Instrument reference
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (current edition: WAIS-5) (WAIS)
Proprietary · qualified users only Edition and publisher located; evidence not summarised
- Construct measured
- General intellectual ability and index-level cognitive abilities in adults.
- Category
- Personality and cognitive assessment
- Intended population
- Adolescents and adults across the age range specified by the publisher; separate scales exist for children (WISC) and preschoolers (WPPSI).
- Number of items
- Not reproduced. Subtests and composition differ between editions.
- Administration format
- Individually administered by a trained, qualified examiner using standardised procedures.
- Scoring approach
- Requires the publisher's norms and scoring materials, which are proprietary.
- Language and population validation
- Norms are population-specific. Using US norms with Indian examinees raises serious validity questions; check for Indian adaptations and norms.
Reliability and validity evidence
- The textbook discusses the WAIS-III and WISC-IV, which were current in 2005; both have since been superseded. Consult the publisher's technical manual for the current edition's evidence.
Interpretation cautions
- Restricted test: items, stimuli and norms must never be shared or reproduced.
- IQ scores are influenced by education, language, culture and testing conditions.
- Interpretation should focus on patterns and confidence intervals, not a single number.
Copyright and licence
Proprietary · qualified users only
Commercially published by Pearson and restricted to qualified users.
Commercially published and restricted to appropriately qualified professionals. Items, stimuli, norms and scoring materials must not be copied or shared.
Official source
Pearson — WAIS-5 (opens in a new tab)
Rights and evidence last verified: 2026-10-19.