ABSTRACT Twenty-five years after the introduction of Carroll’s (1993) Three Stratum (3S) theory o... more ABSTRACT Twenty-five years after the introduction of Carroll’s (1993) Three Stratum (3S) theory of intelligence and McGrew’s (1997) subsequent synthesis of 3S with the extended Gf-Gc / Horn-Cattell theory, the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory represents the prevailing framework by which the structure of human cognitive and intellectual abilities is understood. This commentary reviews, discusses, and supplements the critical examinations of CHC theory appearing in this special issue of Applied Measurement in Education. After recounting the historical foundations and structural framework of CHC, a series of challenges to this theory are compiled including its weak explanatory capacity, its failure to make testable predictions, its enmeshment with a single measurement instrument (i.e., the Woodcock–Johnson), the inconsistent independent replication of its factor structure, and most importantly, its undemonstrated evidential value for identification and intervention with students with specific learning disorders (SLDs). The inherent limitations of any psychological theory developed or tested primarily from factor analyses are enumerated. Solutions are proposed to advance psychological science in areas related to CHC theory.
The Oxford Handbook of History of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2016
The concepts of measurement and theory have always been central to psychological science. This ch... more The concepts of measurement and theory have always been central to psychological science. This chapter reviews the history of applied mental tests and the ideas behind them, with a specific emphasis on individually administered intellectual measures in the era of scientific psychology (i.e., after Wundt). The chapter discusses theoretical underpinnings associated with mental tests and test/theory falsifications. Beginning with the contributions of Francis Galton and J. McKeen Cattell and continuing through the present, the topics discussed include anthropometric testing, Charles Spearman’s two-factor theory and general intelligence factor, Alfred Binet and David Wechsler’s pragmatic approaches, Raymond B. Cattell and John L. Horn’s fluid and crystallized intelligence, John B. Carroll’s three-stratum model of cognitive abilities, and Alexander R. Luria’s conceptualization of brain-based, cognitive processing. The chapter closes with a discussion about theory-building and falsificatio...
Archival neuropsychological evaluations of 155 adult closed head injured patients were reviewed. ... more Archival neuropsychological evaluations of 155 adult closed head injured patients were reviewed. Neuropsychological outcome data pertaining to intellectual, memory, and emotional functioning were respectively assessed with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) and Randt Memory Test (RMT), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Subjects were analyzed on these four outcome measures after being categorized according to injury severity, posttraumatic recovery time interval, and site of injury impact to the head.Analyses indicated that on the WAIS-R, the Digit Symbol subtest alone was consistently sensitive to injury severity. On the WMS-R, only an IQ-memory discrepancy measure was sensitive to severity. Delayed Picture Recognition on the RMT accounted for most of the sensitivity of this measure to injury severity. Two MMPI scales, Hs and Hy, demonstrated significantly greater mean elevations in mild than severe head injured patients.Cross-sectional analysis by six-month intervals during the initial two years of recovery from closed head injury yielded no meaningful significant findings for intellectual, memory, and emotional outcome measures. No significant interactions between elapsed recovery time and injury severity were noted. However, nonsignificant patterns were suggestive that subjects with nonsevere head injury continued to demonstrate improved memory functioning through the end of the first year and beginning of the second year of recovery, while severely injured subjects recovered at a slower rate and demonstrated improvement well into the second year of recovery. Nonseverely injured subjects demonstrated an increasing pattern of emotional complaints during the first year of recovery. Subjects with severe head injury experienced peak levels of psychopathology early in the second year of recovery, before showing rapid improvement by the close of the second year.Analyses of injury impact sites to the head by caudality and laterality yielded findings that a left-sided impact resulted in lower group mean scores on all WAIS-R subtests but Digit Symbol. On no measures of memory or emotional functioning did significant laterality or caudality effects emerge. No significant interactions between injury impact site and injury severity were demonstrated
Page 309. 14 Nonverbal Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology John D. Wasserman The apprai... more Page 309. 14 Nonverbal Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology John D. Wasserman The appraisal of personality and psychopathology through nonverbal methodologies is distinguished by its widespread practice ...
