Verbal fluency and figural fluency in bright children.
Intellectually bright children in Grades 2, 4, and 6 from one school and adults were assessed on measures of verbal and on a new measure of figural fluency. Consistent with previous research, age-dependent performance was observed on both fluency tasks. Analysis of covariance with motor speed as the covariate reduced the F ratio for the figural task, although age-related significant differences persisted. Results suggest that age-related improvement of performance on fluency measures with intellectually bright subjects differs from that for intellectually average subjects. Hypotheses are also advanced regarding the proposed reliable figural-fluency task as preferable to previously employed nonverbal measures, suggesting a more valid dissociation of function. These preliminary findings encourage further research on the age- and IQ-related aspects of verbal and figural fluency.
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D005260:Female; D005556:Form Perception; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014825:Vocabulary