Developing TONI (Test of Nonverbal Intelligence) 4 norms for a Sri Lankan population

Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Research in Social Sciences

Year: 2019

DOI:

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Developing TONI (Test of Nonverbal Intelligence) 4 norms for a Sri Lankan population

Sunali Govipalgoda

ABSTRACT: 

Defining and measuring human intelligence has been a topic of much scientific contention over the years (Sternberg, 1985). In order to measure it, g factor constructs such as problem solving, logical and critical reasoning are used, and differential psychology has settled on IQ (Intelligent Quotient) tests as the best means of testing intelligence but for the purposes of testing intelligence in different cultural settings, nonverbal tests are most effective (McGrew, et al., 1997; Richardson, 2002). Research on IQ levels in Sri Lanka is sparse and current tests involve using existing norms that are not representative of a population such as Sri Lanka due to in built cultural, environmental and socioeconomic factors ((Vyshedskiy et al., 2017). This study sets out to devise norms for a nonverbal test for a Sri Lankan population and enable the use of an IQ test which can render accurate test scores for a Sri Lankan population which is a huge void in Sri Lanka currently. The TONI 4 (Test of Nonverbal Intelligence) was selected for its high level of standardized psychometric properties and is specifically designed to reduce cultural bias but while the test itself is very useful for different cultures, the current US norms were devised on a representative sample of US population demographics and may not be representative of a Sri Lankan population (Brown et al., 2010).

Keywords: IQ Test, Norm development, Intelligence, Culturally relevant tests.