I hate the impudence of a claim that in fifty minutes you can judge and classify a human being's ... more I hate the impudence of a claim that in fifty minutes you can judge and classify a human being's predestined fitness in life. I hate the pretentiousness of that claim. I hate the abuse of scientific method which it involves. I hate the sense of superiority which it creates, and the sense of inferiority which it imposes.-Walter Lippmann (1923, p. 146) DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MAJOR INTELLIGENCE TESTS 451 DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS 482 TOWARD A MATURE CLINICAL SCIENCE 493 REFERENCES 493
Federal law ensures all students with disabilities the right to a Free, Appropriate Public Educat... more Federal law ensures all students with disabilities the right to a Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). However, current policies governing a student’s eligibility for services may contribute to the underidentification of gifted children with co-existing disabilities—the Twice-Exceptional. The emphasis on below-grade-level (or lower) performance, without regard to ability or potential weaknesses, misses twice-exceptional students. Those who perform at grade level, by using advanced conceptual abilities and hard work to compensate, may still require interventions and accommodations to manage increasing educational demands. Otherwise, college and even high school graduation may be out of reach. This article reviews changing laws and policies, explores case studies of twice-exceptional students missed, and examines the diagnosis of twice-exceptionality through comprehensive assessment. Appropriate best practices for the identification of twice-exceptional learners, maintenance of ...
David Wechsler (1896–1981) was the author of the leading intelligence and memory tests in the U.S... more David Wechsler (1896–1981) was the author of the leading intelligence and memory tests in the U.S.A. in the second half of the twentieth century. Wechsler's legacy is highlighted by the continued popularity of his scales and his key role in transforming psychometric testing into clinical assessment. Keywords: intelligence; intelligence quotient (IQ); memory
The authors investigated the construct validity of scores on the Behavior Rating Scale of the rev... more The authors investigated the construct validity of scores on the Behavior Rating Scale of the revised Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II). They employed national standardization samples of children ranging in age from roughly 1 to 42 months, and a variety of factor analytic methods. As might be expected, motor performance dominated the factor space, and structure became more complex at older ages as children became more heterogeneous.
The current study was conducted to test the premise that computer-based intervention that targets... more The current study was conducted to test the premise that computer-based intervention that targets auditory temporal processing combined with language exercises (Fast ForWord Ò) is effective in remediating children with disorders of language and reading. Sixty-five middle school struggling readers were randomly assigned to one of five groups and over a 12-week-period received one of the following interventions: (1) two phases of intervention with Fast ForWord Ò (FFW, experimental group), (2) two phases of intervention with Suc-cessMaker (SM, active control group), (3) FFW followed by SM, (4) SM followed by FFW, or (5) no intervention beyond the regular class curriculum (developmental control group). Changes in reading, phonemic awareness, spelling and language skills were assessed via a repeated measures MANOVA. Results indicated significant within-subjects effects (i.e., change for all participants over time), but no between-subject group differences, failing to show that Fast ForWord Ò resulted in any gains over and above those seen in the other groups.
In this chapter by Wasserman and Bracken, the most salient psychometric characteristics of psycho... more In this chapter by Wasserman and Bracken, the most salient psychometric characteristics of psychological tests are described, incorporating elements from both classical test theory and item response theory. Guidelines are provided for the evaluation of test technical adequacy across a wide array of psychological tests in the areas of sampling, norming, scaling, validity, reliability, and fairness. Sampling, norming, and scaling guidelines address appropriate sample sizes, the accuracy and recency of norms, item and scale gradients, and floor and ceiling effects. Evidence of test score validity is described as occurring in two broad classes (internal and external), both of which ultimately are concerned with construct validity. Evidence of test score reliability includes the extent to which measurement results are precise and accurate; free from random and unexplained error; and consistent, accurate, and uniform across occasions, time, observers, and samples. Fairness is described as an important additional area of psychometric emphasis. A holistic and systemic approach to test score fairness is described, extending from test conception through applied consequences. Finally, the study of psychometrics is criticized for its historical over-reliance on internal sources of evidence, and recommendations are made for an increased focus on external, applied sources of evidence of psychometric adequacy. Keywords: fairness; norms; psychometric; reliability; sampling; test; validity
Chapter 1. Overview: Assessing Diverse Populations with Nonverbal Tests of Intelligence Chapter 2... more Chapter 1. Overview: Assessing Diverse Populations with Nonverbal Tests of Intelligence Chapter 2. Unidimensional Nonverbal Tests. Chapter 3. Multidimensional Nonverbal Intelligence Tests: Administration, Scoring,and Interpretation of the UNIT. Chapter 4. Multidimensional Nonverbal Intelligence Tests: Strenghts and Weaknessesand Clinical Applications of the UNIT. Chapter 5. Multidimensional Nonverbal Intelligence Tests: Administration, Scoring,and Interpretation of the Leiter-R. Chapter 6. Multidimensional Nonverbal Intelligence Tests: Strenghts and Weaknessesand Clincial Applications of the Leiter-R.
The software programs used in the research, ''Fast ForWord (FF)" and ''Fast ForWord Two (FF2)," w... more The software programs used in the research, ''Fast ForWord (FF)" and ''Fast ForWord Two (FF2)," were incorrectly reported as ''Fast For-Word Language" and ''Fast ForWord Language to Reading.
