A cross-cultural study with culture fair normative indications on WAIS-III Digit Symbol-Incidental Learning

The WAIS-III Digit Symbol-Incidental Learning optional procedure, including Pairing and Free Recall, was administered to a southern African sample (N=68, age range 19-30), which was stratified for ethnicity in association with language of origin (white English first language versus black African first language), educational level (Grade 12 and Graduate), and quality of education (advantaged and disadvantaged). ('African language' is the term used to denote the indigenous languages of black populations in southern Africa). Results yielded no significant differences for ethnicity/language of origin, level or quality of education, indicating that Digit Symbol-Incidental Learning may be a relatively culture independent task with utility as a neuropsychological screening instrument. Broad normative guidelines are provided for diagnostic purposes, and comparisons are made with available norms.