Interpreting Cross-Cultural Bias in Psychological Assessments: An Empirical Example

Psychological Assessments ◽

Invariance Testing ◽

Educational Backgrounds ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Cockcroft et al. (2015) fit a multigroup confirmatory factor model to Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale III (WAIS-III) data from South Africa and the United Kingdom. They found evidence for measurement bias and suggested that bias was greatest in those subtests of the WAIS-III that showcased the largest mean group differences. They went on to state that the "[i]dentification of tests that do not favor individuals from Eurocentric and favorable SES circumstances with advantaged educational backgrounds is valuable in providing direction for the development of culture fair tests", in effect suggesting that the results confirmed the test was biased towards culturally European groups. However, a reanalysis that included estimation of the effect sizes and directions of bias showed that, far from their conclusions, bias operated in different directions, but primarily in favor of the lower-scoring South African population examined in their study. The need for greater qualification in measurement invariance testing is shown and recommended.

Relationship between Wais—R Intelligence and the Five-Factor Model of Personality in a Normal Elderly Sample

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.2003.92.3c.1151 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 92 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1151-1161 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aristide Saggino ◽

Michela Balsamo

Keyword(s):

Factor Model ◽

Five Factor Model ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Neo Personality Inventory ◽

Nonclinical Sample ◽

And Performance ◽

Intelligence Scores

The present study examined associations between Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised (WAIS–R) scores and the five-factor model of personality, as measured by the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. Both tests were administered to a nonclinical sample of 100 Italian subjects 75 years and older. Analysis showed that the NEO-PI–R Openness to Experience domain was a weak but the best predictor of the three WAIS–R intelligence scores (Total, Verbal, and Performance). Were such a relationship confirmed by further investigations, Openness could be interpreted as a factor which might mitigate intellectual impoverishment which accompanies the normal aging process.

Die Suid-Afrikaanse Wechsler-Intelligensieskaal vir Volwassenes: 'n Kritiese perspektief

South African Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1177/008124638701700405 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 17 (4) ◽

pp. 145-149 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Huibrie C. Pieters ◽

D.A. Louw

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Research Literature ◽

The South ◽

Critical Perspective ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Adult Intelligence ◽

The Many

The South African Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: A critical perspective. The South African Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (SAWAIS) is applied widely, but may no longer be serving its purpose more than 25 years after its introduction. Certain negative implications for research with the test are highlighted. It is not clear which abilities the SAWAIS measures, and students are trained to use the SAWAIS in a clinical diagnostic way which is applicable to the American situation. The uncritical and one-sided way in which the SAWAIS is used as a diagnostic aid is criticized. The research literature is discussed to illustrate the many inconsistent results regarding the VIQ-PIQ discrepancy, as well as subtest scatter. It is suggested that attention should be given urgently to either the restandardization of the SAWAIS, or the compilation of a new South African intelligence test for adults.

Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the South African Wechsler-Bellevue Adult Intelligence Scale: A History and a Prospectus

South African Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1177/008124639402400208 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 100-109 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Victor Nell

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Culturally Appropriate ◽

The South ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

The Public ◽

Adult Intelligence ◽

Continued Use ◽

The South African Wechsler is based on the 1939 Wechsler-Bellevue Adult Intelligence Scale. However, the name under which it was published by the National Institute of Personnel Research in 1969, the ‘South African Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale’, has led a generation of South African psychologists to believe that this instrument is a local verson of the 1955 WAIS, a fundamentally revised and renormed Wechsler-Bellevue. It is argued that the continued use of the South African Wechsler-Bellevue, with its outdated norms and unknown statistical properties, is not in the public interest, and that diagnostic conclusions based on this instrument may be misleading. It is then argued that if a new adult intelligence scale is to be developed, this should be based on the 1981 revision of the Wechsler (WAIS-R), rather than the local scale now under development by the Human Sciences Research Council; and finally, that in psychology, South Africa is not a beggar at the world's door, and that the capability exists for the development of an innovative and culturally appropriate ability assessment device. One such possibility is described.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Third Edition; South African Version

PsycTESTS Dataset ◽

10.1037/t49754-000 ◽

2001 ◽

Author(s):

N. C. W. Claassen ◽

A. H. Krynauw ◽

H. Paterson ◽

M. Wa ga Mathe

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Adult Intelligence ◽

A genetic two-factor model of the covariation among a subset of Multidimensional Aptitude Battery and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised subtests

Intelligence ◽

10.1016/s0160-2896(03)00057-6 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 589-605 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

M Luciano

Keyword(s):

Factor Model ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Adult Intelligence ◽

Redundancy in Five Psychological Tests

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.1976.39.3f.1072 ◽

1976 ◽

Vol 39 (3_suppl) ◽

pp. 1072-1074

Author(s):

A. B. Silverstein

Keyword(s):

Factor Model ◽

Common Factor ◽

Psychological Tests ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Common Factor Model ◽

Developmental Test ◽

The Common ◽

Indices of redundancy were obtained for five psychological tests, using the full component model, and the results were compared with those previously obtained by use of the common factor model. The three indices employed appeared to yield essentially equivalent information as to the ranking of the five tests: redundancy was generally lowest in the Developmental Test of Visual Perception and highest in the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The findings provide an empirical standard for evaluating the redundancy in other tests.

