Basic subtest interpretation in WAIS-R
| Name | Functions | High | Low |
| Full Scale IQ | broad assessment of g | well-rounded intellectual skills, good knowledge base, ability to think fast under pressure, high g | mental retardation, poor education, poor concentration, neurological problems |
| Verbal IQ | Verbal comprehension, ability to use verbal skills in problem solving | good knowledge base, abstract thinking, social judgment, concentration | poor knowledge base, abstract thinking, social judgment, concentration |
| Information | knowledge base, premorbid functioning in dementia | good knowledge base | poor education, not mainstream American, psychosis, brain damage |
| Digit Span | short-term auditory memory, attention span, concentration | good forward – good attention span, good backward – concentration | brain damage, mental retardation, fatigue, anxiety |
| Vocabulary | g, vocabulary, education, verbal abstract conceptualization, premorbid functioning, resistant to anxiety | good g, vocabulary, education, verbal abstract conceptualization | poor education, not mainstream American, psychosis, early brain damage |
| Arithmetic | arithmetic knowledge, problem-solving ability, concentration | good arithmetic knowledge, problem-solving ability, concentration | poor schooling, concentration, hearing, learning disability, anxiety, depression (timing) |
| Comprehension | practical knowledge, social norms exposure | good practical knowledge, social norms exposure and understanding | long-term disfunction, psychosis, poor socialization, not mainstream American |
| Similarities | abstract reasoning, categorization, verbal conceptualization, logic | good abstract reasoning, categorization, verbal conceptualization, logic | long-term dysfunction, brain damage – too concrete, emotional disorders, psychosis – overgeneralized |
| Performance IQ | efficiency and integrity of perceptual organization, visuo-spatial skills | good visuo-spatial skills, learning, and speed, ability to think fast under pressure, attention to detail | poor visuo-spatial skills, learning, and speed, ability to think fast under pressure, attention to detail |
| Picture Completion | perceptual discrimination, visual memory, alertness to detail, concentration | good perceptual discrimination, visual memory, alertness to detail, concentration | psychosis, poor concentration, poor perceptual-conceptual integration, not mainstream American |
| Picture Arrangement | social skills, planning ability, alertness to detail | good social skills, planning ability, alertness to detail | left hemisphere or frontal damage, psychosis, anxiety |
| Block Design | non-verbal reasoning, least culture-bound | good visuo-spatial skills, non-verbal reasoning | brain damage, can differentiate from schizophrenia |
| Object Assembly | visuo-motor coordination, part-whole relationship analysis | good visuo-motor coordination, part-whole relationship analysis, persistence | psychosis, depression, first two – left hemisphere damage (line cues), other two – right hemisphere |
| Digit Symbol | visuo-motor speed | visual memory, coordination, non-verbal learning, persistence | anxiety, poor concentration, psychomotor retardation, brain damage |
| 110-119 | high average | 90.8 | ||||
| 90-109 | average | 74.8 | ||||
| 80-89 | low average | 25.2 | ||||
| 70-79 | borderline | 9.2 | ||||
| <70 | mentally deficient | 2.3 | ||||
Index scores added in WAIS-III
1. Verbal Comprehension (abstract verbal reasoning and knowledge base)
2. Perceptual Organization (abstract non-verbal reasoning, constructional skills, attention to detail)
3. Working Memory (ability to mentally manipulate information without visual aids, concentration, immediate memory)
4. Processing Speed (speed of information processing, attention, concentration)
New subtests added in WAIS-III and IV
NB: Verbal and performance IQ scores as well as the Picture Aarangement and Object Assembly subtests have been removed by WAIS-IV, Digit Symbol subtest has been renamed “Coding”, Digit Span subtest has had a mental control section added.
1. Matrix Reasoning (non-verbal reasoning, pattern recognition, novel problem solving)
2. Visual Puzzles (nonverbal reasoning, analysis and synthesis of abstract visual stimuli)
3. Letter-Number Sequencing (attention, concentration, immediate memory)
4. Figure Weights (quantitative and analogical reasoning)
WAIS-IV Matrix Reasoning subtest pattern analysis
SA. Same + 1 variable
SB. 1 variable
1. Same
2. Same + 1 variable
3. Same + 1 variable
4. Same + 1 variable
5. 1 variable
6. Pattern completion
7. Pattern completion + 2 variables
8. Pattern completion + 2 variables
9. Pattern completion + 2 variables
10. 2 variables
11. 2 variables
12. 2 variables
13. Rotation
14. 2 variables
15. Rotation + 1 variable
16. 2 variables
17. 2 variables
18. Rotation + 1 variable
19. Rotation + irrelevancy
20. 2 variables + irrelevancy
21. Subtraction
22. Addition + Rotation+ irrelevancy
23. 2 variables + 2 irrelevancy
24. 1 variable + 2 differences
25. Figure-ground switch + subtraction
26. No idea. Submissions welcome.
