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Since its introduction in 1939, David Wechsler's Bellevue Intelligence Scale has established itself as a definitive intelligence test for adults. The first three editions of The Measurement of Adult Intelligence served both as a test manual for the Bellevue Scale and a general treatise on intelligence. The introduction of a major revision in the Wechsler-Bellevue Test, now called the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), provides the occasion for the fourth edition. The improved standardization of the WAIS together with the presentation of new population norms make it an even more useful test than its older version. The fourth edition of Wechsler's accompanying text, entitled The Measurement and Appraisal of Adult Intelligence, is considerably revised in the presentation, arrangement, and quantity of data gathered with the author's tests.
A principal change in the text is the omission of the test and scoring instructions, and IQ tables, and their inclusion in a separate manual that accompanies the test equipment. Wechsler has substantially revised or added to most of the chapters and has added five new chapters: 8, Factorial Composition of the Wechsler-Bellevue I and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales; 9, Changes in Intelligence and Intellectual Ability with Age; 10, Sex Differences in Intelligence; 13, Changes in Intelligence Consequent to Brain Damage; and 14, Utilization of W-B I and WAIS in Counseling and Guidance. Readers interested in research in cognition will find the chapters on Factorial Composition and Sex Differences particularly interesting.
In a major revision of a book, the reader expects the author to take notice of new relevant data and novel views of his topic even if they tend to contradict the author's own interpretations. Here lies the glaring omission in Wechsler's current text. His ideas about intelligence, tightly tied to Spearman's, remain essentially unrevised. The author is certainly entitled to his commitment. His steadfastne