A commonly used test of cognitive abilities. It assesses verbal and nonverbal reasoning by subtests that assess a person’s language fluency, three-dimensional thought processes, and pattern recognition skills. The test was first used in the late 1800s as an approximate means of classifying and comparing intellectual function in broad groups of people. It has been revised many times since then and is used for a variety of purposes, including the classification of military recruits and the assessment of individuals thought to have subnormal intelligence.