Identification of a Social Cognition Construct for the WAIS-III

Abstract

Recent studies of autism and schizophrenia examining the factor structure of the subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised have identified a factor that is thought to assess social cognitive (SC) processes or social context. The objective of the current study was to determine whether a similar factor could be identified using confirmatory factor analysis of the 14 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition (WAIS-III) subtests in the standardization sample. A five-factor model that included an SC factor along with verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and processing speed factors provided the best fit of the data. The SC factor was composed of the Picture Arrangement, Picture Completion, and Object Assembly subtests when all 14 WAIS-III subtests were included. These results provide support for the construct validity of SC factors measured by the WAIS-III in the standardization sample, although additional research is necessary to determine its stability across age groups and clinical populations, as well as its sensitivity to various forms of brain dysfunction.

Key words:

• confirmatory factor analysis
• social cognition
• standardization sample
• WAIS-III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to acknowledge the assistance of Amy Rusinoski in creating the figures for this paper.

Notes

Note. g = general intelligence; V = Verbal Ability; P = Performance Ability; VC = Verbal Comprehension; PO = Perceptual Organization; WM = Working Memory; PS = Processing Speed; SC = Social Cognition.

¹Subtests included in the 11-subtest combination.

²These models could not be tested in the 11-subtest combination.

^a Chi-square for independence model = 15054.59; df = 55; n = 2450.

^b Chi-square for independence model = 20438.27; df = 91; n = 2450.

Note. Percentage of extracted variance explained by g = 81%. Percentage of extracted variance explained by all residualized first-order factors combined = 19%.

¹It is important to note that the inter-individual differences that allow for the identification of factors such as SC do not provide compelling evidence that such constructs are in fact species-typical modules (e.g., compare Kanazawa, 2004, and Borsboom & Dolan, 2006). Thus, whether social cognition is in fact a species-typical module remains to be seen.