WAIS Verbal Subtests: Historical Overview

Historical context: The wording and examples below retain the substance of the original FreeIQTest.info page. They describe an older verbal/performance framework and are not a current WAIS-5 subtest list. FreeIQTest.info is not an official WAIS assessment.

WAIS IQ Test | Information - General information (e.g., Who is president of USA?)

WAIS IQ Test | Comprehension - Understanding of abstract social conventions, rules and expressions (e.g., Does "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" refer to animal husbandry or opportunity cost?)

WAIS IQ Test | Arithmetic - Ability to perform mental arithmetic (e.g., What's the change from $18 if you buy two cups of tea for $3.55 each?)

WAIS IQ Test | Similarities - Fluency with abstract verbal reasoning (e.g., Dog is to cat as bird is to '?')

WAIS IQ Test | Vocabulary - Extent of word knowledge (e.g., What is a lute?)

WAIS IQ Test | Digit span - Attention and concentration (e.g., given the sequence of digits '34532', reverse the sequence.)

WAIS IQ Test | Letter-Number Sequencing - Attention and working memory (e.g. Starting with the sequence J3G4L1 put the numbers and letters in numerical and alphabetical order respectively)

Modern Wechsler editions have revised tasks and index frameworks, so this page is best read as part of the history of the WAIS.

See also the historical performance subtests and the WAIS overview.