APA Dictionary of Psychology

a 7-point scale used to indicate the severity of a primary degenerative dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, in an older adult, based on caregivers’ observations of behaviors in the individual. The scale ranges from no cognitive decline (1) to very severe cognitive decline (7). [developed in 1982 by U.S. geriatric psychiatrist Barry Reisberg (1947–  )]