The WAIS test is a type of Intelligence Quotient assessment that was originally designed by Dr. David Wechsler (PhD) in 1955 as an improvement to the 1939 Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale ( Matarazzo, Carmody & Jacobs, 2008) . The fourth edition of the WAIS test was released by Pearson in 2008 and has become the most used IQ test worldwide for adults and adolescents (Calamia, Markon & Tranel, 2013)). The WAIS-IV test measures the general aptitude and perceptive ability in adults. The WAIS-IV test encompasses ten core subjects that produce the scaled scores which aggregate to the full IQ score. The ten core subjects are divided into four major index scores which include Perceptual Reasoning Index, Processing Speed Index, Verbal Comprehension Index, and Working Memory Index.
The Verbal Comprehension Index is used to evaluate an individual’s ability to identify similarities between words and concepts, their degree of understanding of general information in the domain of their society, and their acumen in defining images and words presented to them. The Perceptual Reasoning Index on the other hand is intended to measure the visual three-dimensional processing of a person and his problem-solving abilities through measuring their ability to solve a block design puzzle under time pressure; nonverbal intellectual problem solving and inductive reasoning through solving a matrix with a missing piece; and visual spatial reasoning through solving a visual puzzle using three pieces from a bunch of many ( Matarazzo et al., 2008) . The Working Memory Index tests binary core subjects: digit span and arithmetic. The digit span subject aims to assess an individual’s capability to encode, pay attention, and process auditory data by repeating a number sequence as heard, in ascending order, and in reverse order. The arithmetic component uses oral math word problems to assess the quantitative reasoning ability of the person. The last index, Processing Speed Index, only tests one core subject which is coding through administration of a transcription of a digit-symbol code task. The test takes between one hour and 90 minutes to be completed especially for assessment of core subjects only. A person who is subject to the test can either take it using pencil-and-paper or online on the test’s website Q-interactive platform. The individual will be required to give responses for the ten core subjects under which scores will be awarded based on speed and precision. Ultimately, two scores are used to determine the person’s IQ score, that is, Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) and General Ability Index (GAI) ( Matarazzo et al., 2008) . The FSIQ encompasses the total score out of the four indexes while the GAI focuses on the VCI and PRI only (Lichtenberger & Kaufman, 2012).
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The WAIS-IV test was standardized using a trial of 2,200 individuals in the United States within the ages of 16 and 90. Additionally, 688 people in Canada of the same age range were used to normalize the scale. Other demographics such as ethnicity and gender were not used for the norm scales since the emanating differences were accounted for in the measurement error range. The WAIS-IV scale consistency is relatively high considering the statistics of the test-retest reliabilities conducted in a period between 2 and 12 weeks. The test-retest reliabilities ranged from 0.70 to 0.90, while inter-score coefficients were above 0.90. According to Matarazzo et al., (2008) , six studies have reported the stability of eleven discrete subtests.
Justification for Choosing the WAIS-IV Test
The choice to discuss and evaluate the WAIS-IV test was based on two key things: the rampancy of misconceptions about intelligence, and the useful of the knowledge in individual career plans. There exist several misconceptions about human intelligence, which have mostly been circulated by different digital media outlets on the internet. However, the most common misconceptions are: intelligent people have a guarantee to be successful in life, a low IQ test score implies that a person is of average intellect, and that people with autism and other mental disorders are of low IQ. At a personal level, I wanted to clearly understand how human intelligence can be measured and how different scores can be interpreted and compare my findings with the common misconceptions, so as to nullify them. Based on my evaluation of WAIS-IV, I have acquired an understanding that there is a difference between general intelligence and actual intelligence; hence IQ tests such as WAIS-IV only assess general intelligence and the results obtained do not dictate the real intellect of a person. Additionally, an individual’s performance on the WAIS-IV IQ scale varies with the environment setting, thus their score might reduce or increase given different conditions of undertaking the test. Therefore, at the end of the evaluation I have been able to rubbish off all misconceptions about intelligence tests, and more so satisfied my intellect and desire to explore the topic.
The WAIS-IV test and its implications are important and relevant to my career plans. The most crucial component of this evaluation is the impact of intelligence performance in the advancement of my career. I have gained a deeper understanding that intelligence performance, which directly affects, the quality of work by a person is not influenced by how much intelligence a person has but how well they use it. The WAIS-IV test actually tests how well a person uses their intelligence and appreciates that the amount of intelligence owned by a person cannot be reliably measured ( Matarazzo et al., 2008) . Therefore, given my intelligence, my hard work in using it and effort in putting my cognitive abilities to solve tasks at my work place, complete duties on time, deliver quality work, and maintain consistency in delivering results; I will manage to receive commendations at my work place from my colleagues, bosses, and most importantly become the best in what I do. All these outcomes will coercively build a better career profile for myself, and make me marketable for leadership positions and more intellectually satisfying and rewarding jobs in the market.
The Biblical book of Romans 12:6 quotes, “possessing then gifts different according to the grace that is given unto us, whether divination, let us foreshadow according to the amount of faith.” The interpretation of his verse and its relevance to Christian professionals is intuitive and clear. Through general reasoning, the verse appreciates the differences in intelligence among human beings, and that the action put into it is what is of more importance than bearing either the highest or lowest IQ score. The verse is encouraging of hard work, and effort upon our human abilities to realize our goals as Christians. Finally, the book of Acts 4:13 quotes, “ 13 here and now as they detected the poise of Peter and John and comprehended that they were unschooled and unexperienced men, they were stunned, and began to identify them as having been with Jesus.” This verse also supports the latter discussion in the sense that regardless of Peter and John being uneducated they still made societal impact due to the effort they put on their actual intelligence.
References
Calamia, M., Markon, K., & Tranel, D. (2013). The robust reliability of neuropsychological measures: Meta-analyses of test-retest correlations. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 27 (7),1077-1105.
Matarazzo, J. D., Carmody, T. P., & Jacobs, L. D. (2008). Test-retest reliability and stability of the WAIS: A literature review with implications for clinical practice. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology , 2 (2), 89-105.
Lichtenberger, E. O., & Kaufman, A. S. (2012). Essentials of WAIS-IV assessment (Vol. 96). John Wiley & Sons.
