The validity of form F of the Matching Familiar Figures Test with kindergarten children

Egeland and Weinberg's contention that form F of the Matching Familiar Figures Test is inappropriate for kindergarten children was examined. White, middle-class, suburban kindergarten children were given form F of the Matching Familiar Figures Test, as well as a series of tests varying in degree of response uncertainty. It was hypothesized that tasks identified as high in response uncertainty would be the best predictors of norm-referenced composite reflection-impulsivity scores. Stepwise multiple regression analysis supported this hypothesis. The results were interpreted as supporting the construct validity of the Matching Familiar Figures Test as an index of reflection-impulsivity among kindergarten children.     

Reliability of the Matching Familiar Figures Test scores of learning disabled children.

The reliability of the Matching Familiar Figures Test with impulsive learning disabled boys was investigated. 20 children were tested in two sessions separated by a 2-mo. period. Significant correlations for response time and errors scores indicated a high level of stability over time. Educational implications were discussed.     

Measuring Impulsivity in School-Aged Boys and Examining Its Relationship with ADHD and ODD Ratings

Seven different laboratory measures of impulsivity were administered to a group of 165 school-aged boys. Parents' and teachers' ratings of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional/Defiant Disorder were also obtained. Factor analyses of impulsivity measures revealed the existence of a strong Inhibitory Control Factor including measures derived from Stop Task, the Continuous Performance Test, the Matching Familiar Figures Test, and the Circle Tracing Task. Other forms of impulsivity like resistance to interference, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and efficiency in the DRL Task loaded on a second independent factor. The Inhibitory Control factor was correlated with ADHD ratings, whereas the second factor was slightly related to the presence of ODD symptoms. Discussion is focused on the relevance of inhibitory control in impulsivity and ADHD research.     

Procrastination,Hoarding, and Attention Beyond Age 65 a Community-Based Study

We examined procrastination, hoarding, and attention in 80 older adults in community samples in the American South. Volunteers completed Lay’s General Procrastination Inventory, Frost, Steketee, and Grisham’s Saving Inventory Revised, the Oral Trail Making Test, a computerized Stroop Color Word Test, and measures of semantic and phonemic verbal fluencies. Findings suggest that procrastination affects older adults and it may be reliably measured. As with younger people procrastination and hoarding correlated in a positive direction. Hoarding correlated negatively with performance on the Trail Making Test Part B and the Color Word Score on a modified version of the Stroop Test. Hoarding also correlated negatively with Semantic Fluency though not with Phonemic Fluency. Procrastination correlated significantly and negatively only with Semantic Fluency and not with other attention measures. Limitations of the study and implications for future research are discussed.     

Personality correlates of the Stroop Color and Word Test: more negative results.

Numerous studies have investigated personality correlates of performance on the Stroop Color and Word Test. With one exception, these studies have failed to identify any significant correlates between the two variables. The present study examined this relationship by administering the Stroop Color and Word Test, Cattell's 16 PF, and the Maudsley Personality Inventory to a sample of 210 college students. Results indicated no significant correlates existed between five different measures of Stroop Color and Word Test performance and the personality scales. It was concluded that the Stroop Color and Word Test has little relationship to measures of personality and may best be understood in terms of specific cognitive processes.     

The Kent Face Matching Test

This study presents the Kent Face Matching Test (KFMT), which comprises 200 same-identity and 20 different-identity pairs of unfamiliar faces. Each face pair consists of a photograph from a student ID card and a high-quality portrait that was taken at least three months later. The test is designed to complement existing resources for face-matching research, by providing a more ecologically valid stimulus set that captures the natural variability that can arise in a person's appearance over time. Two experiments are presented to demonstrate that the KFMT provides a challenging measure of face matching but correlates with established tests. Experiment 1 compares a short version of this test with the optimized Glasgow Face Matching Test (GFMT). In Experiment 2, a longer version of the KFMT, with infrequent identity mismatches, is correlated with performance on the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) and the Cambridge Face Perception Test (CFPT). The KFMT is freely available for use in face-matching research.     

An Alternate Form of the Matching Familiar Figures Test

Two studies support the development of an alternate form of the adult Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT).     

