Abstract
High intercorrelations among the six subtests of the Pictorial Test of Intelligence (PTI) raise questions regarding the construct validity of the instrument. An analysis of past research, through an examination of convergent and discriminant validity using a multitrait-multimethod design to compare PTI subtests and subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, failed to provide evidence for the adequacy of PTI subtests as measures of discrete mental functions. On this basis, it was hypothesized that a single factor could be found to account for the variation in PTI subtest scores. Forty- two male and forty-eight female kindergarten and second grade public school children were tested and retested on the PTI. A factor analysis was performed using the common factor model to test the hypothesis. A single factor with stable factor loadings emerged on both test and retest, providing support that a general factor of intelligence may be tapped by the PTI, and that individual subtests do not assess discrete mental functions.
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