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JEROME M. SATTLER, PUBLISHER, INC.
P.O. Box 1060, La Mesa, CA 91944-1060, USA

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PREFACE

ASSESSMENT with the WAIS–IV

Jerome M. Sattler and Joseph J. Ryan
Copyright 2009, 321 pages
Hardbound, 8.5 x 11
ISBN 978-0-9702671-7-7
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Assessment with the WAIS–IV is designed as both a teaching text and a reference source for students and professionals. The text provides an in-depth analysis of a major instrument useful for the cognitive assessment of older adolescents and adults. Some notable features of the text include the following:

1. A chapter covering general guidelines for administering tests

2. A thorough discussion of the psychometric properties of the WAIS–IV

3. An in-depth presentation of each WAIS–IV subtest, including a description,
    rationale, factor analytic findings, reliability and correlational highlights,
    administrative guidelines, and interpretive suggestions

4. The reliability, validity, and estimated Full Scale IQs associated with over 70
    short-form combinations

5. Guidelines for interpreting the four individual WAIS–IV scales and the
    WAIS–IV Full Scale

6. Tables for comparing the WAIS–IV General Ability Index (GAI) with the
    Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI)

7. Forms for administering Coding—Incidental Learning and Coding—Copy

8. A form for recording psychological and physical difficulties observed during test
    administration and a parallel table explaining each psychological and physical
    difficulty that appears on the form

9. Instructions for administering the subtests on the Perceptual Reasoning Scale
    (except for Figure Weights) and the Processing Speed Scale in pantomime to
    individuals with a hearing impairment

10. Guidelines for using an interpreter

11. A chapter covering aging and cognitive ability, including a description of the
      major forms of dementia

12. Appendixes with confidence intervals, guidelines for interpreting WAIS–IV
      subtests and scales, relevant Cattell-Horn-Carroll abilities associated with
      each subtest and scale, and much more

This edition contains several learning aids. These include

  • A list of major headings, together with goals and objectives, at the beginning of each chapter

  • A “Thinking Through the Issues” section; a summary of each major topic; a list of key terms, concepts, and names, each linked to the page on which it appears; and a series of study questions at the end of each chapter

  • Detailed guidelines for administering each WAIS–IV subtest covering background considerations, starting considerations, reverse sequence considerations, discontinue considerations, scoring guidelines, and completion of the Record Form, as well as a checklist for recording whether each guideline was observed

  • Report writing principles

  • A glossary of major terms related to dementia

Edwin G. Boring said, “Intelligence is whatever intelligence tests measure.” Although this comment may have been facetious, it strikes a chord in the text authors. We wonder, Does the revised structure of the WAIS–IV gives a more valid picture of the nature of intelligence than the former edition? The new edition will, of course, need to be investigated more extensively before a final judgment can be made about its value as a cognitive assessment instrument. Our field needs to study, in particular, how the three subtests new to this edition (Visual Puzzles, Figure Weights, and Cancellation) contribute to our understanding of the cognitive functioning of both older adolescents and adults.

Note to instructors: An Instructor’s Manual with multiple-choice questions, written by Jerome M. Sattler and Joseph J. Ryan, accompanies Assessment with the WAIS–IV. PowerPoint™ presentations highlighting the main points of each chapter are also available, prepared by Gina T. Mercer, Joseph J. Ryan, and Jerome M. Sattler.

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