Chapter 9: Intellectual and Neuropsychological Assessment

1. INTELLECTUAL
AND
NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL
ASSESSMENT

2. INTELLIGENCE TESTING
• What is Intelligence?
The capacity to learn from experience and to adapt successfully to one’s
environment.
• What is Intelligence Testing?
A series of tasks designed to measure the capacity to make abstractions, to learn, and
to deal with novel situations.

3. THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
• Charles Spearman – “G” Factor
• Howard Gardner – Multiple Intelligences
• Sternberg – Triarchic theory

4. CHARLES SPEARMAN (1863-1945)
• British psychologist Charles Spearman (1863–1945) described a concept he referred to
as general intelligence or the G factor. After using a technique known as factor analysis
to examine some mental aptitude tests, Spearman concluded that scores on these tests
were remarkably similar. People who performed well on one cognitive test tended to
perform well on other tests while those who scored badly on one test tended to score
badly on others.
• He concluded that intelligence is general cognitive ability that could be measured and
numerically expressed.

5. HOWARD GARDNER
• Author of a contemporary theory of multiple intelligences
consisting of 8 separate kinds of intelligence.
• Multiple Intelligences – Several independent mental abilities
that allow a person to solve problems, create products that
are valued within one’s culture.

6. THE EIGHT INTELLIGENCES GARDNER
DESCRIBED ARE:
• LINGUISTIC – The ability to use spoken or written words.
• LOGICAL-MATHEMATICAL – Inductive and deductive thinking and reasoning abilities, logic, as
well as the use of numbers and abstract pattern recognition.
• MUSICAL-RHYTHMIC – The ability to master music as well as rhythms, tones and beats.
• VISUAL-SPATIAL – The ability to mentally visualize objects and spatial dimensions.
• BODY-KINESTHETIC – The wisdom of the body and the ability to control physical motion.
• INTERPERSONAL – The ability to communicate effectively with other people and to be able to
develop relationships.
• INTRAPERSONAL – The ability to understand one’s own emotions, motivations, inner states of
being, and self-reflection.
• Naturalistic – Ability to discern patterns in nature: ecologist, zoologist, botanist.

8. ROBERT STERNBERG
• Author of a Triarchic theory of multiple intelligences consisting of 3
mental abilities.
• Disagrees with Gardner in calling these intelligences. Instead
believes these are talents or abilities.
• Stresses both the universal aspects of intelligent behavior and the
importance of adapting to a certain social and cultural climate.

9. STERNBERG’S 3 TRIARCHIC THEORIES
• Analytical intelligence – This component refers to problem-solving
abilities.
• Creative intelligence – This aspect of intelligence involves the
capacity to deal with new situations using past experiences and current
skills.
• Practical intelligence – This element refers to the ability to adapt to a
changing environment.

11. CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF INTELLIGENCE
• CHC Theory (Cattell-Horn-Carroll)
• PASS Model (Planning/Attention/Simultaneous/Successive)
• Theory of Multiple Intelligences
• Theory of Successful Intelligence
• Emotional Intelligence

12. CHC THEORY (CATTELL-HORN-CARROLL)
The theory of intelligence that is most used in IQ
tests is the CHC (Cattell-Horn-Carroll) theory, a
combination of the Cattell-Horn theory of fluid and
crystallized intelligence three-Stratum Theory.

13. CHC THEORY (CATTELL-HORN-CARROLL)
• Crystallized Intelligence
- Learning from the past experiences.
• Fluid Intelligence
- The ability to think and reason abstractly solve problems.

14. PASS MODEL
• Luria’s (1966, 1970, 1973) neuropsychological model, which features three Blocks or functional
units, has also been applied extensively to IQ tests.
• According to this model, the first functional unit is responsible for focused and sustained
attention.
• The second functional unit receives and stores information with both simultaneous and successive
(or sequential) processing. Simultaneous processing is integrating information together; pieces
are synthesized together much as one might appreciate a painting all at once. Successive
processing is interpreting each piece of individual separately, in sequential fashion.

15. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
• The ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate
emotions.
• People high in emotional intelligence are more in tough
with their feelings and the feelings of others.
• Known as EQ.

