Journal of School Psychology

A u t u m n 1966 • Vol. V, ]No. I

THE VINELAND SOCIAL MATURITY SCALE:

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADMINISTRATION, SCORING
AND ANALYSIS
Duilio T. Pedrini
and
Lura N. Pedrini
The Vineland Social Maturity Scale ( V S M S ) attempts to measure
social competence. The technique has a history of indebtedness (Doll,
1953), but nonethele~ it made a unique contribution in the year it
was first published (Doll, 1935a, 1935b, 1935c). Personal-social mat-
uration is an area of critical importance when one works with children
and/or retardates. The American Association on Mental Deficiency in
its publication A Manual on Terminology and Classification in Mental
Retardation (Heber, 1961) specifically discusses the importance of
adaptive behavior in an evaluation of retardation and states that "The
Vineland Social Maturity Scale is perhaps the best single measure of
Adaptive Behavior currently available."
The purpose of this paper is to offer some critical reactions to the
VSMS and to suggest some useful procedures for administration, scor-
ing, and analysis.
Administration and Scoring
The V S M S may be administered according to standard procedures
or according to special procedures (Doll, 1947, 1953). If administered
according to special procedures, Doll says, " . . . such results should
be cautiously interpreted since normative data and correlative evidence
on reliability, validity, and probable error of measurement have not yet
been systematically estabfished." Departures from standard procedures,
then, should be avoided if possible. The standard procedure mentioned
by Doll, in his standardization of the scale did not appear to include the
presence of the subject under discussion. Therefore, Doll not only allows
the examination of a subject in absentia (also called indirect examina-
tion), but he recommends it. In fact, he states that " . . . to know or
to see the subject . . . usually prejudices the examination" (Doll, 1953).
This is possible, but hopefully the skilled examiner should have had bet-
ter training, and if so, could turn his knowledge to advantage. Also, the
informant is a major variable of true a n d / o r error variance. H o w is one

The author, Duilio T. Pedrini, received his AB and MS degrees from the Uni-
verslty of Miami and his PhD from the University of Texas. He is an associate pro-
fessor of psychology at the University of Omaha, Nebraska, and director of the
psychology department at Glenwaod State Hospital-School, Iowa. The co-author,
Lura N. Pedrini, received her BA from East Texas State Teachers College and MA
and PhD from the University of Texas. She is a lecturer at Duchesne College and
Creightan University specializing in English and American literature.

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