Measurement and Non-Measurement Influences of Test-Session Behavior on Individually Administered Measures of Intelligence

Two nested structural models were developed to determine whether test-session behaviors affect the manner in which intelligence is measured or whether their influence is related to the constructs being measured. Children’s test-session behaviors were assessed using the Guide to the Assessment of Test-Session Behaviors for the WISC-III and WIAT (GATSB; Glutting & Oakland, 1993) and intelligence was measured with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991). Model 1 investigated relationships between test-session behaviors and the WISC-III’s four-factor solution by first evaluating the underlying factor structure of the instruments. Thereafter, this measurement model served as a baseline against which alternative models were compared. The alternative models considered the influence of test-session behaviors on: (a) the subtests used to measure the WISC-III’s constructs of intelligence, and (b) the actual constructs of intelligence. Model 2 explored similar relationships by considering only the WISC-III’s Verbal and Performance dimensions. Results indicate that test-session behaviors play a larger role influencing the mechanisms through which intelligence is measured than on the actual constructs of intelligence. Implications are discussed for clinical practice.