Wechsler memory

scale

HARISH R M.Sc. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

INTRODUCTION
The Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition ((India Adaptation) (WMS-III)
is an individually administered battery of learning, memory, and
working memory measures. The test is comprised of 11 subtests, with 6
primary subtests and 5 optional subtests.
The primary subtests can be administered by trained examiners in
about 30-35 minutes.
The WMS-IIIIND is intended for use with older adolescents and adults,
ages 16-50 years.
• Dysfunction of memory and attention is commonly
reported in individuals diagnosed with a wide range of
neurological, psychiatric, and developmental disorders.
• The WMS-IIIND provides a detailed assessment of
clinically relevant aspects of memory functioning,
allowing the clinician to estimate the level and pattern
of memory functioning.
• In rehabilitation settings, the WMS-IITND is useful for
determining domains of spared memory capacity that
may be recruited to compensate for impaired abilities in
other cognitive domains.
HISTORY
• The Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) was first published
in 1945 by The Psychological Corporation and has
undergone several revisions to reflect evolving theories
about memory. The current version is the fourth edition
(WMS-IV), published in 2009.
The origins of the scale can be traced back to 1917
, when David Wechsler published a paper based on his
master’s thesis at Columbia University titled "A Study of
Retention in Korsakoff Psychosis.
Organization of the Scale

• The WMS-I[ND contains a total of ll subtests: 7 subtests retained from

the WMS-R and 4 new subtests-Faces, Family Pictures, Word Lists,
and Letter Number Sequencing. Many of the subtests are separated
into two conditions: the immediate condition (I) and the delayed
condition (I), which is administered about 25-35 minutes after the
immediate condition.
Description of the WMS-III
Subtests
Information and Orientation

• A series of autobiographical, historical, and current information

questions that serve as a general screening device, allowing the
clinician to detect significant disorientation. Information that may
affect test results (e.g., hearing difficulty) is also requested. The
questions are orally presented to the examinee, who responds orally.
Logical Memory
• Two short stories are orally presented. The second
story is presented twice. The examinee is asked to
retell the stories from memory.
• The examinee is asked to retell both stories from the
immediate condition. Then the examinee is also asked
yes/no questions about both stories.
Faces
• A series of 24 photographs of faces is presented visually, and
the examinee is told to remember each face. The examinee is
then presented with a second series of 48 faces and asked to
identify the faces he or she was asked to remember.
• The examinee is presented 48 photographs of faces and
asked to identify the faces he or she was asked to remember
earlier.
Verbal Paired Associates
• An orally presented task requiring the examinee to learn novel word
associations. After 8 word pairs are read, the first word of each pair is
then given, and the examinee is asked to provide the corresponding
word. There are 4 trials of the same list in different orders.
• The examinee is orally presented with the first word of each pair
learned in the immediate condition and asked to provide the
corresponding word. The examinee is then read a list of 24 word pairs
and asked to identify each as either one of the word pairs he or she
was asked to remember or a new word pair.
Family Pictures
• The examinee is then asked to recall information such
as who was in each scene, where they were, and what
they were doing.
• The delayed condition is identical to the immediate
condition, except that the scenes are not shown
again.
Word Lists
• A list of 12 semantically unrelated words is orally presented, and the
examinee is asked to recall as many words as he or she can. This
process is repeated over 4 learning trials. A new 12-word list is
presented with the same procedures as before. The examinee is then
asked to recall as many words from the first list as he or she can.
• The examinee is asked to recall the first list learned in the immediate
condition. Then the examinee is read 24 words and asked to indicate
if each word was on the first lies.
Visual Reproduction
• A series of 5 designs is shown, one at a time, for 10 seconds each.
After each design is presented, the examinee is asked to draw the
design from memory.
• Numerous tasks make up the delayed condition. First. the examinee is
asked to draw the designs learned in the immediate condition from
memory in any order. Second, the examinee is shown a series of 48
designs, one at a time, and asked to identify the designs he or she
learned in the immediate condition. Third, the examinee is asked to
draw the designs while looking at them. Fourth, the examinee is asked
to choose which of 6 designs on a page matches the target design at
the top of the page.
Letter-Number Sequencing
• A string of alternating letters and numbers is
presented, and the examinee is asked to repeat the
string by putting the numbers together in ascending
order and the letters together in alphabetical order.
The length of the string is gradually increased.
Spatial Span
• A series of spatial patterns is visually presented on a three
dimensional board. For the first task, the examiner points to
a series of blocks at a rate of one block per second, and the
examinee then points to the same blocks in the same order.
For the second task, the examiner points to a series of
blocks, and the examinee points to the same blocks but in
the reverse order.
Mental Control
• The examinee performs overlearned tasks such as
saying the alphabet as well as novel multi-skill tasks
such as alternating between saying the days of the
week and counting by sixes.
Digit Span
• The examiner reads a series of digits and asks
the examinee to say the digits in the same order.
Next, the examiner reads a series of digits and
asks the examinee to say them in the reverse
order.
Specific clinical uses of the WMS-
IIIND may include:
• diagnosis and identification of memory impairment
• early identification of dementias and degenerative conditions
• quantification of memory impairment
• profiling of spared and impaired memory functions
• evaluation of encoding vs. retrieval deficits evaluation of modality-specific
memory (e.g., auditory vs. visual)
• measurement of the efficacy of treatment interventions (e.g.,
pharmacological treatment, surgery, cognitive rehabilitation)
• description of the qualitative aspects of memory functioning
• objective monitoring of disease course (e.g., deterioration, recovery)
• identification of relative strengths and weaknesses for treatment planning