Age, gender, and education effects on vocabulary measures in Greek

Abstract

Background: Assessment of lexical/semantic knowledge—the ability to retrieve phonological, lexical, and general (semantic) information from long term memory—can be performed with a variety of tests varying in response requirements. Aims: The present study explores the impact of demographic variables on three such tests. Methods & Procedures: The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R), the Vocabulary subtest from the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), and the Boston Naming Test (BNT) were used in a representative sample of 500 Greek community-dwelling adults aged 50–84 years. Outcomes & Results: Education effects were generally stronger than age effects, and were strongest on the WASI. Age effects (independent of educational level) were highest for the BNT and lowest for the WASI Vocabulary. Relationships among tests and also between each vocabulary test and an index of non-verbal intelligence are also discussed.