Brief Leiter International Performance Scale

Background

The Leiter International Performance Scale (LIPS) is a standardized test used to measure nonverbal intelligence. Instructions are mostly delivered non-verbally, making the test a critical tool for assessing individuals whose verbal abilities might otherwise mask their true cognitive potential.

The test is played with 5-8 wooden blocks with printed images on them that have to be sorted into respective slots on a wooden frame to continue a pattern (or according to some underlying yet undefined rule) suggested by a strip of images displayed on the wooden frame. The LIPS was originally developed by Russell Graydon Leiter, a psychologist who began work on the assessment in 1927.

Brief Leiter International Performance Scale

Leiter published the Brief Leiter International Performance Scale (B-LIBS) in 1936 to study intelligence in a cross-cultural context. The B-LIPS provides 18 subtests covering an 'age range' of 5 to 16.

The Millisecond computerized adaptation of the B-LIPS re-creates the wooden frames and blocks on the screen. The initial instructions are minimal but verbal and let participants know that objects need to me moved around on the screen with their fingers. In addition, some of the problems present a computerized hand moving the first block into its respective slot to give participants a general idea of what needs to be done. No further verbal instructions are given during the test administration.

Task Procedure

The test provides 18 subtests covering an 'age range' of 5 to 16. The test provides two subtests per age level 5-10 and one subtest per age levels 11 to 16. All participants work on all 18 subtests, earning 0.5 points for the correct completion of subtests on age levels 5-10 and 1 point for subtests on age levels 12-16. There is no time limit for any of the subtests. All participants start with a start age of 4.5.

Each subtest provides the 'wooden' frame with 5-8 slots (and showing an image strip) and the items that have to be sorted into the empty slots. The items can be moved with a mouse or - on touchscreens- with a finger or stylus pen. Errors can be corrected until the solution is submitted via a button press. The submit button only appears once all slots have been filled.

Age 5 Problems

1. Matching Forms The seven forms displayed on the image strip (wooden frame) and the seven forms on the sorting blocks are identical. The participant is expected to place like forms together. The first match is completed by an animated demonstration.

2. Picture Completion Five pictures are horizontally cut off. The top halves of the pictures are printed on the image strip, and the bottom halves are printed on the sorting blocks. The participant is expected to place the blocks in the slots where they will complete the picture on the strip. The first match is completed by an animated demonstration.

Age 6 Problems

1. Color-Form Test The image strip shows a total of eight shapes: orange and green squares as well as orange and green triangles. Each of these shapes also contains one or two black dots. The sorting blocks have identical combinations on them. This makes three things which the child must match: form, color, and number of dots. All three of these elements must be correct in each notch. The images on the sorting blocks are laid out exactly like the ones on the strip (not rotated).

2. Association by Use
   The image strip shows five images of body (parts) such as a foot. The sorting blocks contain clothing images that match those body parts (e.g. a shoe). The participant is expected to match each clothing item to its respective body part.

Age 7 Problems

1. Size Gradations The image strip shows a series of five circles that increase in size. The sorting blocks show an analogous series of squares. The subject is expected to match each square to its size-equivalent circle.

2. Matching Two-Color Circles The image strip displays six circles. Each one displays a different color on its left and right side. The sorting blocks contain the same images but may be rotated by 180degrees (aka can look like mirror images) The participant is expected to match each block with its respective strip image.

Age 8 Problems

1. Animal Classification Test The image strip shows 5 images of animals that belong to different categories (e.g. a cow => farm animal and a bee => flying insect). The sorting blocks display images of 5 animals that belong to the same categories (e.g. a horse => farm animal and a fly => flying insect). The participant is expected to match each block animal with its respective strip image.

2. Completing a Series This test is divided into two parts. Both parts show image strips with 5 images that suggest a sequence. Part 1 shows the sequence of 5 symbols 'X 0 X 0 X' and provides the participant with 8 sorting blocks that contain four '0' and four 'X'. The participant is expected to match the first five strip symbols with corresponding sorting block images (X 0 X 0 X) and continue the sequence (0 X 0). If successful, the second problem is analogous to the first using the symbols (- X - X -).

