The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) Picture Arrangement (PA) subtest has often been assumed to be a measure of social intelligence. The present study compared WISC PA performance and performance on a verbal conditioning task (production of plural nouns) as a measure of social intelligence. Four groups, high and low PA with reinforcement, and high and low PA without reinforcement, were compared on production of plural nouns over two consecutive four-minute periods. The four groups did not differ significantly in the production of plural nouns. The present study, using verbal conditionability as a measure of social intelligence, found no evidence to support the assumption that WISC PA performance is a measure of social intelligence in children.

To determine correlates of better academic performance, a scale was devised for this study to measure children's attributions to ability and effort in academic success and failure situations. These measures as well as measures of locus of control an d perceived contingency of teacher rewards and punishments were related to achievement test scores, grades, and a teacher's ratings of the helplessness or competence of classroom behaviors. Subjects were 137 sixth-graders (66 girls and 71 boys). Intercorrelations of the variables show consistent relationships between attributions to lack of effort in failure situations and to ability in success situations and better academic performance. Locus of control was only weakly related to academic achievement measures. The contingency measures, also devised for this study, were disappointingly unreliable.