Principal components of the WAIS–R

A principal components analysis of the WAIS–R is reported, the results of which resemble closely those of previous analyses of the WAIS. A single component, labelled ‘general ability’, accounted for most of the variance in the subtests. It is argued that the second component (‘verbal‐spatial contrast’) should also be retained on both statistical and neuropsychological grounds. Varimax rotation yielded two orthogonal components, labelled ‘verbal–general: vg’ and ‘spatial–performance: sp’, respectively. Short forms of the WAIS–R are considered, and an example is given.