scores using the current fourth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Participants were selected from an archival database from a neuropsychology clinic and separated into two groups according to clinical diagnosis. No significant differences were found between the children and adolescents diagnosed with clinical disorders and the standardization sample or in idiographic analyses with regard to the WISC-IV Full Scale IQ or the Working Memory Index. The Processing Speed Index was found to be significantly lower than the Verbal Comprehension Index in children diagnosed with major depressive disorder. This finding was not observed in the anxiety disorders group. Examination of component subtest score patterns showed that Coding and Symbol Search were reduced in the depression group. This finding is consistent with previous studies, which suggest that reduced performance on the Processing Speed Index may be attributed to psychomotor retardation in major depressive disorder.

This research was an investigation of the relationship between the cognitive processes labeled successive, simultaneous, and planning proposed by Luria and Das (Das, Kirby & Jarman, 1979) and the solution of visual metaphors and the achievement of 6th grade elementary age students from metropolitan schools. A battery of information processing tasks based on previous research with the Luria-Das model was administered to 191 6th grade students, approximately half of whom were Anglo and half of whom were Hispanic. In addition, the Metaphoric Triads Task (MTT), a measure of comprehension of visual metaphors, was administered to the same group and achievement data from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills gathered on the same students. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine whether the Luria-Das model or another model fit the data; and how the information processing variables related to each other, to the Metaphoric Triads task, and to the measures of achievement. A three factor solution consistent with previous research was obtained when confirmatory factor analysis was used to fit the Luria-Das model to the data. For the Anglo group, the factor structures of all three factors were consistent with the Luria-Das model of successive, simultaneous, and planning processes. For the Hispanic group, the factor structure of the simultaneous and planning factors was consistent with previous research, but the factor structure of the successive factor was not the same as that obtained in previous research. The relationship between the academic achievement scores for the whole group and the factors was consistent with the results of previous research with the exception of Spelling. Results of the current research indicate that group administration of the battery can produce results consistent with the Luria-Das model, but further research that includes minority populations is needed. The analysis of the performance of the Anglo and Hispanic groups on the Metaphoric Triads Task indicated that the two groups performed approximately the same but may have employed different processes to solve the metaphors. The results of this study provide important data about information processing styles of 6th grade students that can be useful in educational planning.

The overall purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between two recently revised measures of intelligence (Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, Third Edition and Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition) and three shortened measures of intelligence (Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability, Third Edition Brief Intellectual Ability Score, Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition Abbreviated IQ, and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test IQ Composite). Specifically, this study examined the accuracy of the three shortened scores in their ability to predict giftedness based on children's scores on the two full measures, with the intention of examining the implications of using shortened measures in a screening process for gifted identification.Participants were a group of 202 third-grade students enrolled in a suburban school district located in the Midwest. These students were selected for the study based on high achievement and/or cognitive scores on a state standardized test. The participants ranged in age from 8 years, 4 months to 10 years, 11 months and were assessed during the spring of their third grade year in 2003 and 2004. These children were administered the three measures over a two day period in a counterbalanced order.A set of univariate and multivariate procedures were used to examine hypothesized relationships between full and shortened measures. Significant positive relationships were observed between all five measures examined, although the highest correlations were produced between the full measure scores and their short forms. Discriminant function analyses were conducted to determine the accuracy of the three shortened measures in their prediction of giftedness based on five separate criteria using two full scale measures of intelligence. The results of all five multivariate discriminant function analyses were significant, indicating that the three shortened measures were able to group children accurately as compared to full scale scores, with classification rates ranging between 76.7 and 90.6. These analyses further revealed that the WJ III COG BIA was best able to predict giftedness in most cases, regardless of the criteria used. These results are intended to provide educators with information about the accuracy of three different shortened measures of intelligence so that informed decisions can be made regarding the use of these measures in selection processes for gifted programming. / Department of Educational Psychology

