Alan S. Kaufman

Sex, race, residence, region, and education differences on the 11 WAIS-R subtests

The relationship of test performance on the 11 WAIS-R subtests to five background variables was examined by MANOVAs and univariate ANOVAs on standardization data. For all four broad age groups (16-19, 20-34, 35-54, 55-74), significant differences were found for sex, race, and education main effects. Geographic region produced significant main effects for three of the age groups, but residence yielded significant results only for the oldest group. The pattern of the relationships of subtest scores to each background variable was analyzed, interpreted, and integrated with previous research.

A New Approach to the Interpretation of Test Scatter on the WISC-R

Scatter among the WISC-R Verbal, Performance and Full Scale tests was investigated for the standardization sample (N=2200). Two indices of test scatter were analyzed: scaled-score range (a childs highest minus his lowest scaled score), and the number of tests deviating by 3 or more points from his own mean. No meaningful fluctuations in the indices were apparent when they were computed separately by age, sex, race, parental occupation, or intelligence level. Another major finding was that the WISC-R profiles of normal children exhibit much scatter, probably more than most test users realize. Normative tables were developed to enable the clinician, and the researcher, to evaluate more scientifically the test scatter for an exceptional individual or group.

Demographic Characteristics and IQ among Adults: Analysis of the WAIS-R Standardization Sample as a Function of the Stratification Variables.

Abstract The goal of the present investigation was to analyze data from the standardization sample of the 1981 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) to determine the relationships of WAIS-R IQs to the demographic variables upon which the sample was stratified. The sample included 1, 880 adults stratified according to sex and age (equal numbers of males and females within nine groups), race, occupation, urban-rural residence, geographic region, and education. There were 1, 664 whites, 192 blacks, and 24 from other nonwhite groups. Analyses of variance were conducted separately for Verbal (VIQ), Performance (PIQ), and Full Scale IQ (FSIQ). The differences in mean IQs due to sex, urban-rural residence, and geographic regions were nonsignificant. However, there were significant differences that were due to race and education level, and there were also sizeable differences noted for occupational groups. There was a 14 1 2 -point difference in favor of whites over blacks on FSIQ. Differences due to education and occupation were striking: College graduates earned FSIQs that were 32 1 2 points higher than the FSIQs of individuals with 7 years or less of schooling, and professional and technical workers outscored unskilled workers on the WAIS-R Full Scale by 22 points.

Visual memory processes in high-functioning individuals with autism.

High-functioning autistic individuals were compared with age-matched normal control subjects on a visual recognition memory task. In order to evaluate the effects of “meaning” and“delay” on the visual memory of autistic individuals, meaningful (pictures) and meaningless (nonsense shapes) stimuli were presented visually in no delay and 1-minute delay intervals to both groups. It was concluded that autistic subjects perform particularly poorly on meaningless materials, but they are able to utilize meaning to aid their visual memory. Contrary to expectations, 1-minute delay intervals did not differentially affect the visual memory performance of autistic individuals compared to control subjects. The results do not support the idea of a simple parallel between autism and mediotemporal lobe amnesias. The visual memory performance of the autistic subjects was discussed in the light of the possibility of a subtle involvement of the mediotemporal brain structures and inflexible cognitive strategies poorly suited to encode novel information.

Age and WAIS-R Intelligence in a National Sample of Adults in the 20- to 74-Year Age Range: A Cross-Sectional Analysis with Educational Level Controlled.

Abstract Age differences in intellect as reflected in WAIS-R performance from age 20 to 74 years were evaluated while educational attainment levels were held constant. The seven adult age groups (ranging from 20–24 to 70–74) in the WAIS-R standardization sample, comprising a sample of 1480 men and women, provided the data source. The data were analyzed using regression analysis and a weighted means approach. The 25–34-year age group served as the target sample for this study; the mean scores for adults in each educational category, within each age group, were weighted to match the educational distribution of ages 25–34. After weighting for education, the decline in mean Verbal IQ from age to age disappeared. However, declines across the 20–74-year range remained for Performance IQ and Full Scale IQ, even after controlling for education. The relationship between education and each of the 11 subtests was also evaluated; the resuls were interpreted as supportive of Horns fluid-crystallized explanation of changes in intelligence with advancing age.

