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Experiment 1

Bhatia's Battery of Performance Test of Intelligence

Nimisha R Kumar

2030368

4PSEng

Department of Psychology

PSY451-Psychological Experiments and Statistics-II

Dr. Janis

3rd April 2022

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Bhatia's Battery of Performance Test of Intelligence

Introduction

In the vast subject of psychology, a person’s intelligence is one that has been studied

extensively by many over the years. People over the years have tried to define intelligence in

various ways by eminent psychologists like W Stern (1914) who said “Intelligence is the ability

to adjust oneself to a new situation.”, and Feldman (2011) “Intelligence is the capacity to

understand the world, thinking rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with

challenges.”

One of the first studies of intelligence looked at measuring the size and shape of the head.

This was as now is understood, a highly inaccurate measure of intelligence and thus we moved

on from this idea up until the late 1800s when Sir Francis Galton put forward the idea of

intelligence. He was one of the first people who suggested that intelligence could be quantified

and measured in an objective manner.

Just a few years later in 1905, Alfred Binet came up with a standard intelligence test to

identify whether students in educational institutions were able to cope with the school

curriculum. (Santrock, 2014) His tests followed from a simple premise: If performance on

certain tasks or test items improved with chronological, or physical, age, performance could be

used to distinguish more intelligent people from less intelligent ones within a particular age

group. (Berger, 2005)

Intelligence tests went on to diversify on the basis of their administration. They are

classified into individual and group intelligence tests. Individual tests include the Koh’s block
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test, Pass along test, and the picture construction test whilst the group tests include the Army

Alpha and Beta tests. (Coolican, 2014)

One of the major Indians who took to utilizing individual intelligence tests on Indians

was Chandra Mohan Bhatia, former director of Uttar Pradesh Mano Vigyanshala in 1955. He

used five subsets of tests for around 4 years in different villages and cities across the country.

The tests involved were Koh’s Block Design test, Pass along test, Pattern drawing test,

Immediate Memory test, and the Picture construction test. (Barnabas, 1994) The overall test was

found to be around 0.67 to 0.82 correlated to other intelligence tests. Therefore, the credibility of

the test was considerably high and hence was accepted by major psychologists in India but it did

meet with its fair share of criticisms.

The Bhatia test has norms only between 69 to 131 IQ points, which it is standardized

only on boys who are between the ages of 11 to 16. There is also the issue of the separation of

norms between literate and illiterate individuals. Even the concept of differences in age, position,

and status was given thought because they were major concerns brought up by Roopesh (2020).

Method

Aim

To assess the intelligence of the subject by administering Bhatia’s Battery of Performance

Test of Intelligence.

Plan

To administer each sub-test according to the instructions, to score the performance and to

convert the raw score into I.Q

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Materials

1. Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Test of Intelligence

2. Answer Sheet/Data Sheet

3. Instruction Manual with Norms

4. Stop Clock

5. Writing Materials

Procedure

Subject details

Name: PS

Age: 19

Gender: F

Education: Undergraduate student pursuing a degree in BA

Setting up and arrangement

The participant is seated comfortably and rapport is established. Before conducting, the

assessment kindly checks that the tools are arranged in the correct sequence. All tests should

follow the same pattern as instructed in the manual. It is ensured that the testing environment is

free from distractions and adequate lighting is provided. After the detailed instructions and

queries, if any, the participant is asked to start the test. Kindly check with the participant that the

instructions are clear about the tests.

Process
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1. Koh’s Block Design Test

Make the subject sit comfortably and build a rapport. From the ten different designs, the

first card and four cubes are placed before the subject. The subject is given a chance to touch and

examine the cubes. All the cubes are alike, with four sides having single colors – blue, yellow,

red, and white. The fifth side is painted half blue and half yellow and the sixth side, half red and

half white. Demonstrate how the first design is made. Once the instructions are clear, jumble the

blocks to begin the test. Give the ‘start’ signal to the subject as you start the stopwatch to

monitor the time. Within the allotted two minutes, note down the total time taken by the subject

to complete the task. Continue with the rest of the designs in a similar way and note down the

time for each task.

