Psychometric Network Analysis of the Hungarian WAIS

J. Intell. 2019, 7, 21; doi:10.3390/jintelligence7030021

Christopher J. Schmank, Sara Anne Goring, Kristof Kovacs and Andrew R. A. Conway

Received: 1 June 2019; Accepted: 24 August 2019; Published: 9 September 2019

Abstract: The positive manifold—the finding that cognitive ability measures demonstrate positive correlations with one another—has led to models of intelligence that include a general cognitive ability or general intelligence (g). This view has been reinforced using factor analysis and reflective, higher-order latent variable models. However, a new theory of intelligence, Process Overlap Theory (POT), posits that g is not a psychological attribute but an index of cognitive abilities that results from an interconnected network of cognitive processes. These competing theories of intelligence are compared using two different statistical modeling techniques: (a) latent variable modeling and (b) psychometric network analysis. Network models display partial correlations between pairs of observed variables that demonstrate direct relationships among observations. Secondary data analysis was conducted using the Hungarian Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Fourth Edition (H-WAIS-IV). The underlying structure of the H-WAIS-IV was first assessed using confirmatory factor analysis assuming a reflective, higher-order model and then reanalyzed using psychometric network analysis. The compatibility (or lack thereof) of these theoretical accounts of intelligence with the data are discussed.

Keywords: intelligence; Process Overlap Theory; psychometric network analysis; latent variable modeling; statistical modeling

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