16. INTELLIGENCE
TESTS

17. WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE TESTS
• The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) intelligence quotient (IQ)
tests are the primary clinical instruments used to measure adult and
adolescent intelligence.
• It was developed by David Wechsler.
• The original WAIS (Form I) was published in February 1955 by David
Wechsler, as a revision of the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. The
fourth edition of the test (WAIS-IV) was released in 2008 by Pearson.

18. WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE TESTS
• The original WAIS (Form I) was published in February 1955 by David
Wechsler, as a revision of the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. The
fourth edition of the test (WAIS-IV) was released in 2008 by Pearson.
• Wechsler defined intelligence as "The global capacity of a person to act
purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his/her
environment."

19. WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE TESTS
WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale)
• The WAIS was initially created as a revision of the Wechsler-Bellevue
Intelligence Scale (WBIS), which was a battery of tests published by Wechsler in
1939.
• The WBIS was composed of subtests that could be found in various other
intelligence tests of the time, such as Robert Yerkes' army testing program and the
Binet-Simon scale.
• The WAIS was first released in February 1955 by David Wechsler.

20. WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE TESTS
WAIS – R (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Revised)
• A revised form of the WAIS.
• Released in 1981 and consisted of six verbal and five performance subtests. The verbal
tests were: Information, Comprehension, Arithmetic, Digit Span, Similarities, and
Vocabulary. The Performance subtests were: Picture Arrangement, Picture Completion,
Block Design, Object Assembly, and Digit Symbol. A verbal IQ, performance IQ and full
scale IQ were obtained.
• This revised edition did not provide new validity data, but used the data from the original
WAIS; however new norms were provided, carefully stratified.

21. WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE TESTS
WAIS-III
The WAIS-III, a subsequent revision of the WAIS and the WAIS-
R, was released in 1997. It provided scores for Verbal IQ,
Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ, along with four secondary
indices (Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual
Organization, and Processing Speed).

22. WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE TESTS
WAIS-IV
• The current version of the testthe WAIS-IV, which was released in 2008, is composed of 10 core subtests
and five supplemental subtests, with the 10 core subtests comprising the Full Scale IQ. With the new WAIS-
IV, the verbal/performance subscales from previous versions were removed and replaced by the index
scores. The General Ability Index (GAI) was included, which consists of the Similarities, Vocabulary and
Information subtests from the Verbal Comprehension Index and the Block Design, Matrix Reasoning and
Visual Puzzles subtests from the Perceptual Reasoning Index. The GAI is clinically useful because it can be
used as a measure of cognitive abilities that are less vulnerable to impairment.
• There are four index scores representing major components of intelligence:
 Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI)
 Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI)
 Working Memory Index (WMI)
 Processing Speed Index (PSI)

23. OVERVIEW

24. INTERPRETATION SCORES

25. LIMITATIONS OF TESTING
As with any other type of standardized testing, there are some limitations with
the Wechsler Intelligence Test. Children or adults undergoing significant
stressors may not score as well as others. Additional factors that may play a
role in this include learning disabilities, mental illness or any problems that
may profoundly affect any of these four categories, such as a speech barrier.
In these cases, other tools may be more useful for assessing IQ. The person
administering the test should be trained and qualified to do so as well.

26. STANFORD-BINET INTELLIGENT SCALE
• It was created by Alfred Binet who was a French
Psychologist.
• Is a standardized test that measures the cognitive abilities
in children and adults.
• Children as young as two years old can be given the test.

27. STANFORD-BINET INTELLIGENT SCALE
• The test is used in the diagnosis of learning disability,
developmental delay, developmental disorders or giftedness.
• The intelligence scale is made up of four cognitive area scores.
These are in the areas of Verbal reasoning, abstract or visual
reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and short term memory.

28. PURPOSE
The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale was originally developed to help place
children in appropriate educational settings. It can help determine the level of
intellectual and cognitive functioning in preschoolers, children, adolescents and
adults, and assist in the diagnosis of a learning disability, developmental delay,
mental retardation , or giftedness. It is used to provide educational planning and
placement, neuropsychological assessment, and research. The Stanford-Binet
Intelligence Scale is generally administered in a school or clinical setting.

