Peabody Picture Vocabulary Task (PPVT-III-NL)

The Peabody-Picture vocabulary task (PPVT; Dunn and Dunn, 1981) is a widely used task to evaluate a participant’s vocabulary size for their age, and serves as a proxy of general language performance. It is normed for participants between 2 and 90 years old. On each trial, participants see an array of four pictures and hear a word that matches one of these four. They need to click or point to the correct picture. There are in total 204 trials, presented in sets of 12 trials. Participants start with the set that is age-appropriate for them, with each set increasing in difficulty. They stop once they make more than five or six errors in one set of trials. The total number of trials is thus dependent on the participant’s vocabulary knowledge, and the task should last approximately 10 min.

In YOUth, a computerized version of the Dutch version of the PPVT was used (PPVT-III-NL; Dunn and Dunn, 2005). Based on the child’s age, the task began with a predefined set (“instap set”). If the child made 5 or more errors in the start set, the computer switched to an earlier set until the child made fewer than five errors (“start set”). The final set was the set in which the child made nine or more errors (“afbreek set”). The program registered the responses (as correct or incorrect) and reaction times a child made from the start set to the final set. Each word was generally presented via audio just once, but an in-built option allows to present one other token of this word upon the child’s request. In the Baby and Child cohort, a touchscreen version of the task was used, and the experimenter stayed with the child throughout the task, giving encouraging but neutral feedback throughout, and determining when to play the sound. In the Child and Adolescent cohort, a computer version was used, and the experimenter was only present during the instruction. In both cases, children first did two practice trials and were instructed to also select a picture when they did not know the answer.

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Keywords
Constructs
Waves
  • Baby and Child

  • 3 years
    •   C
    24 months - 5.0 years   From 2018-06-22 to 2023-11-01
  • 6 years
    •   C
    5.0 - 7.0 years   From 2022-07-01 to 2023-11-01
  • Child and Adolescent

  • 9 years
    •   C
    8.0 - 10.0 years   From 2016-03-14 to 2020-04-14
  • 12 years
    •   C
    11.0 - 16.0 years   From 2019-07-04 to 2022-12-01
    Mode of collection MeasurementsAndTests    Behavioral/cognitive task
    Analysis unit Individual
    Instrument name Peabody Picture Vocabulary Task (PPVT)
    Measure name Peabody
    References
    Dunn L., Dunn L. (2005). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III-NL. 3rd ed. Schlichting L, translator. Amsterdam: Pearson Assessment and Information B.V. // Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1981). Peabody picture vocabulary test-revised. American guidance service, Incorporated.
    You can also access this dataset using the API (see API Docs).