The Human Cognitive Abilities Project:An Overview and Update

Kevin S. McGrew, PhD.

Educational PsychologistResearch Director

Woodcock-Muñoz Foundation

Presentation at 2008 (Dec 11-13) International Society for Intelligence Research (ISIR), Decatur, GA

The Human Cognitive Abilities Project:An Overview and Update

Kevin S. McGrewWoodcock-Muñoz Foundation

University of Minnesota

Abstract

The Human Cognitive Abilities (HCA) project was initiated in the fall of 2002.The HCA project is an ongoing set of activities focused on electronically archiving, for historical purposes and secondary data analysis, as many of the 460+ correlation matrices analyzed in Jack Carroll’s (1993) seminal treatise on the structure of intelligence. The HCA project currently focuses on two sets of activities. The first is the electronic data entry of the correlation matrices from Carroll’s original printouts (and from select recovered disk files) and associated publications. The second is the development of a free web-based dataset archive repository and retrieval system by which independent researchers can access these materials.

The preliminary plans for the HCA project were presented at the 2003 ISIR annual conference. The purpose of the current presentation is to update ISIR members on the status of the HCA project. More importantly, the HCA archive is now available as a free on-line resource. The on-line HCA archive system will be presented and described . A demonstration illustrating how to access and view the HCA archive system (and download matrices and manuscripts) will be provided. Communication mechanisms (the WMF HCA listserv) will be presented to allow interested researchers to receive routine updates regarding additions to the archive. Finally, assistance from ISIR members will be requested in the location of fugitive correlation matrices and manuscripts that belong in the HCA archive.

http://www.woodcock-munoz-foundation.org/research/HCAProject.html

HCA project home page

“Much work remains to be done in the factor-analytic study of cognitive abilities. The map of abilities provided by the three-stratum theory undoubtedly has errors of commission and omission, with gaps to be filled in by further research, including the development of new types of testing and assessment and the factorial investigation of their relationship with each other and with better established types of assessment” (Carroll, 1997)

"Specifying different features of cognition is like slicing smoke--dividing continuous, homogeneous, irregular mass of gray into...what?  Abstractions" (Horn, 1991)

Thank you for your care in evaluating the principal issues in regard to my proposed Committee for the Evaluation and Indexing of Psychological Factors…the function we have in mind is something analogous to the fixing of the standard meter, by physicists, or the choice of hydrogen in determining atomic weights by chemists. It is not a question of great research insight, which must be left to the isolated individual and cannot be supplied by an APA committee. It is rather a question of fixing an authorative stamp, which all can recognize, upon a system of scientific currency. It is possible that in half a century’s time, such a committee might stand on its own feet, as perhaps the Bureau of Standards in Washington, or the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington in England, now stands apart from the Physical Societies concerned. But those of us who are interested in seeing this thing done feel, that, initially at any rate, it should be under the wing of the APA.

Raymond Cattell letter to APA president -- January, 31, 1975

(McGrew, in press)

WMF HCA project is describedin forthcoming publication

•Electronic data entry of the original correlation matrices used by Carroll (1993, Human Cognitive Abilities: A Survey of Factor Analytic Studies) as found in Carroll’s original printouts and select recovered disks.

• Develop a free web-based dataset archive repository and retrieval system by which independent researchers can access these materials.

WMF HCA: Primary Goals/Activities

One of Carroll’s

factor analysis

output binder notebooks

Samplecorrelation matrix

from Carroll’snotebooks: ready

for data entry

WMF HCA: Click on branches to expand and/or collapse

WMF HCA: Click on branches to expand and/or collapse

Datasets use code or

abbreviation system from

Carroll (1993)

Clicking on data set

branch will take you to

downloadable Excel version of correlation matrix and

original manuscript publication

e.g., ARLI01

ARLI01 Correlation matrix(can save to your hard drive)

ARLI01 original publication(you can save to your hard drive)

Stay current by joining the WMF HCAannouncement listserv

For additional information contact

Kevin McGrew, PhD.Educational PsychologistResearch DirectorWoodcock-Muñoz Foundation k.mcgrew@woodcock-munoz-foundation.org

On-line WMF HCA archive can be found via:

http://www.woodcock-munoz-foundation.org/research/HCAProject.html

Receive project updates by joining WMF HCA announcement listserv:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/wmfhca/

and/or checking

IQs Corner Blog – http://www.intelligencetesting.blogspot.com