Sequential and simultaneous processing abilities of high-functioning autistic and language-impaired children

Investigated the Sequential and Simultaneous processing distinctions of highfunctioning autistic children and children with a developmental receptive language disorder (DRLD). Twenty autistic subjects and 20 DRLD subjects were matched on age and gender, and compared to each other on their Sequential and Simultaneous processing abilities utilizing the K-ABC and selected subtests of the WISC-R. Results showed that both groups manifested a relative sequential processing deficit. However, the groups did not differ significantly on their overall sequential and simultaneous processing capabilities relative to their degree of language impairment. The application of the sequential and simultaneous processing model to the WISC-R provided consistent convergent and discriminant validation for the assessment of these processes with the WISC-R.

Is the pattern of intellectual growth and decline across the adult life span different for men and women

Gender comparisons on the WAIS-R were made for 1,480 adults from the standardization sample, ages 20-74 years, to determine whether men and women differ in their age-related patterns of change on tests of fluid and crystallized abilities. Multivariate analyses of covariance and univariate analyses of covariance were conducted, covarying education, to examine the age + gender interactions. These interactions tended to be nonsignificant and trivial for the WAIS-R Verbal and Performance scales and the 11 subtests, which suggests that both men and women maintain their crystallized abilities through old age, but show early, rapid declines in fluid ability. These results were interpreted in terms of the literature on aging and intelligence, gender differences in cognitive abilities, and gender differences in V-P patterns for patients with unilateral brain damage.

Changes in Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence Across the 20- to 90-Year Age Range on the K-Bit:

Changes in ability across the adult life span were investigated for the adult portion of the K-BIT standardization sample (500 individuals aged 20 to 90 years) to permit comparisons with the results of similar investigations conducted with the WAIS and WAIS-R. These changes were explored for separate measures of crystallized intelligence (Vocabulary) and fluid intelligence (Matrices). Two two-way ANCOVAs (age and gender) were conducted, in which raw scores on Vocabulary and Matrices served as dependent variables and educational attainment as the covariate. Results agreed with previous findings on the Wechsler scales: Crystallized intelligence basically was maintained across the age range, while fluid intelligence peaked early and declined steadily despite the control for education. Age x gender interactions were nonsignificant. This study showed that fluid intelligence seems to decline with increasing age, even when the test is untimated and does not rely on visual-motor coordination.

Review Article: Introduction to the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) for Pediatric Neuroclinicians

This article introduces the neuroclinician to the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), a new test of intelligence and achievement with a strong theoretical base supported by diverse cognitive and neuropsychological research. The K-ABC global scales and their subtests are described in some detail, followed by a discussion of the neuropsychological relevance of the K-ABC subtests. The article also provides discussions of research in the following areas: (1) psychometric properties of the K-ABC and a comparison to the Wechsler scales; (2) interpretation and remediation of sequential-simultaneous processing differences; (3) the value of the K-ABC in the assessment of minority children; and (4) controversy surrounding the K-ABC. (J Child Neurol 1987;2:3-16).

Comparison of the WPPSI, Stanford-Binet, and McCarthy Scales as Predictors of First-Grade Achievement

35 white, middle-class children, aged 6 to 6½ yr., were tested on the WPPSI, Stanford-Binet, and the new McCarthy Scales of Childrens Abilities (MSCA). Of these children 31 were tested 4 mo. later on the Metropolitan Achievement Tests (1970 Edition) at the end of first grade. The Stanford-Binet IQ and MSCA General Cognitive Index (GCI) correlated significantly with overall first-grade achievement (p = .01) as did the MSCA Quantitative and Perceptual-Performance Scale Indexes. The WPPSI Full Scale IQ correlated with achievement (p = .05). The mean Stanford-Binet IQ was discrepant with the childrens average scores on the WPPSI, MSCA, and Metropolitan; the implications of this finding were discussed. The fact that the new scales correlated at least as well as the two more established tests, for the present group, suggests that the new battery may be useful as a predictor of school success.