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The participants were 78 healthy infants aged 27, 29, 39 or 52 weeks who were tested for visual recognition memory (novelty preference) with the Pagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII) and on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID). Internal consistency of novelty preference from FTII was poor and test-retest reliabilities between 27/29 weeks, 29/39 weeks and 39/52 weeks were low and non-significant. Infants were followed up 1 year later and again at 2 years of age. Correlations between BSID and FTII scores were generally low and non-significant and, with one exception, FTII did not predict later mental outcome. The FTII score at 52 weeks correlated significantly with the Mental Development Index from BSID (1993 edition) at 2 years of age but not with Stanford-Binet scores. This correlation coefficient indicated that the Fagan test might account for up to 24% of the shared variance in later outcomes. Nonetheless, the present study suggested that the clinical utility of the current FTII, as a screening device with infants at risk for slower intellectual development, is limited, because of low sensitivity, which did not exceed 37.5%.
The Pagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII: Pagan & Shepherd, 1986, 1991) is based on a theory that neural integrity and elementary functions required for later cognitive development exist from birth. One such function is the infant's memory. Thus, according to this theory, ability to discriminate between familiar and new circumstances should provide a reliable marker for both current memory status and subsequent development of more complex cognitive abilities.
Several studies have found that, compared to intellectually normal, full-term infants, babies with Down's Syndrome and low birthweight and premature infants display a different pattern of looking (Rose, Feldman, McCarton, & Wolfson, 1988) and less differentiated attentiveness to novelty, at least in the first year of life (Caron & Caron, 1981; Miranda & Fantz, 1974; Rose, 1980; Rose & Feldman, 1990; Rose, Feldman, & Wallace, 1992; Sigman, 1983; Sigman & Parmelee, 1974). Similarly, several investigators have examined the predictive validity of novelty preference measures for subsequent IQ, using a paired-comparison procedure with a variety of experimental stimuli (abstract patterns, human face photos, geometric forms, sounds) in different modalities (visual, auditory and cross-modal transfer), and at different ages. For example, Rose and her...