THE WORD‐IN‐CONTEXT: A NEW TYPE OF VERBAL REASONING TEST
J. M. Cook, A. W. Heim, KATHLEEN P. WATTS · British Journal of Psychology · 1963
A description is given of a new test of verbal reasoning which is used in a small‐scale experiment. The novelty of the test derives from its ‘real life’ material, its appraisal of induction as well as deduction and its provision for the objective scoring of different degrees of correctness. In addition to the subject's final solution to each problem, the test provides evidence of how this decision is reached. The experimental results suggest ( a ) that the Word‐in‐context does effect discrimination among intelligent young adults, ( b ) that the cognitive qualities on which it discriminates are not the usual qualities assessed by cognitive tests, ( c ) that it is possible to produce an objectively scorable test in which arts students do as well as science students, ( d ) that what is tested, though strongly verbal in bias, is not vocabulary strength. It is hoped that the test may prove useful for purposes of high‐grade selection, as an indicator of certain aspects of personality and for the study of concept‐formation and other thought processes.