Abstract
This study investigates Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ change in an institutionalized mentally retarded population. 402 individuals who had received two routine administrations of either the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children or the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and who ranged in age from 11 to 44 were included as subjects. They were divided into six groups (two WISC and four WAIS) and changes in scores were studied using a semi-longitudinal methodology. Contrary to the dominant view suggested by previous research, Full Scale IQ did not decrease with age. There were, in fact, slight increments, larger and more consistent in Performance than Verbal IQ. This differential change is discussed in terms of the Horn-Cattell theory of “fluid” and “crystallized” intelligence.

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