The current study examined the WAIS-IV and how the changes to the test may impact the measure's usefulness in neuropsychological evaluations. It was hypothesized that the WAIS-IV would be a significantly better predictor of performance on the neuropsychological measures of the Category Test, Finger Tapping Test, Trail Making Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test over the WAIS-III. The mixed clinical sample came from an archival database of volunteer research participants and individuals clinically referred to a university outpatient facility. A total of 91 participants were administered the WAIS-III and WAIS-IV as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. The results of the current study found that both the WAIS-III and the WAIS-IV were able to account for a significant amount of the variance in performance on the neuropsychological measures, with the exception of the FTT dominant and non-dominant hands, where only the WAIS-IV was able to significantly account for the variance in performance on the measures. Using the Alf and Graf (1999) model, there were no significant R2 differences between the WAIS-III subtests and WAIS-IV at the .01 significance level. Thus, the WAIS-IV did not provide a better model for predicting performance on any of the neuropsychological measures. It should be noted that the small sample size of the current study may have inflated the R2, particularly in the WAIS-III models, which could have masked greater R2 differences between the two models. While the publishers endeavored to make the WAIS-IV a better measure of processing speed, working memory, and fluid reasoning, these goals were largely unmet. The analyses of the WAIS-IV working memory subtests, showed that the sequencing component added to the Digit Span subtest did not add to the relationship with neuropsychological measures with working memory components. The analyses of the WAIS-IV processing speed subtests showed that the Coding subtest of the WAIS-IV was a better measure of processing speed than the WAIS-III version, but this was not found for the PSI as a whole. Changes to Symbol Search did not show any improvement in the relationship to neuropsychological measures. One interesting finding was that the new subtest of Visual Puzzles does appear to add to the relationship with neuropsychological measures over the other subtests of the WAIS-IV. Visual Puzzles was consistently the highest correlated PRI subtest with the neuropsychological measures, with the exception of the WCST. The subtest appears to assess a wide range of abilities outside of the spatial reasoning skills purported by the test publishers. Specifically, the subtest was correlated with measures of processing speed, executive skills, and motor speed/reaction time. Thus, clinicians should use caution and examine all possible options when evaluating poor performance on this new subtest. Since none of the WAIS-IV models were able to significantly predict performance on any of the neuropsychological measures over the WAIS-III models, it would appear that the WAIS-IV as a whole is not a better neuropsychological measure than its predecessor. Despite being the gold standard for intellectual assessment, the WAIS-IV appears to add little to clinical utility over the WAIS-III outside of shorter administrative time. Clinicians are advised to continue using neuropsychological measures to assess processing speed, working memory, and higher order cognitive skills in conjunction with the WAIS.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) is likely to become the most widely used test of intelligence with deaf children, based on the popularity of the previous versions of the test. Because the test was constructed for hearing children who use spoken English, the following major research questions were asked: (a) Does the WISC-III demonstrate adequate construct validity? and (b) Do specific items exhibit differential item functioning (DIF), and does the nature of the content of each item that exhibits DIF imply that the item is biased? The test was translated into sign language and administered to a total of 110 deaf children at three different sites. The deaf children ranged from ages 8 through 16 (M = 13.25, SD = 2.37), had hearing losses identified as severe or worse, were prelingually deaf, used sign language as their primary means of communication, and were not identified as having any additional handicapping conditions. The sample of deaf children was compared to a sample of 110 hearing children similar in age and Performance IQ. Construct validity was examined using a LISREL multi-sample covariance structure analysis. The covariance structures were different (χ ² (91) = 119.42, p =.024). A Rasch Model was used to detect DIF on the following subtests: Picture Completion, Information, Similarities, Arithmetic, Vocabulary, Comprehension. All of these subtests exhibited DIF, and DIF plus the differences in mean logit ability resulted in numerous items that were more difficult for deaf children on the above Verbal subtests. Item bias was judged by examining the contents of items that exhibited DIF. Items were biased due generally to translation issues and differences in the educational curricula. Thus, deaf children are at a distinct disadvantage when taking these WISC-III subtests. Practitioners are urged to consider these findings when assessing deaf children.

The goals of revision for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition included enhancement of the factor structure, improvement of subtests, and revision of norms. The researchers reported that the very few items that were found to be biased were replaced. The WISC-III performance of a clinical sample of African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic children was analyzed to determine if the test bias was eliminated as claimed in the goals of the revision.

No description available.