Standardized tests are used widely in comparative studies of clinical populations, either as dependent or control variables. Yet, one cannot always be sure that the test items measure the same constructs in the groups under study. In the present work, 460 participants with intellectual disability of undifferentiated etiology and 488 typical…

There is a heated debate on whether observed gender differences in some figural matrices in adults can be attributed to gender differences in inductive reasoning/G[subscript f] or differential item functioning and/or test bias. Based on previous studies we hypothesized that three specific item design features moderate the effect size of the gender…

In complex three-dimensional mental rotation tasks males have been reported to score up to one standard deviation higher than females. However, this effect size estimate could be compromised by the presence of gender bias at the item level, which calls the validity of purely quantitative performance comparisons into question. We hypothesized that…

Achievement motivation is considered a prerequisite for success in academic as well as non-academic settings. We studied sex differences in academic and general achievement motivation in an adult sample of 338 men and 497 women (ages 18-70 years). Multi-group covariance and means structure analysis (MG-CMSA) for ordered categorical data was used…

African-Americans and Whites were asked to solve problems typical of those administered on standard tests of intelligence. Half of the problems were solvable on the basis of information generally available to either race and/or on the basis of information newly learned. Such knowledge did not vary with race. Other problems were only solvable on…

Mackintosh and Bennett's [Mackintosh, N. J. and Bennett, E. S, (2005). ''What do Raven's Matrices measure? An analysis in terms of sex differences.'' Intelligence 33: 663-674.] study shows that males outperform females in some APM items but not in others, implicating that these items are measuring discriminable mental processes. The present…

Several published claims have asserted that the general factor of intelligence derived from conventional intelligence batteries such as the Wechsler scales are biased in favor of verbal intelligence subtests, resulting in the observation of excessively large "g" factor loadings from these subtests. Using the single trait-correlated…

Using multi-group covariance and means structure analysis (MG-CMSA), this study investigated whether sex differences were present on the Dutch WAIS-III, and if so, whether these sex differences were attributable to differences in general intelligence ("g"). The sample consisted of 294 females and 228 males between 18 and 46 years old.…

The current study examines the views of experts in the science of mental abilities about the primacy and uniqueness of "g" and the social implications of ability testing, and compares their responses to the views of a group of non-expert psychologists. Results indicate expert consensus that "g" is an important, non-trivial determinant (or at least…

Gignac [Gignac, G. E. (2006). "Evaluating subtest "g" saturation levels via the single trait-correlated uniqueness (STCU) SEM approach: Evidence in favor of crystallized subtests as the best indicators of "g"." "Intelligence," 34, 29-46.] used a single-trait correlated uniqueness (STCU) CFA approach to…

Ecocultural bias in the Preschool Intelligence Test and the Adult Verbal Aptitude Test was studied. Test results with 177 five- and six-year-olds and 168 mothers in neighborhoods with similar lifestyles and economies in the Philippines show need to screen items for bias. Tests of crystallized abilities had greatest potential for bias. Culturally…

Hispanics have become the largest minority group in the United States. Hispanic children typically come from working class homes with parents who have limited English language skills and educational training. This presents challenges to psychologists who assess these children using traditional IQ tests because of the considerable verbal and…

Items showing sex differences on the revised Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-R) were studied. In a sample of 206 young adults (110 males and 96 females), 15 items demonstrated significant sex differences, but there was no relationship of item-specific gender content to sex differences in item performance. (SLD)

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The nature of differences in performance on the third revision of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale (Form L-M) was assessed for two independent samples of Black (n=86) and White (n=86) preschoolers matched for parental education, age, and sex. Large differences, favoring White children, were found. Test bias is discussed. (TJH)