David Wechsler
Romanian-American psychologist who developed widely used intelligence scales.
David "Weshy" Wechsler (January 12, 1896 – May 2, 1981) was a Romanian-American psychologist best known for developing widely used intelligence scales, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). He created these tests to better understand his patients at Bellevue Hospital, and his work shifted the field away from the single-score approach of the Binet scale. A 2002 survey ranked him as the 51st most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
- born
- January 12, 1896
- died
- May 2, 1981
- field
- Psychology
- nationality
- Romanian-American
- known_for
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC)
Lore & Background
Wechsler was born into a Jewish family in Lespezi, Romania, and emigrated with his parents to the United States as a child. He studied at the City College of New York and Columbia University, earning his master's degree in 1917 and his Ph.D. in 1925 under Robert S. Woodworth. During World War I, he worked with the U.S. Army to develop psychological tests for screening draftees. After the war, he continued his studies under Robert S. Woodworth at Columbia; while he was influenced by the work of Charles Spearman and Karl Pearson, there is no established record of him studying directly under them. After short stints elsewhere, including five years in private practice, he became chief psychologist at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital in 1932, a position he held until 1967.
Reader's Guide
David Wechsler's significance lies in his transformation of intelligence testing. Dissatisfied with the single score of the 1937 Binet scale, he created tests that assessed both verbal and performance (non-verbal) abilities, dividing intelligence into two main areas. He rejected the quotient-based IQ scoring of earlier tests, instead assigning a mean of 100 with a standard deviation of 15. His scales—first the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Test (1939), then the WISC (1949), and the WPPSI (1967)—became dominant, surpassing the Stanford-Binet in popularity by the 1960s. Wechsler also advocated for the role of nonintellective factors in intelligent behavior, though his tests did not directly measure them. His definition of intelligence as 'the global capacity to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with [one's] environment' remains influential. His scales introduced novel concepts and breakthroughs, and they continue to be widely used.
Did You Know?
- Wechsler originally created his intelligence tests to learn more about his patients at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital.
- His tests assigned an arbitrary value of 100 to the mean intelligence, with 15 points per standard deviation.
- A 2002 survey ranked Wechsler as the 51st most cited psychologist of the 20th century.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is David Wechsler?
David Wechsler (1896–1981) was a Romanian-American clinical psychologist best known for designing the intelligence assessment instruments that remain standard tools in hospitals, schools, and research labs worldwide.
What did David Wechsler create?
He developed the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), both of which break intelligence into separate verbal and performance subtests instead of yielding a single overall number.
Why is David Wechsler important to psychology?
His scales moved the field away from the single-score approach of the earlier Binet tests, giving clinicians a richer profile of a person's cognitive strengths and weaknesses. That shift in how intelligence is measured and interpreted still shapes diagnostic practice today.
Where and why did Wechsler develop his intelligence tests?
He built the scales while treating patients at Bellevue Hospital in New York, where he needed a more nuanced way to understand the specific cognitive difficulties of the individuals he was seeing.
How is David Wechsler remembered in the field?
A 2002 survey ranked him the 51st most cited psychologist of the twentieth century, and his name remains attached to the most widely administered intelligence tests in clinical and educational settings.
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