Core Structure Flashcards
7 cards from real WAIS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Core Structure flashcards as text
Which WAIS-IV subtest asks examinees to identify the missing common element among a set of silhouette shapes?
Answer: Visual Puzzles
Visual Puzzles presents a completed puzzle and three response options; examinees identify which pieces reconstruct the target image, measuring visual-spatial analysis.
What is the primary purpose of 'process scores' available in WAIS-IV?
Answer: To provide insight into the qualitative nature of errors, not just total correct
Process scores capture how an examinee arrives at answers (e.g., Digit Span Forward vs. Backward), giving clinicians qualitative error analysis beyond total raw scores.
Which population characteristic was specifically improved in the WAIS-IV normative sample compared to WAIS-III?
Answer: Better representation of racial/ethnic diversity matching U.S. Census data
WAIS-IV normative data were stratified to more closely match U.S. Census proportions for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and education level.
When a core subtest cannot be administered, what is the WAIS-IV rule for substituting a supplemental subtest?
Answer: Only one supplemental subtest may be substituted per index
WAIS-IV rules allow a maximum of one supplemental subtest substitution per composite score to maintain psychometric integrity.
Figure Weights, a supplemental WAIS-IV subtest, primarily measures which ability?
Answer: Quantitative and fluid reasoning using a balance scale paradigm
Figure Weights uses a scale analogy format where examinees identify a missing weight to balance a scale, tapping quantitative fluid reasoning.
The General Ability Index (GAI) for WAIS-IV is composed of which index scores?
Answer: VCI and PRI only
The GAI combines only the Verbal Comprehension Index and Perceptual Reasoning Index, providing a measure less influenced by working memory and processing speed.
What term describes the statistical technique used to derive WAIS-IV index scores from subtest scaled scores?
Answer: Confirmatory factor analysis-guided sum-to-index conversion
Subtest scaled scores within each index are summed, and the sum is converted to an index score using age-referenced conversion tables derived from factor analytic groupings.