ABSTRACT Twenty-five years after the introduction of Carroll’s (1993) Three Stratum (3S) theory o... more ABSTRACT Twenty-five years after the introduction of Carroll’s (1993) Three Stratum (3S) theory of intelligence and McGrew’s (1997) subsequent synthesis of 3S with the extended Gf-Gc / Horn-Cattell theory, the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory represents the prevailing framework by which the structure of human cognitive and intellectual abilities is understood. This commentary reviews, discusses, and supplements the critical examinations of CHC theory appearing in this special issue of Applied Measurement in Education. After recounting the historical foundations and structural framework of CHC, a series of challenges to this theory are compiled including its weak explanatory capacity, its failure to make testable predictions, its enmeshment with a single measurement instrument (i.e., the Woodcock–Johnson), the inconsistent independent replication of its factor structure, and most importantly, its undemonstrated evidential value for identification and intervention with students with specific learning disorders (SLDs). The inherent limitations of any psychological theory developed or tested primarily from factor analyses are enumerated. Solutions are proposed to advance psychological science in areas related to CHC theory.
The Oxford Handbook of History of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2016
The concepts of measurement and theory have always been central to psychological science. This ch... more The concepts of measurement and theory have always been central to psychological science. This chapter reviews the history of applied mental tests and the ideas behind them, with a specific emphasis on individually administered intellectual measures in the era of scientific psychology (i.e., after Wundt). The chapter discusses theoretical underpinnings associated with mental tests and test/theory falsifications. Beginning with the contributions of Francis Galton and J. McKeen Cattell and continuing through the present, the topics discussed include anthropometric testing, Charles Spearman’s two-factor theory and general intelligence factor, Alfred Binet and David Wechsler’s pragmatic approaches, Raymond B. Cattell and John L. Horn’s fluid and crystallized intelligence, John B. Carroll’s three-stratum model of cognitive abilities, and Alexander R. Luria’s conceptualization of brain-based, cognitive processing. The chapter closes with a discussion about theory-building and falsificatio...
Archival neuropsychological evaluations of 155 adult closed head injured patients were reviewed. ... more Archival neuropsychological evaluations of 155 adult closed head injured patients were reviewed. Neuropsychological outcome data pertaining to intellectual, memory, and emotional functioning were respectively assessed with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R), Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) and Randt Memory Test (RMT), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Subjects were analyzed on these four outcome measures after being categorized according to injury severity, posttraumatic recovery time interval, and site of injury impact to the head.Analyses indicated that on the WAIS-R, the Digit Symbol subtest alone was consistently sensitive to injury severity. On the WMS-R, only an IQ-memory discrepancy measure was sensitive to severity. Delayed Picture Recognition on the RMT accounted for most of the sensitivity of this measure to injury severity. Two MMPI scales, Hs and Hy, demonstrated significantly greater mean elevations in mild than severe head injured patients.Cross-sectional analysis by six-month intervals during the initial two years of recovery from closed head injury yielded no meaningful significant findings for intellectual, memory, and emotional outcome measures. No significant interactions between elapsed recovery time and injury severity were noted. However, nonsignificant patterns were suggestive that subjects with nonsevere head injury continued to demonstrate improved memory functioning through the end of the first year and beginning of the second year of recovery, while severely injured subjects recovered at a slower rate and demonstrated improvement well into the second year of recovery. Nonseverely injured subjects demonstrated an increasing pattern of emotional complaints during the first year of recovery. Subjects with severe head injury experienced peak levels of psychopathology early in the second year of recovery, before showing rapid improvement by the close of the second year.Analyses of injury impact sites to the head by caudality and laterality yielded findings that a left-sided impact resulted in lower group mean scores on all WAIS-R subtests but Digit Symbol. On no measures of memory or emotional functioning did significant laterality or caudality effects emerge. No significant interactions between injury impact site and injury severity were demonstrated
Page 309. 14 Nonverbal Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology John D. Wasserman The apprai... more Page 309. 14 Nonverbal Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology John D. Wasserman The appraisal of personality and psychopathology through nonverbal methodologies is distinguished by its widespread practice ...
