WAIS—R Scatter with Psychiatric Inpatients: I. Intrasubtest Scatter

Intrasubtest scatter values for eight WAIS—R subtests were estimated for a sample of 150 psychiatric inpatients and compared with those reported for a comparable portion of the WAIS—R standardization group by Kaplan, Fein, Morris, and Delis in 1991, using the normal deviate ( z) test. The standardization group's intrasubtest scatter was significantly greater than those reported for the psychiatric inpatients on all subtests except Arithmetic and Information. These results suggested that, contrary to expectation, limited intrasubtest scatter may characterize WAIS—R protocols of psychiatric inpatients, while the presence of scatter may characterize normal WAIS—R performance.

Order of Item Difficulty on Picture Arrangement: Data from a Normal Elderly Sample

In a sample of 226 normal elderly persons the order of item difficulty for the WAIS—R Picture Arrangement subtest was examined. Means for age and education were 80.8 yr. ( SD = 5.2) and 10.9 yr. ( SD = 2.9), respectively. The current order of items does not conform to the expectation of increasing difficulty. When testing elderly persons, intrasubtest scatter on Picture Arrangement should not be used to infer pathology.

Order of Item Difficulty on Picture Arrangement: Data from a Normal Elderly Sample

In a sample of 226 normal elderly persons the order of item difficulty for the WAIS—R Picture Arrangement subtest was examined. Means for age and education were 80.8 yr. ( SD = 5.2) and 10.9 yr. ( SD = 2.9), respectively. The current order of items does not conform to the expectation of increasing difficulty. When testing elderly persons, intrasubtest scatter on Picture Arrangement should not be used to infer pathology.