Date of Award

Summer 2014

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

First Advisor

Tony R. Young

Abstract

Throughout the history of intellectual assessment, research involving individuals who are blind has often been scarce. Currently, there are no intellectual assessment procedures based on the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of intelligence available to individuals who are blind. CHC theory is considered to be the gold standard of intellectual assessment and many government and diagnostic policies rely upon CHC theory. The proposed research sought to extend the current reach of CHC theory to individuals who are blind by developing a new measure of tactile performance ability. The Tactile Assessment of Performance (TAP) was developed and administered to participants who were blind and participants who were sighted. A total of 64 participants completed the research procedure, 32 participants who were sighted and 32 participants who were blind. A modified multitrait-multimethod design was employed. Most of the TAP subtests correlated positively with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV), which is a widely used and accepted measure of intellectual functioning. The subtests of the TAP failed to correlate with measures of achievement striving and conscientiousness, which is indicative of discriminant validity. Results suggest the TAP is capturing aspects of CHC abilities and may prove useful as a measure of intelligence in individuals who are blind.

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