Design Number: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10

Number of Cubes given: 04 04 04 04 04 09 09 16 16 16

Time Allotted (in minutes): 02 02 02 02 02 03 03 03 03 03

If the subject fails to complete a particular task, the experimenter demonstrates it. The subject

cannot make another attempt at the failed task but can go to the next task. The test is stopped

once the subject fails twice in succession.

2. Alexander’s Pass along Test

With different patterns of blue and red blocks there are eight cards in this test. The experimenter

demonstrates with the first design. He shows how to bring the blue blocks to the blue end and red

blocks to the red end by sliding them and not lifting any of the block. After the demonstration,
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the blue blocks are placed at the red end and red blocks at the blue end. The subject is given a

‘start’ signal and the stop clock is started simultaneously. A total of 2 minutes is allotted to

complete the task; if the subject completes the task within two minutes, note down the exact time

taken to complete the task. Same procedure is followed for each of the designs. The exact time

allotted for each task is given in the below table.

Design Number 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Time Allotted (in minutes) 02 02 02 03 03 03 03 03

If the subject fails in any particular task, demonstrate the correct way of sliding the blocks but

the subject cannot make another attempt. When the subject score records tally to two consecutive

failures, stop the experiment.

3. Pattern Drawing Test

There are eight geometrical patterns of increasing difficulty. The first card is given to the subject

and he is asked to draw the geometrical pattern without lifting the pencil or over-drawing. After

the first design is demonstrated with clear instructions, the ‘start’ signal is given to the subject to

complete the task within two minutes. Similarly the subject expected to complete the remaining

tasks. The total time allotted for each task is mentioned in the table.

Pattern Number 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08

Time Allotted (in minutes) 02 02 02 02 03 03 03 03

Like in the previous tests, if the subject fails, the experimenter demonstrates the solution but the

subject is not allowed to retry. Stop the experiment after two continuous failures.
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4. Immediate Memory Test

There are two sub-tests.

a). Direct Order. Here, the experimenter reads units of three digits and the subject is asked to

repeat the digits orally in the same order. The digits range from three to nine with each span

consisting of three units. Stop the test if the subject fails in all the three units of a span. Consider

the successful recall of units by the subject as a score.

b). Reverse Order. The same procedure like in the previous task is followed. But the subject has

to recall the digits in reverse order here. There, the span of digits vary from three to six with

three units in each of them. If the subject fails in all three units of a particular span, the subtest is

stopped.

5. Picture Construction Test

There are five subtests here. Each sub-test has different cut parts of a picture placed in front of

the subject. He has to rearrange to form a complete picture. The first task is demonstrated by the

experimenter. Once the instructions are clear, the subject starts with a ‘start’ signal. The time is

checked simultaneously with the help of a stopwatch. The exact time taken is noted down if the

subject completes the task within two minutes. The time for each subtest is given in the table

below.

Pattern Number 01 02 03 04 05

Number of Parts (bits) 02 04 06 08 12

Time Allotted (in minutes) 02 02 02 03 03

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Instructions

Koh’s Block Design Test

“With these given identical blocks, make the same design as shown in the card. Start when I give

you the start signal and work as fast as possible”.

Alexander’s Pass-along Test

“In this box you can notice the blue blocks placed near the red end and red blocks near the blue

end. When I give you the start signal, you have to bring the blue blocks to the blue end and red

blocks to the red end. You have to slide the blocks to complete the task, and cannot lift any of the

blocks. Work as quickly as possible”.

Pattern Drawing Test

“Carefully look at this pattern. You are expected to draw this pattern without lifting the pen from

the paper or retracing. Work quickly. You can make any number of attempts within the allotted

time”.

Immediate Memory Test

Direct. “I will read out a set of three digits. Reproduce it orally in the same order, immediately.

For example, if I say 7-2-5, you have to repeat 7-2-5”.

Reverse. “Again I will read out a set of three digits. Reproduce it orally in the reverse order. For

example, if I say 4-9-7, you have to say 7-9-4”.

Debriefing
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Thank you for your participation in this experiment. Your data will be kept confidential

and will only be used for academic purposes. If you have any further queries regarding the

experiment, you can ask.

Controls/Precautions & Ethical Considerations

● To ensure that the subject has a clear understanding of the instructions.

● The environment is to be kept calm, quiet, and conducive to the experiment.

● The participant is debriefed after the experiment.

