The Structure of Nonverbal Intelligence in Deaf and Hearing Subjects

Factors extracted from the normative samples of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Performance Scale (WISC PS; Wechsler, 1949), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised Performance Scale (WISC-R PS; Wechsler, 1974) and Hiskey Nebraska Test of Learning Aptitude (HNTLA; Hiskey, 1966) are compared to factors emerging from deaf normative samples on these nonverbal intelligence tests (WISC N = 300; WISC-R N = 1,228; HNTLA N = 550, N = 529). All data sets yield a first principal factor which is virtually identical (r_c ≥ .986) for deaf and hearing samples. The similarity of first principal factors supports arguments that deaf and hearing people do not exhibit major qualitative differences in nonverbal intellectual structure, and contradicts suggestions that mental abilities develop more independently in deaf children than in hearing children.