Age 9 Problems

1. Completing a Series This subtest is a continuation of the preceding one with slightly more complex sequences using three symbols (X 0 -) instead of just two. This subtest is also divided into two parts.

2. Recognition of Age Differences The strip images display five images that depict a progression of an aging female Caucasian face (drawings of a face). The sorting blocks depict five analogous images of an aging male Caucasian face. The participant is expected to match the aging female faces with their male counterparts. Note that the default Millisecond subtest runs with original Leiter images. The script also provides black/white photos of Black faces BUT they are not the originals published by Leiter (1936).

Age 10 Problems

1. Matching Shades of Grays The image strip displays 8 gray color swatches. The sorting blocks show the same swatches. Participants are expected to match the sorting blocks with their respective gray image strip slots.

2. Matching Forms (Advanced) The image strip shows five complicated shapes (as opposed to the simple shapes in subtest 1). Participants receive 5 sorting blocks with images that match the shapes perfectly. They also receive an additional four sorting blocks per shape that depict subtle differences in the five target shapes. In the Millisecond version the sorting blocks are arranged in a 5x5 matrix and the easiest shape is matched by an animated hand demonstration. Participants are expected to match the remaining four shapes.

Age 11 Problem

1. Line Completion Test The image strip depicts a continuous black line drawing. The line drops down to each of the eight slots at varying angles and is broken and incomplete until one of the complementary eight sorting blocks is placed in the respective slot. An animated hand fills the first slot. The participant is expected to fill the remaining slots.

Age 12 Problem

1. Matching Footprints Test The image strip displays eight photographs of human footprints. The sorting blocks display the same footprint images and need to be matched to the image strip photographs.

Age 13 Problem

1. Dot Estimation Test The wooden block shows eight slots. The image strip shows one image for the first slot and one image for the last slot. The first slot shows an image with a small amount of randomly placed dots. The last slot shows an image with a large amount of randomly placed dots. The image strip is simply white for the slots in the middle. The eight sorting blocks depict images of varying amounts of randomly placed dots and participants are expected to arrange these blocks in order from least to most.

Age 14 Problem

1. Association on a Basis Superior to Use The image strip shows six images of things made of different materials (e.g. a see-through vase => glass; a baseball bat => wood). The sorting block images show different objects made of the same six materials (e.g. a drinking glass => glass; a chair => wood). Participants are expected to sort these six sorting blocks into their respective slots.

Age 15 Problem

1. Opposites Test The image strip presents 6 images (e.g. a black square, a female face). The sorting blocks show six images that show the 'reverse' images (e.g. a white square, a male face). The participant is expected to match each image based on this 'opposite' principle. Note: The Millisecond version runs an adapted version. See notes in User Manual.

Age 16 Problem

1. Position Analogy Test The image strip shows seven shapes made up of the same overlapping square, triangle, and circle. The images only differ from each other in the position of a black dot. The sorting blocks depict seven shapes made up of an overlapping square, triangle and circle as well. But the arrangements of square, triangle and circle differ from each other. The sorting block images also depict a black dot. Participants are expected to sort the sorting block images based on the location of the dot relative to the triangle, square and circle. For example, both the image strip and the sorting block images show one combination in which the black dot sits within the triangle only and has no connection to either the square nor the triangle.

What it Measures

The B-LIPS is a measure of non-verbal intelligence and inductive reasoning

Psychological domains

• Inductive Reasoning: Ability to infer underlying general rules
• Non-Verbal Problem Solving: Ability to solve problems devoid of verbal information

Main Performance Metrics

• yearCredit: measure of intelligence in years from 4.5 (baseline) to 16.5

Psychiatric Conditions

The B-LIPS was originally used for intelligence research in a cross-cultural context. The latest LIPS is often used with, amongst others, the following patient groups:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

References

Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Brief Leiter International Performance Scale.

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Leiter, RG (1936).The Leiter International Performance Scale. UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII BULLETIN, 7, 1-42. with appendix by S.D. Porteus