29. OVERVIEW
Types of
Reasoning
INTELLIGENC
E
Verbal
Reasoning
Examples of
Test
Quantitative
Reasoning
Abstract Visual
Reasoning
Short Term
Memory
Vocabulary
Comprehensio
n
Quantitative
Tests
Number Series
Paper Folding
Copying
Memory for
Sentences
Memory for
Digits

30. INTERPRETATION OF SCORES

31. ACHIEVEMENT TESTING
• Achievement tests are assessments designed to evaluate skills,
knowledge, or performance, primarily in the core academic areas of
reading, writing, and mathematics.
• Achievement tests comprise three major forms: standardized
assessments, curriculum-based measurement, and informal teacher-
made evaluations.

32. ACHIEVEMENT TESTING
• Achievement tests serve a variety of purposes in education, including
comparing students' performance; assisting in grading, tracking,
placement, promotion, and graduation decisions; determining
eligibility for special services and programs; identifying patterns of
strengths and weaknesses; diagnosing learning disabilities;
determining response to intervention; and informing instructional
planning.

33. WECHSLER INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT TEST (WIAT-II)
2ND EDITION
• A measure of individual's achievement skills, and allows assessments of
problem-solving abilities by evaluating the process as well as the product.
• It enables psychologists and special educators to make meaningful
comparisons between achievement and ability test performance that enable
them to make curriculum and intervention decisions with confidence.
• Both for Children and Adults.

34. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL
TESTING

35. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
• Are specifically designed tasks used to measure a
psychological function known to be linked to a
particular brain structure or pathway.
• They usually involve the systematic administration of
clearly defined procedures in a formal environment.

36. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING
• Neuropsychological tests are typically administered
to a single person working with an examiner in a
quiet office environment, free from distractions.

37. HALSTEAD-REITAN NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TEST BATTERY
• A fixed set of eight tests used to evaluate brain and nervous
system functioning in individuals aged 15 years and older.
Children's versions are the Halstead Neuropsychological Test
Battery for Older Children (ages nine to 14) and the Reitan
Indiana Neuropsychological Test Battery (ages five to eight).

38. PURPOSE
• Neuropsychological functioning refers to the ability of the nervous system and
brain to process and interpret information received through the senses.
• The Halstead-Reitan evaluates a wide range of nervous system and brain
functions, including: visual, auditory, and tactual input; verbal communication;
spatial and sequential perception; the ability to analyze information, form
mental concepts, and make judgments; motor output; and attention,
concentration, and memory.

39. PURPOSE
• Typically used to evaluate individuals with suspected
brain damage.
• The battery also provides useful information regarding
the cause of damage.

40. PRECAUTIONS
Due to its complexity, the Halstead-Reitan requires administration by a professional examiner
and interpretation by a trained psychologist. Test results are affected by the examinee's age,
education level, intellectual ability, and to some extent gender or ethnicity, which should
always be taken into account. Because the Halstead-Reitan is a fixed battery of tests, some
unnecessary information may be gathered, or some important information may be missed.
Overall, the battery requires five to six hours to complete, involving considerable patience,
stamina, and cost. The battery has also been criticized because it does not include specific tests
of memory; rather, memory is evaluated within the context of other tests.

41. BENDER VISUAL-MOTOR GESTALT TEST II
• A psychological assessment instrument used to evaluate visual-motor
functioning and visual perception skills in both children and adults.
• Scores on the test are used to identify possible organic brain damage
and the degree maturation of the nervous system. The Bender Gestalt
was developed by psychiatrist Lauretta Bender in the late nineteenth
century.

42. PURPOSE
• It is used to evaluate visual maturity, visual motor integration skills, style of
responding, reaction to frustration, ability to correct mistakes, planning and
organizational skills, and motivation.
• Copying figures requires fine motor skills, the ability to discriminate between
visual stimuli, the capacity to integrate visual skills with motor skills, and the
ability to shift attention from the original design to what is being drawn.

43. PRECAUTIONS
• The Bender Gestalt Test should not be administered to an individual
with severe visual impairment unless his or her vision has been
adequately corrected with eyeglasses.
• Additionally, the test should not be given to an examinee with a severe
motor impairment, as the impairment would affect his or her ability to
draw the geometric figures correctly. The test scores might thereby be
distorted.

44. THANK YOU! =)