PASS theory of intelligence

Damage to an adjacent area will have the opposite impact, preserving the individual's ability to produce but not understand speech and text.

[4] The PASS Theory of Intelligence[2] posits that cognition is organized in three systems and four processes, based on A. R. Luria's (1966) work on modularization of brain activity and validated by decades of neuroimaging data.

The first phase is planning, which entails executive functions directing and organizing behavior, selecting and developing strategies, and monitoring performance.

[5] The PASS theory provides the theoretical framework for a measurement instrument called the Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System (CAS), published in 1997.

This emphasis on processes (rather than traditional abilities) is said to make it useful for differential diagnosis; diagnosing learning disabilities and Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism, Intellectual disabilities, cognitive changes in aging and Down syndrome, changes due to brain impairment in stroke and fair and equitable assessment of diverse populations.

For example, in the understanding the loss of sequential and planning functions due to aging in a study of individuals with Down syndrome, using single positron emission topography, Das[8] found that aging individuals with Down syndrome show a bilateral decreased cerebral blood flow in the temporal-parietal region of the brain.

The significance of cognitive profiling studies both in impaired and intact brains awaits further discussion in the broader context of the biology of intelligence.

A related school-readiness program aims at improving the foundations of cognitive processes in preparation for schooling (Das, 2009).

Kranzler, Keith & Flanagan (2000)[10] found only a marginal fit for the four-factor model; the attention and planning factors were indistinguishable.

The most recent factor analytic examination of the PASS scales of the CAS Second Edition was conducted by Papadopoulos, Spanoudis and Naglieri (2023) using the standardization sample of the CAS2.

Furthermore, factorial invariance analysis provided evidence that the obtained correlated model, as an index of cognitive processing or intelligence, was the same between genders.