A block design test is a subtest on many IQ test batteries used as part of assessment of human intelligence. It is thought to tap spatial visualization ability and motor skill. The test-taker uses hand movements to rearrange blocks that have various color patterns on different sides to match a pattern. The items in a block design test can be scored both by accuracy in matching the pattern and by speed in completing each item. [2]
David Wechsler adapted a block design subtest for his Wechsler-Bellevue test, the predecessor of his WAIS (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), from the Kohs block design test developed in 1920 at Stanford University by Samuel Calmin Kohs. A later revision of the Kohs test by Hutt incorporated the time taken to complete each item into the scoring of the test. [3] Wechsler followed that practice in making both accuracy and speed factors in scoring the test.
Good performance on the block design test is indicative of appropriate functioning of the parietal and frontal lobes. Head injury, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke can severely reduce the performance of an individual on the block design test. [4] Additional evidence suggests impairment in block design performance among schizophrenic and bipolar disorder patient populations, though this represents only preliminary findings. [5] [6]
The block design test is also a relatively accurate measure of spatial ability and spatial visualization ability used in daily life. [7] The block design test is considered one of the best measures of spatial ability, although it is subject to certain problems of administration, such as anxiety or over-cautious responding. Linda Kreger Silverman has proposed the block design subtest as the best putative measure of spatial ability among the Wechsler subtests. [8] One well-known example of high spatial ability from history is Albert Einstein.
Uta Frith, in her book Autism: Explaining the Enigma, [9] addresses the superior performance of autistic individuals on the block design test. This was also addressed in an earlier paper. [10] One article demonstrates the differences in construction time in the performance of the block design task by individuals with and without Asperger syndrome. An essential point is that in an unsegmented version of the task, people with Asperger syndrome performed significantly faster than neurotypical individuals. [11]
Recent research has demonstrated a connection between spatial ability and math and science proficiency at the highest levels. A 2002 study in the Lancet demonstrated that high spatial ability was related to the performance of surgery. [12] Additionally, although this is somewhat speculative, the grandfathers and fathers of autistic people were more likely to be engineers, and since it is known that autistic people have an ability peak in block design, it is possible that an inherited ability for block design performance may be responsible for the increased number of engineers and scientists among the relatives of autistic individuals. [13]
In 1993, Dror et al. found that pilots' performance was superior to non-pilots on a test of the speed of mental rotation. Although the block design test is characterized as a test of spatial visualization, not mental rotation, spatial visualization ability as measured by the block design test is highly correlated to mental rotation ability. [14]
As performance on the block design test has been suggested as a predictive measure for performance in fields such as engineering and physics. Felder, at North Carolina State University, has developed a learning style questionnaire that attempts to assess spatial ability in an educational context. [15]
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, was previously considered a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests. The syndrome is no longer recognised as a diagnosis in itself, having been merged with other disorders into autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It was considered to differ from other diagnoses that were merged into ASD by relatively unimpaired spoken language and intelligence.
An aptitude is a component of a competence to do a certain kind of work at a certain level. Outstanding aptitude can be considered "talent". Aptitude is inborn potential to perform certain kinds of activities, whether physical or mental, and whether developed or undeveloped. Aptitude is often contrasted with skills and abilities, which are developed through learning. The mass term ability refers to components of competence acquired through a combination of both aptitude and skills.
Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen is a British clinical psychologist and professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge. He is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of Trinity College. In 1985, Baron-Cohen formulated the mind-blindness theory of autism, the evidence for which he collated and published in 1995. In 1997, he formulated the foetal sex steroid theory of autism, the key test of which was published in 2015.
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is an IQ test designed to measure intelligence and cognitive ability in adults and older adolescents. The original WAIS was published in February 1955 by David Wechsler, as a revision of the Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale, released in 1939. It is currently in its fourth edition (WAIS-IV) released in 2008 by Pearson, and is the most widely used IQ test, for both adults and older adolescents, in the world.
Cognitive tests are assessments of the cognitive capabilities of humans and other animals. Tests administered to humans include various forms of IQ tests; those administered to animals include the mirror test and the T maze test. Such study is important to research concerning the philosophy of mind and psychology, as well as determination of human and animal intelligence.
High-functioning autism (HFA) is an autism classification where a person exhibits no intellectual disability, but may exhibit deficits in communication, emotion recognition and expression, and social interaction. HFA is not included in either the American Psychological Association's DSM-5 or the World Health Organization's ICD-10, neither of which subdivides autism based on intellectual capabilities.
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) is an individually administered intelligence test for children between the ages of 6 and 16. The Fifth Edition is the most recent version.
