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Documentation · 1947

Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery: Foundational neuropsychology battery

The foundational neuropsychological assessment battery. Ward Halstead at the University of Chicago developed the original tests in 1935-1947; Ralph Reitan at Indiana University consolidated them into the standard battery during the 1950s and 1960s. The Halstead-Reitan defined what neuropsychological assessment is and remains one of the most-used clinical batteries today.

Read About the Test

About the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery

Before WWII, the assessment of brain damage relied on clinical interview, basic neurological exam, and broad IQ testing. Ward Halstead at the University of Chicago set out to build something more precise: a set of cognitive tests sensitive to specific patterns of brain dysfunction.

Halstead's original tests (1935-1947) included the Category Test (concept formation - the subject must figure out a hidden rule from feedback), the Tactual Performance Test (a form-board done blindfolded), the Rhythm Test (Seashore-style rhythm discrimination), the Speech Sounds Perception Test (auditory discrimination), and several others. His 1947 book Brain and Intelligence defined what he called biological intelligence - the brain-substrate-dependent components of cognitive functioning that should be most affected by brain damage.

Ralph Reitan at Indiana University extended and consolidated Halstead's work in the 1950s and 1960s. He added the Trail Making Test (rapid number- and letter-connecting), the WAIS, the Wechsler Memory Scale, and other instruments to create the comprehensive Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery. The full Halstead-Reitan takes 6-8 hours to administer and is one of the most demanding clinical assessments in psychology. It remains in active clinical use particularly in medical-legal contexts (traumatic brain injury, dementia evaluation, capacity assessments).

Copyright note: Halstead-Reitan tests are under various copyrights. Some components (Trail Making Test) are in widespread use; others require commercial licensing. This page documents the history.

The 6 subtests

#1
Category Test Concept formation - subject identifies a hidden rule from yes/no feedback. Tests abstract reasoning and problem solving.
Clinical
#2
Tactual Performance Test Form-board completed while blindfolded. Tests tactile perception and spatial reasoning.
Clinical
#3
Rhythm Test Discriminate rhythmic patterns. Tests auditory attention and discrimination.
Clinical
#4
Speech Sounds Perception Test Identify phonemes within nonsense syllables. Tests auditory-verbal discrimination.
Clinical
#5
Trail Making Test (Parts A & B) Connect numbered dots (Part A) and alternating numbers/letters (Part B). Tests processing speed and executive flexibility.
Clinical
#6
Lateral Dominance Examination Standardized assessment of hand, foot, and eye dominance.
Clinical

Sample Items (Illustrative)

The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery items are typically presented in a structured format requiring the subject to respond to visual, auditory, or tactile stimuli. Scoring is based on accuracy, speed, and the ability to discern patterns or rules.

Sample 1 · Category Test
You are shown a series of shapes on a screen. After each selection, you receive feedback indicating if it was correct or incorrect. Determine the rule that dictates which shapes are correct.
Example response: The rule is that only triangles are correct.
Sample 2 · Tactual Performance Test
While blindfolded, you are given a set of geometric blocks and a form board. Arrange the blocks to fit into the board as quickly and accurately as possible.
Example response: Successfully placing all blocks in their correct positions on the board.
Sample 3 · Rhythm Test
Listen to a series of rhythmic patterns and identify whether each subsequent pattern is the same or different from the previous one.
Example response: Correctly identifying a change in rhythm.
Sample 4 · Speech Sounds Perception Test
You hear a series of nonsense syllables and must identify the phoneme that is different from the others in each sequence.
Example response: Identifying the phoneme 'b' in the sequence 'bab, bab, bab, dab'.
Sample 5 · Trail Making Test (Part B)
Connect the dots on a sheet of paper, alternating between numbers and letters in sequence (e.g., 1-A-2-B-3-C).
Example response: Correctly connecting the dots in the sequence 1-A-2-B-3-C without errors.

These are illustrative samples, not actual items from the protected test.

Source

All test materials and historical content on this page are transcribed from:

Ward C. Halstead & Ralph M. Reitan (1947). Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery.

Halstead-Reitan battery items are under various commercial copyrights. We document the battery's history and significance.

Cite this page

This page is part of the Historical IQ Tests Archive. Editorial content, transcription notes, and curation are released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0). Public-domain primary sources retain their public-domain status. BibTeX · RIS · CSL JSON

Historical test materials are obsolete and are not valid modern IQ assessments. This page is preserved for educational, research, and historiographic purposes.

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