RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WAIS-R VOCABULARY AND PERFORMANCE ON THE CALIFORNIA VERBAL-LEARNING TEST

Eighty-two normal subjects, aged 16 to 95, were administered the Calif ornia Verbal Learning Test, and the WAIS-R Vocabulary subtest. A set o f hierarchical multiple regression equations (with age entered on the first step and Vocabulary on the second step) were calculated for CVLT performance variables. Significant incremental gains in R(2) (p<.01) were found between Vocabulary scores and most CVLT recall variables. E ducation, in spite of having a significant correlation with Vocabulary , was a poor predictor of CVLT performance. Results indicated that age and Vocabulary together accounted for up to 31% of the variance in se lect CVLT performance variables; Vocabulary alone accounted for up to 13% of additional variance in select CVLT scores beyond the effects of age. Norms based on vocabulary scores or a similar estimate of verbal IQ may increase this test's sensitivity.