Relationship between semantic paraphasias and related nonverbal factors

Word-finding deficits are a common problem in aphasic patients. One hypothesis suggests that the difficulty that patients experience in naming objects or pictures is related to a disruption in the ability to access the lexicon. Another hypothesis suggests that these problems are caused by a disruption of the mental dictionary and the semantic representations contained in it. The main purpose of this study is to assess whether nonverbal factors such as the ability to distinguish between similar attributes of objects is related to word-use problems in aphasia. 14 adults with left hemisphere cerebrovascular accidents and some word use deficit were administered the first 30 items of the Boston Naming Test and the Conceptual Matching subtest of the Detroit Test of Learning Aptitude. Errors on the Conceptual Matching subtest correlated significantly with the number of semantic paraphasias.     

Left hemispheric interference with nonverbal performance in aphasics: comparison with data from split-brain studies

Two nonverbal tasks (Nebes' Figural Unification Test and Arc-Circle Matching Task) were given to 10 aphasic patients and 10 normal controls. Observations in split-brain patients have shown that the right hemisphere performs almost normally on these tasks while the left hemisphere fails completely. Left and right hand performances of aphasics and controls were compared with those of split-brain patients as reported in the literature. In the Figural Unification Test the aphasics' left hand performance was significantly poorer than that of split-brain patients. This is interpreted as an effect of left hemispheric interference with right hemispheric nonverbal performance. The lack of a similar impairment of left hand performance in the Arc-Circle Matching Task suggests that this interference is only provoked by tasks which, due to the possible verbalization of stimulus material, tend to stimulate left hemispheric activity.     

Comparison of the Trail Making and Color Trails Tests in a Chinese context: a preliminary report

The Color Trails Test developed as a culturally fair analogue of the Trail Making Test, was used to examine the relationship between the two tests with 35 undergraduate Chinese in Hong Kong recruited as the subjects. The scores on these two tests of the 12 men and 23 women were significantly correlated .71. The equivalence of the Trail Making and Color Trails Tests when applied to Chinese in Hong Kong was discussed.     

Differences between children with attention deficit disorder,children with specific learning disabilities,and normal children

The study investigated the power of five measures to differentiate between children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), children with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD), and normal children. The measures employed were the Conners Parent Questionnaire (CPQ), the Conners Teacher Questionnaire (CTQ), the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), the Porteus Mazes Test (PMT), and the Jumbled Numbers Game (JNG). The results indicated that the Conners Parent Questionnaire, Conners Teacher Questionnaire, Matching Familiar Figures Test, and the Porteus Mazes Test significantly discriminated between groups. The Conners Questionnaires were able to discriminate between all three groups and the MFFT and PMT were able to discriminate between ADD and normal children. A discriminant analysis indicated that the CPQ was the best predictor of group membership, followed in order by the CTQ PMT, and MFFT.     

Partial color constancy of isolated surface colors examined by a color-naming method

Color samples selected from the OSA Uniform Color Scales set were viewed without any surround. Separate light sources were used to illuminate the samples and to control the state of adaptation of the subject, thereby separating two factors that are normally confounded. A color-naming procedure was used to assess shifts in color appearance produced by altering the spectral distributions of one or both light sources. The results confirm that chromatic adaptation, when it is the only factor operating, can mediate partial color constancy.     

Correlations for the Stroop Color and Word Test with measures of reading and language achievement

The present investigation examined the relationships for scores on the Stroop Color and Word Test with measures of reading and language achievement within an adult population. The Stroop Color and Word Test, Nelson-Denny Reading Test, Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery-Revised, and Wide Range Achievement Test-3 were administered to 99 men ranging in age from 18 to 27 years. Pearson product-moment correlations indicated that the Stroop Word task was positively associated with scores on the WRAT-3 Spelling task, the Woodcock-Johnson Basic and Broad Reading tasks, and the Nelson-Denny Rcading Rate and Comprehension tasks. These and other significant relationships were discussed in terms of possible implications regarding the assessment of reading achievement.     

Influence of Demographics on Computerized Cognitive Testing in a Military Sample

Computerized cognitive testing with software programs such as the Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics (ANAM) have long been used to assess cognition in military samples. This study describes demographic influences on computerized testing performance in a large active duty military sample (n = 2366). Performance differences between men and women were minimal on most ANAM subtests, but there was a clear speed/accuracy trade-off, with men favoring speed and women favoring accuracy on the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) subtest. As expected, reaction time increased with age on most subtests, with the exception of Mathematical Processing Test (MTH). Higher education resulted in significant but minimal performance increases on Code Substitution (CDS), Matching to Sample (MSP), and Memory Search (STN) subtests. In contrast, substantial performance differences were seen between education groups on the MTH subtest. These data reveal that it is important to consider demographic factors, particularly age, when using ANAM to draw conclusions about military samples. These results also point to the importance of exploring demographic influences for all reaction time–based computerized assessment batteries.     

