David’s Battery of Differential Abilities

Measurement and analysis of intelligence has continued to be the most important and
widespread type of psychological testing. In the past, investigators developed certain tests to
measure intelligence according to their preconceived notions of what, in functional terms,
‘ability’ really meant to them.

To define ability, we can say that, “ability is the actual power to perform and act,
physical or mental, whether or not attained by training and/or education.” Ability implies that
the task can be performed now, if the necessary external circumstances are present; no further
training needed. To compare ability with similar phenomenon, it is seen that:

 Aptitude refers to the fact that the individual can be brought by a specified amount of
training to a specified level of ability, either general or special.
 Capability refers to the maximum effectiveness a person can attain with optimum
training.
 Capacity refers to the ability or even aptitude, often with implications of innateness.
 Talent is a high degree of ability or of aptitude
 Gift and endowment are popular terms for high ability, largely innate.
 Competence is fitness either for a particular kind of task or fitness in general.

The prominent theories that were adopted to highlight the different methodologies for
measuring differential abilities is that of group factor theories. Such theories were originally
conceived by Thurstone whose work resulted in the construction of a set of measures called
Tests of Primary Mental Abilities. According to group factor theories, ability not an
expression of innumerable highly specific factors, nor is it the expression primarily of a
general factor that pervades all mental activities. The interpretations and analysis of group
factor theories lead to the conclusion that certain mental operations have in common a
“primary factor” that gives them psychological and functional unity and that differentiates
them from other mental operations.

Thurstone characterised intelligence as a series of distinct abilities. His approach was

different from that of Thorndike or Weschsler, who assumed that the individual sub tests
were pure measures of the designated ability. According to Thurstone, an ability is isolated
by giving mental tests to a great number of persons and then determining, through a
mathematical process known as “factor analysis”, the least number of abilities necessary to
explain the correlations among the tests.

The most important application of factor analytic studies of mental abilities has been the
increasing use of “multi aptitude test batteries” in educational and vocational guidance. One
such battery is the Differential Aptitude Tests for use for high school students. But TAT and
other such batteries which currently exist just to provide a profile of an individual’s mental
strengths and weaknesses. Hence a test/battery is required which could delineate specific
abilities based on current occupational, vocational needs and lifestyles.

The development of David’s Battery of Differential Abilities (DBDA) was to provide a

battery of short tests so as to provide investigators with an economical vehicle for assessing a
wide range of important ability constructs. DBDA- Revised version is being devices in order
to have an accurate measure of and individual’s various mental abilities. DBDA scores
describes how the individual performs here and now, and that all things being equal, will
probably continue to function in a like manner.

Abilities measures in DBDA are:

 Verbal abilities (VA) refers to the comprehension of words and ideas, or a

person’s ability to understand it in language. VA Part I involves word meaning
exercise to assess the subject’s knowledge of English words and his ability to
abstract and generalise relationships among words. VA Part II involves the ability
to recognize the proverbs and understand their latent meaning, and ability
assumed to be essentially the same as the comprehension of language.
 Numerical ability (NA) refers to facility in manipulating numbers quickly and
accurately, in tasks involving addition, subtraction multiplication, division,
squaring, dealing with fractions, etc. This ability is generally found high in
individuals are successful in mathematical, scientific and technical subjects.
 Spatial abilities (SA) is concerned with perceiving spatial patterns accurately, and
following the orientation of figures when their position in a plane or space is
altered. In DBDA, SA is assessed by items in which the subject must be able to
determine quickly whether two dimensional figures have been merely turned
around or turned over and rotated (reversed).
 Closure ability (CA) refers to the ability to see quickly a whole stimulus when
parts of it are missing, or to complete the Gestalt. The principle of closure has
been adopted from Gestalt Psychology which says that the brain tends to fill in
gaps in order to perceive complete meaningful forms.