Test Development

The WAIS-IV was developed to offer the most advanced measure of cognitive ability when addressing the ever-changing clinical landscape (Valentine et al., 2020). It is considered the gold standard in cognitive assessmentthe WAIS-IV measures the cognitive ability of adults and older adolescents. The test aids in examining the relationship between intellectual functioning and memory. The WAIS-IV is a revision of WAIS-III, and its revision was necessitated by the cultural and demographic changes that have taken place in our population. The WAIS-III was developed in 1997, and since then, there have been considerable changes in population age and improvements in our standard of living. Society has become more diverse, making it necessary to revise the test. There has been an increase in caseloads involving older adults, and the WAIS-IV is designed to be developmentally appropriate for older adults (Drozdick et al., 2018).

Reliability and Validity of the WAIS-IV

The WAIS-IV reliability is well established, and the test has a high consistency. During the development of the test, the developers yielded a large number of reliable and valid scores. The test-retest reliabilities of the WAIS-IV ranged from 0.70 to 0.90 over a two-to-twelve-week period (Valentine et al., 2020). The inter-scorer coefficients for the WAIS-IV were all above 0.90. The central reliability figure demonstrated good internal consistency based on the standardization sample for Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) was 0.98. Reliability is consistency with the test results, which can be checked using other forms of the test. The WAIS-IV correlates highly with the Stanford-Binet IV test, establishing the validity of the test. Numerous researchers have explored the structure of the four-factor and five-factor WAIS-IV models and concluded they offered a good fit. Based on these results, we can confirm the validity of the test.

Ethical Considerations

To ensure no alterations in the test scores, the WAIS-IV has a practical scoring assistant and report writer software that can be used to generate concise score reports. Using the given tools, the test administrator can remain ethical and honest when administering and scoring the test. It is vital to ensure that test scores are not compromised, a fair testing process, and cheating is avoided when administering the test. Therefore, the developers have offered tools that can be used to safeguard the test scores for each participant. The examiner enters the raw scores using the scoring assistant, and the software generates concise reports. Also, the test has been shortened to reduce the time taken to administer the test. The developers realized there was a need to reduce the administration time due to increased caseloads for clinicians.

Normed Reference Group

The WAIS-IV was standardized on a normative sample of 2,200 participants ranging in age from 16 to 90 years (Valentine et al., 2020). All the study participants were residents of the United States. The study sample was modeled to match the United States population based on age, sex, geographic location, education level, and race/ethnicity. The sample comprised 200 examinees for each age band for the ages of 16-69 and 100 for each age band for the ages 70-90. There was co-norming with the Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition (WMS-IV), as was the case with the previous editions. However, co-norming occurred when the research programs overlapped during the standardization stages. The revision of the test was done to ensure it meets the changing demographics of our population, considering the diversity we currently have when we look at national census data. The age range was widened because we now have people living longer than was the case in the past,...…able to follow standard instructions, and can speak the official language of the test versions (Sellbom, 2019). To ensure there are no compromises made during the administration and interpretation of the test, the developers have indicated that before the test is administered, rapport must be built, the test is administered under supervision, the standard instructions are followed, test administrator should avoid defining words, and time should be between 60-90 minutes.

Normed Reference Group

The MMPI-2 normed group comprises a nationwide community sample of 2,600 adult men and females. The sample had 1,138 men and 1,462 females aged between 18 and 80. The developers ensured they got a sample representative of the United States population by selecting people from several regions and diverse communities. The MMPI-2 comprises 567 items that an examinee answers true or false (Sellbom, 2019). The revision was done so that the test could be more representative of the changing United States population and eliminate some of the offensive questions.

Useful Information

The MMPI-2 questions will assess an individuals symptoms and how they view themselves in the context of behavioral and mental issues. Considering the number of questions required to be answered, there might be a tendency for the examinee to lie or fake a condition. The test validity scales are sensitive to these instances. The examiner can identify when a patient is lying, being defensive, or making their condition seem worse or better. The MMPI-2 is a self-report instrument, and the test administrator is not required to explain to the examinee or interpret the meaning of items for the examinee. A shorter version of the test is abbreviated, consisting of 370 items. The shorter version is mainly used in time-critical circumstances like illness or time pressure, and the scores are less extensive. The…