I hate the impudence of a claim that in fifty minutes you can judge and classify a human being's ... more I hate the impudence of a claim that in fifty minutes you can judge and classify a human being's predestined fitness in life. I hate the pretentiousness of that claim. I hate the abuse of scientific method which it involves. I hate the sense of superiority which it creates, and the sense of inferiority which it imposes.-Walter Lippmann (1923, p. 146) DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MAJOR INTELLIGENCE TESTS 451 DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS 482 TOWARD A MATURE CLINICAL SCIENCE 493 REFERENCES 493
Federal law ensures all students with disabilities the right to a Free, Appropriate Public Educat... more Federal law ensures all students with disabilities the right to a Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). However, current policies governing a student’s eligibility for services may contribute to the underidentification of gifted children with co-existing disabilities—the Twice-Exceptional. The emphasis on below-grade-level (or lower) performance, without regard to ability or potential weaknesses, misses twice-exceptional students. Those who perform at grade level, by using advanced conceptual abilities and hard work to compensate, may still require interventions and accommodations to manage increasing educational demands. Otherwise, college and even high school graduation may be out of reach. This article reviews changing laws and policies, explores case studies of twice-exceptional students missed, and examines the diagnosis of twice-exceptionality through comprehensive assessment. Appropriate best practices for the identification of twice-exceptional learners, maintenance of ...
David Wechsler (1896–1981) was the author of the leading intelligence and memory tests in the U.S... more David Wechsler (1896–1981) was the author of the leading intelligence and memory tests in the U.S.A. in the second half of the twentieth century. Wechsler's legacy is highlighted by the continued popularity of his scales and his key role in transforming psychometric testing into clinical assessment. Keywords: intelligence; intelligence quotient (IQ); memory
The authors investigated the construct validity of scores on the Behavior Rating Scale of the rev... more The authors investigated the construct validity of scores on the Behavior Rating Scale of the revised Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-II). They employed national standardization samples of children ranging in age from roughly 1 to 42 months, and a variety of factor analytic methods. As might be expected, motor performance dominated the factor space, and structure became more complex at older ages as children became more heterogeneous.
The current study was conducted to test the premise that computer-based intervention that targets... more The current study was conducted to test the premise that computer-based intervention that targets auditory temporal processing combined with language exercises (Fast ForWord Ò) is effective in remediating children with disorders of language and reading. Sixty-five middle school struggling readers were randomly assigned to one of five groups and over a 12-week-period received one of the following interventions: (1) two phases of intervention with Fast ForWord Ò (FFW, experimental group), (2) two phases of intervention with Suc-cessMaker (SM, active control group), (3) FFW followed by SM, (4) SM followed by FFW, or (5) no intervention beyond the regular class curriculum (developmental control group). Changes in reading, phonemic awareness, spelling and language skills were assessed via a repeated measures MANOVA. Results indicated significant within-subjects effects (i.e., change for all participants over time), but no between-subject group differences, failing to show that Fast ForWord Ò resulted in any gains over and above those seen in the other groups.
In this chapter by Wasserman and Bracken, the most salient psychometric characteristics of psycho... more In this chapter by Wasserman and Bracken, the most salient psychometric characteristics of psychological tests are described, incorporating elements from both classical test theory and item response theory. Guidelines are provided for the evaluation of test technical adequacy across a wide array of psychological tests in the areas of sampling, norming, scaling, validity, reliability, and fairness. Sampling, norming, and scaling guidelines address appropriate sample sizes, the accuracy and recency of norms, item and scale gradients, and floor and ceiling effects. Evidence of test score validity is described as occurring in two broad classes (internal and external), both of which ultimately are concerned with construct validity. Evidence of test score reliability includes the extent to which measurement results are precise and accurate; free from random and unexplained error; and consistent, accurate, and uniform across occasions, time, observers, and samples. Fairness is described as an important additional area of psychometric emphasis. A holistic and systemic approach to test score fairness is described, extending from test conception through applied consequences. Finally, the study of psychometrics is criticized for its historical over-reliance on internal sources of evidence, and recommendations are made for an increased focus on external, applied sources of evidence of psychometric adequacy. Keywords: fairness; norms; psychometric; reliability; sampling; test; validity
Chapter 1. Overview: Assessing Diverse Populations with Nonverbal Tests of Intelligence Chapter 2... more Chapter 1. Overview: Assessing Diverse Populations with Nonverbal Tests of Intelligence Chapter 2. Unidimensional Nonverbal Tests. Chapter 3. Multidimensional Nonverbal Intelligence Tests: Administration, Scoring,and Interpretation of the UNIT. Chapter 4. Multidimensional Nonverbal Intelligence Tests: Strenghts and Weaknessesand Clinical Applications of the UNIT. Chapter 5. Multidimensional Nonverbal Intelligence Tests: Administration, Scoring,and Interpretation of the Leiter-R. Chapter 6. Multidimensional Nonverbal Intelligence Tests: Strenghts and Weaknessesand Clincial Applications of the Leiter-R.
The software programs used in the research, ''Fast ForWord (FF)" and ''Fast ForWord Two (FF2)," w... more The software programs used in the research, ''Fast ForWord (FF)" and ''Fast ForWord Two (FF2)," were incorrectly reported as ''Fast For-Word Language" and ''Fast ForWord Language to Reading.
Uploads
Papers by John Wasserman