Scientific understanding of the nature of intelligence has steadily evolved over the years; however, the past century has seen an explosion of research aimed at understanding the construction of intelligence, the relationships between neuroscience and cognitive skills, and the best ways to measure intellectual abilities. While there is no clear…

This study explored the Junior Brixton Test (JBT), an executive function (EF) measure for children, in comparison to the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in a sample of 6- to 8-year-olds, all attending the first 2 years of elementary school. Factor analyses indicated two main domains in both measures, namely concept formation and cognitive…

These 2 studies investigated the factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-4th edition (WISC-IV; Wechsler, 2003a) with exploratory factor analysis (EFA; Study 1) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; Study 2) among 2 independent samples of gifted students. The EFA sample consisted of 225 children who were referred for a…

Using multitrait, multimethod data, and confirmatory factor analysis, the current study examined the effects of arithmetic item formatting and the possibility that across formats, abilities other than arithmetic may contribute to children's answers. Measurement hypotheses were guided by several leading theories of arithmetic cognition. With a…

The Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) is a recently developed, individually administered psychometric instrument designed to measure general cognitive ability, as well as verbal (crystallized) intelligence, nonverbal (fluid) intelligence, and memory. Test reviewers have recommended the use of the RIAS despite the fact that, although…

This study explored the contribution of the phonological and executive working memory (WM) systems to 205 (102 girls, 103 boys, 6 to 9 years old) elementary school children's fluid and crystallized intelligence. The results show that (a) a 3-factor structure (phonological short-term memory [STM], visual-spatial WM, and verbal WM) was comparable…

Determined the factor structure of the McCarthy Scales for 478 referred rural children. Three meaningful factors emerged: Verbal, Perceptual, and Motor factors for males and General-Cognitive, Verbal, and Memory factors for females. Results suggested the McCarthy Scales reflect a general dimension of cognitive ability rather than distinct…

Background: The behavioural and academic performance of young children with teachers' reported hyperactivity, conduct problems or inattention is under debate. Aim: This study investigates the associations between teachers' reported behavioural difficulties and academic and cognitive performances in two large samples of preschool and school…

Factor analysis revealed three main factors: aggressiveness, hyperactivity and anxiety-fearfulness. Measures based upon these factors had a reasonably high level of reliability and were moderately stable over a 2-year interval. Hyperactivity was negatively associated with cognition ability. Both hyperactivity and aggressiveness were related to…

The McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) General Cognitive Index provides a good measure of cognitive ability of exceptional children. The verbal and motor scales also seem valid. Interpretation of remaining scales should be made cautiously as scales may not accurately measure abilities of exceptional children. (Author/JAC)

Harter's Perceived Competence Scale for Children was administered to 714 Taiwanese fifth graders; results were compared with those from American samples. Cultural differences were found. Results among Chinese replicate the measures' factorial validity and, across the two groups, indicate a high correlation between perceived cognitive competence…

Describes a new 48-item self-report instrument, the Multidimensional Measure of Children's Perceptions of Control, which defines children's perceptions of control as understanding the locus of sufficient cause for success and failure. Three dimensions of third- through ninth-grade children's perceptions of control are assessed within three…