Result and Discussion

Table 1

Test 1: Koh’s Block Design Test

Trials No. of Blocks Maximum Time taken by Marks based on

Time Limit the subject time

(mins) (mins)

1 4 2 0.06 2

2 4 2 0.1 2

3 4 2 0.23 2

4 4 2 0.18 2

5 9 2 0.1 2

6 9 3 0.53 3
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7 9 3 1.08 2

8 16 3 0.83 2

9 16 3 1.33 3

10 16 3 1 2

Table 2

Test 2: Pass along test

Design no. Blocks Maximum Time taken by Marks based on

Time Limit the subject time

(mins) (mins)

1 As per design 2 0.4 2

2 As per design 2 0.55 2

3 As per design 2 1.16 2

4 As per design 2 - -

5 As per design 3 0.96 3

6 As per design 3 - -

7 As per design 4 - -
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Table 3

Test 3: Pattern Drawing Test

Design No. Blocks Maximum Time taken by Marks based on

Time limit the subject time

(mins) (mins)

1 As per design 2 0.05 2

2 As per design 2 0.06 2

3 As per design 2 0.08 2

4 As per design 2 0.11 2

5 As per design 2 1.11 2

6 As per design 3 - -

7 As per design 3 0.35 3

8 As per design 3 - -

Table 4

Test 4: Immediate Memory Test

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Memory Span

Direct 8

Reverse 6

Table 5

Test 5: Picture completion Test

Design No. Parts Maximum Time taken by Marks based on

Time limits the subject time

(mins) (mins)

1 2 2 0.05 2

2 4 2 0.11 2

3 6 2 0.21 2

4 8 3 1.21 3

5 12 3 3 2

Table 6:

Total score (All five tests)

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Tests Raw score

1 20

2 9

3 13

4 14

5 11

Total Raw Score 67

Table 7

IQ Calculating using the table

Subject Raw score ID Level

PS 67 118 (Bright Normal)

Discussion

The Bhatia Intelligence test was conducted on a 19-year-old female student pursuing an

undergraduate degree. Prior to the administration of the test, the participant was briefed about the

experiment and they provided consent for the same. Their test scores for each individual test
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were recorded and the raw scores of all tests were found to be 20, 9, 13, 14, and 11 whose total

was found to be 65 out of a total of 95.

Correlating the score of 65 to the conversion tables of raw scores to IQ scores in

correspondence to their age. This score was found to be 118 which is interpreted to be the level

of “Bright normal”.

There was a significant difference noted in the consistency of the scores of the five

conducted tests. The participant seemed to have performed excellently in the Block Design and

the Immediate Memory tests in comparison to the others. The participant showed a consistent

and steady time taken for most experiments but failed to complete a task in between and got back

on track on the next one. Once they understood the concept of the advanced leveled trials, they

were able to successfully accomplish the task.

Conclusion

Based on the observations and interpretations of the test results, the test was successfully

conducted on the subject and their raw score total came out to be 67 which was interpreted to be

an IQ of 118. This ID level is identified to correlate to a tag of “Brightly normal”

Introspective report

“I think the test went pretty well but I did miss finishing a few tasks in between as I

couldn’t grasp the concept of the tests coherently when the difficulty level increased.”
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References

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PsychologistAnywhereAnytime.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022, from

https://www.psychologistanywhereanytime.com/famous_psychologist_and_psychologists

/psychologist_famous_alfred_binet.htm

Bhatia, C. M. (1955). Performance tests of intelligence under Indian conditions. Oxford

University Press, London.

Coolican, H. (2014). Research methods and statistics in psychology, Sixth edition (6th

ed.). Taylor and Francis.

Feldman, S.Robert (2011). Understanding Psychology Edition 11th, Tata McGraw-Hill,

New Delhi, pp. 280.

Maud A. Merrill (1938). I.Q.’s on the revised Stanford-Binet Scale’. Journal of

Educational Psychology 29, pp.641-651.

Roopesh, B. N. (2020). Bhatia S battery of performance ... - Indian mental health.

Bhatia’s Battery of Performance Tests of Intelligence: A Critical Appraisal. Retrieved

April 2, 2022, from

https://indianmentalhealth.com/pdf/2020/vol7-issue4/5-Review-Article_Bhatia-Battery.p

df

Santrock, W.John, Educational Psychology, Edition 4th, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi,

pp.146.