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Verbal Intelligence

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Definition

Verbal intelligence refers to specific human language-based skills which are considered to reflect latent general abilities. Despite historical disagreement about the precise place and fundamental nature of verbal intelligence, widespread agreement about its importance is evident in its omnipresence across all major hierarchical models of human intelligence. A person’s verbal intelligence is assessed through performance on one or more specific tests involving receptive and/or expressive spoken language. While these tests assess a limited range of specific verbal abilities, they are also intended to estimate, or to contribute to an estimation of, a person’s general intelligence. Verbal intelligence tests contrast with performance or nonverbal intelligence tests, which may in fact require verbal skills (e.g., the comprehension of spoken instructions) but primarily are considered measures of other abilities, such as visuospatial perception or processing speed. Scores on verbal...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hôpital Riviére des Prairies, Centre de recherche du CIUSS du Nord de l’île de Montréal et département de psychiatrie de l’Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada

    Michelle Dawson

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  1. Michelle Dawson
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Correspondence to Michelle Dawson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Dawson, M. (2021). Verbal Intelligence. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91280-6_375

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