Bender Gestalt signs as indicants of conceptual impulsivity.

Sixty children were individually administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test and the Bender Gestalt Test. The mean age of the subjects was 10 years, 11 months. A significant relationship was found between errors on the Bender Gestalt test and impulsivity. More specifically, increased or decreased loops (figure four or six), change in angulation, loops for circles and circles for dots or dots for circles were all significantly related to children's impulsivity.     

The Glasgow Face Matching Test

We describe a new test for unfamiliar face matching, the Glasgow Face Matching Test (GFMT). Viewers are shown pairs of faces, photographed in full-face view but with different cameras, and are asked to make same/different judgments. The full version of the test comprises 168 face pairs, and we also describe a shortened version with 40 pairs. We provide normative data for these tests derived from large subject samples. We also describe associations between the GFMT and other tests of matching and memory. The new test correlates moderately with face memory but more strongly with object matching, a result that is consistent with previous research highlighting a link between object and face matching, specific to unfamiliar faces. The test is available free for scientific use.     

Relation of personality characteristics and color preferences

150 students responded to the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule and ranked color plates from the Luscher Color Test. Regression analysis yielded no relationship of predictive significance between the two sets of variables. An ancillary analysis using sets of random numbers in place of the color preference data yielded results basically similar to those produced in the earlier analysis. Males and females rank ordered the colors identically except for yellow, which was significantly more preferred by males than females.     

Psychometric Analyses of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) Scores among Singapore Primary School Students

The psychometric properties of the Test Anxiety Scale for Elementary Students (TAS-E) scores were examined among Singapore primary school students. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to determine the factor structure of the TAS-E in a sample of 540 Singapore students. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the TAS-E scores in another sample of 540 Singapore students to determine whether the findings would support the factor structure reported in Study 1. The results of the EFA and Schmid-Leiman transformation in Study 1 and the CFA in Study 2 suggest that the TAS-E has four factors (Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Concerns, Task Irrelevant Behavior, and Worry) and a higher-order factor, the Total Test Anxiety factor. These findings are similar to the results reported in validation studies of the TAS-E scores with U.S. elementary students. In addition, the test score stability and convergent and discriminant validity of the TAS-E scores were examined in Study 3 among 1,080 Singapore primary school students. The results indicated that the TAS-E scores appear to have adequate test score stability over a 2-week test-retest period. Evidence supporting the convergent and discriminant validity of the TAS-E scores was also found. Implications of the findings of the three studies are discussed.     

Stability over age and sex of children's responses to embedded figures test

240 children in Grades K to 4 were administered the entire Children's Embedded Figures Test to determine whether similar factor structures are obtained from samples of different sex and age as well as when the population is randomly split. Data were analyzed by principal axis factor analysis and relevant factor structures were compared using Veldman's 1967 program "Relate". There was one stable factor which was consistent across sex and accounted for about 19% of the variance. Results were inconsistent across grades and indicated a possible lack of agreement of factor structures.     

Frontal lobe functioning in adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

A prominent hypothesis regarding the etiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is that its presence and magnitude reflect frontal lobe dysfunction. Past tests of this hypothesis have been inconsistent. The present study examined frontal lobe functioning in adolescents with ADHD. A sample of 10 ADHD adolescents and 10 controls between the ages of 12 and 17 served as participants for the study. The control group was matched on age (within six months) and gender. This study aided in clarifying past contradictory studies by using clearly defined criteria to determine ADHD, a representative age range of participants, carefully selected tests, and a control task. The two measures that were administered to assess frontal lobe functioning were the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and the Stroop Color and Word Test. The Purdue Pegboard was used as a control measure that did not assess frontal lobe functioning. The findings indicate that the ADHD group performed significantly worse on the following: color score, color/word score, and interference score of the Stroop Color and Word Test; percent of perseverative responses, percent of perseverative errors, and number of completed categories of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. No differences were found on the Purdue Pegboard task.