Convergent Validity of a Quick Online Self-Administered Measure of Verbal IQ for Psychology Researchers

Verbal intelligence—which relates to memory performance, abstract reasoning, and g—is often important to account for within psychological research. However, the time demands and financial costs associated with researcher-administered testing using valid measures of intelligence limit researchers’ ability to include such measures within their research. To address this issue, we examined the convergent validity of two tests of verbal intelligence that could be self-administered online with the well-validated Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence–Second Edition (WASI-II). An undergraduate sample of participants (N = 104) completed the Self-Administered Verbal IQ Test (SA-VIQT), with a subsection (n = 64) completing the Self-Administered Full Scale IQ Test (SA-FSIQT), both made available online by Open-Source Psychometrics Project. Additionally, all participants were administered the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) of WASI-II by a trained researcher, with a subsection administered the full WASI-II including the Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) (n = 72). Both online tests demonstrated convergent validity with the WASI-II. While the online tests may only deliver a crude indicator of verbal intelligence, they provide researchers the opportunity for statistical control or screening of participants across large samples in an efficient manner not possible when using researcher-administered testing methods.