Against Mutton Masquerading as Lamb: Additional Commentary on the Interpretation and Misinterpretation of the Sawais

South African Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1177/008124639502500407 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 244-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ann B. Shuttleworth-Jordan

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Geographical Location ◽

International Standards ◽

The South ◽

Recent Edition ◽

Influential Variable ◽

Additional Support

This article provides additional support for the concerns expressed by Nell (1994) in a recent edition of the South African Journal of Psychology (Volume 24) about outmoded administration procedures and the dated normative sample of the South African Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (SAWAIS). Attention is drawn to the potential for a ceiling effect on the SAWAIS Digit Symbol subtest due to an abbreviated format relative to the WAIS-R, and the potential for diagnostic inaccuracy on this subtest due to the leniency of the SAWAIS norms established on a cohort which is 25 years out of date. Clinicians are advised to use tests which meet international standards. A further suggestion is that clinicians should use normative data which are appropriate to the highly influential variable of educational level, rather than inflating the importance of the geographical location of a test's standardization group.

Representation of the Cattell–Horn–Carroll Theory of Cognitive Abilities in the Factor Structure of the Dutch-Language Version of the WAIS-IV

Assessment ◽

10.1177/1073191115607973 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 458-466 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Loes van Aken ◽

Paul T. van der Heijden ◽

William M. van der Veld ◽

Laureen Hermans ◽

Roy P.C. Kessels ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Intelligence Testing ◽

Factor Model ◽

Five Factor Model ◽

Chc Theory ◽

Language Version ◽

Dutch Language ◽

The Cattell–Horn–Carroll (CHC) theory of cognitive abilities has been guiding in the revision of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Fourth edition (WAIS-IV). Especially the measurement of fluid reasoning (Gf) is improved. A total of five CHC abilities are included in the WAIS-IV subtests. Using confirmatory factor analysis, a five-factor model based on these CHC abilities is evaluated and compared with the four index scores in the Dutch-language version of the WAIS-IV. Both models demonstrate moderate fit, preference is given to the five-factor CHC model both on statistical and theoretical grounds. Evaluation of the WAIS-IV according to CHC terminology enhances uniformity, and can be important when interpreting possible sources of index discrepancies. To optimally assemblage CHC and WAIS-IV, more knowledge of the interaction of abilities is needed. This can be done by incorporating intelligence testing in neuropsychological assessment. Using this functional approach contributes to a better understanding of an individual’s cognitive profile.

Geschlechtseffekte bei Intelligenz- und Gedächtnisleistungen

Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie ◽

10.1024/1016-264x/a000144 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 5-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Anja C. Lepach ◽

Wiebke Reimers ◽

Franz Pauls ◽

Franz Petermann ◽

Monika Daseking

Keyword(s):

Intelligence Scale ◽

Adult Intelligence ◽

Wechsler Memory Scale ◽

Diese Studie untersucht die Zusammenhänge von Intelligenz- und Gedächtnisleistungen in der Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV und der Wechsler Memory Scale-IV unter Berücksichtigung des Geschlechts (N = 137 Gesunde, 63 w/74 m). Ein Vorteil der weiblichen Testpersonen im verbalen episodischen Gedächtnis sowie in einzelnen Aufgaben zur Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit konnte beobachtet werden. Die männlichen Testpersonen schnitten in den Untertests Allgemeines Wissen und Visuelle Puzzles besser ab. Wie gut Gedächtnisleistungen Intelligenzleistungen erklären beziehungsweise vorhersagen, ist aufgrund unserer Ergebnisse nicht nur abhängig von den Aufgaben, sondern auch vom Geschlecht.

Analyse von Querschnittsdaten zur Intelligenzentwicklung im Erwachsenenalter: eine Studie zur deutschsprachigen Version der WAIS-IV

Zeitschrift für Neuropsychologie ◽

10.1024/1016-264x/a000098 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 149-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Monika Daseking ◽

Franz Petermann

Keyword(s):

Fourth Edition ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Adult Intelligence ◽

Deutschsprachige Version

Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird der Datensatz (N = 1664), aus dem auch die Normstichprobe für die deutschsprachige Version der Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) gezogen wurde, nach altersabhängigen Veränderungen kognitiver Fähigkeiten analysiert. Die niedrigsten Rohwertmittelwerte werden in der ältesten Altersgruppe erreicht, die Leistungsspitzen finden sich überwiegend im Altersbereich zwischen 20 und 29 Jahren. In den Untertests der Indizes Wahrnehmungsgebundenes Logisches Denken und Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit kommt es zu einer bedeutsamen Leistungsabnahme mit zunehmendem Alter: In der ältesten Altersgruppe werden nur noch zwischen 50 und 60 % der Rohwertmittelwerte der leistungsstärksten Altersgruppe erreicht. Gleichzeitig nimmt die Heterogenität in der Rohwertverteilung zu. Für die Indizes Sprachverständnis und Arbeitsgedächtnis fallen beide Effekte deutlich niedriger aus.