McCall, Sonya (2008) A Short Form Version Of The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Third Edition. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
While the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is one of the most popular neuropsychological tests, it is lengthy to administer and mentally fatiguing to the participant. As such, researchers have been interested in developing short-form versions of the WAIS, and its various revisions, in an attempt to reduce administration timing while retaining the assessment properties of these tests. The third edition of the WAIS, the WAIS-III, expanded on its predecessors with the provision of a four-index structure in addition to the composite Intelligence Quotients (IQ) found in earlier editions. While this increased the test’s ability to identify areas of cognitive deficits, it presented a problem for the development of short-forms. Researchers have found that while most short-form versions of the WAIS-III will provide an accurate measure of the three composite IQ scores (the Verbal IQ, Performance IQ, and Full Scale IQ), results do not hold for the four-index structure. A new version of the WAIS, the WAIS-IV will be released in late 2008/early 2009, and it is predicted that two of the IQ scores (the PIQ and VIQ) will be eliminated, therefore the accuracy of the factor scores and FSIQ will be imperative in a short-form test for the WAIS-IV. The purpose of this study was to develop a short-form version for the WAIS-III that will provide accurate measures of the WAIS-III factor scores and IQ scores. This will retain the ability for cognitive assessment, rather than screening only. A total sample of 466 cases, including 234 clinical cases drawn from archival data, and 232 cases drawn from Australian normative data, were utilised for the purposes of this analysis. Four considerations were utilised to develop the short-form, based upon a review of the relevant literature. New tables were developed to provide prorated scoring for the new short-form, and these scores were then utilised to analyse the effectiveness of this test. Paired sample t-tests indicated that the short-form index scores were not significantly different from the full-form version of the WAIS-III. Over 90% of both the clinical sample fell within + 10 points of the full WAIS-III for all four index scores and the FSIQ. This short-form fell outside of the criterion of reducing the administration time by 50%, with reducing timing by only 39%. However, the researcher feels that the ability of the test to predict the four-index scores outweighs the requirement of reducing the timing by half. It is anticipated that the considerations utilised to develop a short-form for the WAIS-III will hold in preparing a short-form for the anticipated WAIS-IV.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology (Up to 30 Jun 2013) |
| Supervisors: | Lucille Douglas |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Nov 2025 01:10 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Nov 2025 01:10 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52548 |
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