Raven's Progressive Matrices or RPM is a non-verbal test typically used to measure general human intelligence and abstract reasoning and is regarded as a non-verbal estimate of fluid intelligence. It is one of the most common tests administered to both groups and individuals ranging from 5-year-olds to the elderly. It comprises 60 multiple choice questions, listed in order of increasing difficulty. This format is designed to measure the test taker's reasoning ability, the eductive ("meaning-making") component of Spearman's g.
Mental rotation is the ability to rotate mental representations of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects as it is related to the visual representation of such rotation within the human mind. There is a relationship between areas of the brain associated with perception and mental rotation. There could also be a relationship between the cognitive rate of spatial processing, general intelligence and mental rotation.
Spatial visualization ability or visual-spatial ability is the ability to mentally manipulate 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional figures. It is typically measured with simple cognitive tests and is predictive of user performance with some kinds of user interfaces.
NEPSY On psy is a series of neuropsychological tests authored by Marit Korkman, Ursula Kirk and Sally Kemp, that are used in various combinations to assess neuropsychological development in children ages 3–16 years in six functional domains. NEPSY was designed to assess both basic and complex aspects of cognition, critical to children’s ability to learn and be productive, in and outside of, school settings. It is designed to test cognitive functions not typically covered by general ability or achievement batteries. The original NEPSY was published in 1998 by Pearson Assessment, and was superseded by the NEPSY-II in 2007.
The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) is a clinical instrument for assessing cognitive development. Its construction incorporates several recent developments in both psychological theory and statistical methodology. The test was developed by Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman in 1983 and revised in 2004. The test has been translated and adopted for many countries, such as the Japanese version of the K-ABC by the Japanese psychologists Tatsuya Matsubara, Kazuhiro Fujita, Hisao Maekawa, and Toshinori Ishikuma.
The weak central coherence theory (WCC), also called the central coherence theory (CC), suggests that a specific perceptual-cognitive style, loosely described as a limited ability to understand context or to "see the big picture", underlies the central disturbance in autism and related autism spectrum disorders. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive behaviours and restricted interests.
Dame Uta Frith is a German-British developmental psychologist at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. She has pioneered much of the current research into autism and dyslexia. She has written several books on these subjects, arguing for autism to be seen as a mental condition rather than as one caused by parenting. Her Autism: Explaining the Enigma introduces the cognitive neuroscience of autism. She is credited with creating the Sally–Anne test along with fellow scientists Alan Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen. She also pioneered the work on child dyslexia. Among students she has mentored are Tony Attwood, Maggie Snowling, Simon Baron-Cohen and Francesca Happé.
The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery (HRNB) and allied procedures is a comprehensive suite of neuropsychological tests used to assess the condition and functioning of the brain, including etiology, type, localization and lateralization of brain injury. The HRNB was first constructed by Ward C. Halstead, who was chairman of the Psychology Department at the University of Chicago, together with his doctoral student, Ralph Reitan. A major aim of administering the HRNB to patients was if possible to lateralize a lesion to either the left or right cerebral hemisphere by comparing the functioning on both sides of the body on a variety of tests such as the Suppression or Sensory Imperception Test, the Finger Agnosia Test, Finger Tip Writing, the Finger Tapping Test, and the Tactual Performance Test. One difficulty with the HRNB was its excessive administration time. In particular, administration of the Halstead Category Test was lengthy, so subsequent attempts were made to construct reliable and valid short-forms.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosed as impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. In this article, the word autism is used for referring to the whole range of conditions on the autism spectrum, which is not uncommon.
Hold tests are neuropsychological tests which measure abilities which are thought to be largely resistant to cognitive decline following neurological damage. As a result, these tests are widely used for estimating premorbid intelligence in conditions such as dementia, traumatic brain injury, and stroke.
The Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) is a neuropsychological test used to measure a variety of verbal and nonverbal executive functions for both children and adults. This assessment was developed over the span of a decade by Dean Delis, Edith Kaplan, and Joel Kramer, and it was published in 2001. The D-KEFS comprises nine tests that were designed to stand alone. Therefore, there are no aggregate measures or composite scores for an examinee's performance. A vast majority of these tests are modified, pre-existing measures ; however, some of these measures are new indices of executive functions.
Empathy quotient (EQ) is a psychological self-report measure of empathy developed by Simon Baron-Cohen and Sally Wheelwright at the Autism Research Centre at the University of Cambridge. EQ is based on a definition of empathy that includes cognition and affect.
Spatial ability or visuo-spatial ability is the capacity to understand, reason, and remember the visual and spatial relations among objects or space.
Fig 3
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), Dror, Kosslyn and Wang. (1993). Visual-Spatial Abilities in Pilots. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(5), 763–773.