Emotional impact on trail making test performance

This study assessed the effect of emotional factors on Trail Making Test Part B performance for a sample of 105 neuropsychological referrals for whom there was no neurodiagnostic evidence of brain damage. Trails B scores declined in relation to elevated MMPI scores on Scales 6, 7, and 8, though only nine patients performed within the impaired range. The results suggest that (a) Trails B performance is resilient to a variety of emotional influences, (b) psychotic symptoms and severe anxiety impede Trails B performance, though rarely to the extent caused by brain damage, and (c) the MMPI provides objective criteria that help rule out emotional effects on Trails B performance.     

Effects of bogus feedback on intelligence test performance

French-Canadian high school students (N = 196) completed different forms of the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT; E. F. Wonderlic, 1983) on two occasions. Before the second test, they received negative or positive bogus feedback about their initial performance. Most students (n = 158) were informed that the WPT measured intelligence, and the instruction was issued before either the first (n = 42) or the second test (n = 116). In the latter case, WPT validity either was not mentioned (n = 36) or was described as high or low (ns = 39 and 41, respectively). WPT performance improved on the second test, but it was not related to feedback in any of the instruction conditions. Reasons for these results and their practical implications are discussed.     

Assessing executive abilities following acute stroke with the trail making test and digit span

The Trail Making Test and Digit Span are neuropsychological tests widely used to assess executive abilities following stroke. The Trails B and Digits Backward conditions of these tests are thought to be more sensitive to executive impairment related to frontal lobe dysfunction than the Trails A and Digits Forward conditions. Trails B and Digits Backward are also thought to be more sensitive to brain damage in general. Data from the Stroke and Lesion Registry maintained by the Washington University Cognitive Rehabilitation Research Group were analyzed to compare the effects of frontal versus nonfrontal strokes and to assess the effects of stroke severity. Results showed that the performance of patients with frontal and nonfrontal strokes was comparable in each condition of both the Trail Making Test and Digit Span, providing no support for the widely held belief that Trails B and Digits Backward are more sensitive to frontal lobe damage. Further, Trails A was as strongly correlated with stroke severity as Trails B, whereas Digits Backward was more strongly correlated with stroke severity than Digits Forward. Overall, the Trail Making Test and Digit Span are sensitive to brain damage but do not differentiate between patients with frontal versus nonfrontal stroke.     

Adult age differences in inhibitory processes and their predictive validity for fluid intelligence

According to the inhibition-deficit hypothesis age differences in working memory capacity and fluid intelligence have been attributed to a decline in inhibitory efficiency. Conceptualizing inhibition as multifaceted, 88 participants (49 younger and 39 elderly) completed two versions of the negative priming paradigm (identification and localization), and two variants of the directed forgetting paradigm (listwise and itemwise). Two tasks of the Wechsler Intelligence Test with high loadings on general fluid intelligence (Gf) served as validation criteria. Results revealed task-specific and speed-independent inhibitory deficits in the elderly (lower negative priming in both paradigms; more intrusions in the directed forgetting tasks), as well as higher levels of repetition priming. Significant correlations between measures of inhibition and the Wechsler scores were found in both age groups. Results support the view of multiple inhibitory-like capabilities that play a central role in the decline of higher-order cognitive functions in old age.     

Concurrent validity of the Wechsler abbreviated scale of intelligence and the Kaufman brief intelligence test among psychiatric inpatients

This study examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence and the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test for 85 psychiatric inpatients. The correlation between the WASI Full Scale and K-BIT Composite IQ scores was significant (r = .89, p < .001). Multitrait-multimethod analysis of the subtest scores showed that the K-BIT had higher internal consistency for its two subtests but, therefore, less differentiation of cognitive functioning than the brief Wechsler scale, as would be expected due to the larger number and diversity of the latter subtests. Correlations among the Wechsler scale subtests were lower than among those for the K-BIT, so the former may tap different cognitive functions and yield more clinically useful information than the latter. This brief Wechsler scale appears to be a valid screening measure of verbal, performance. and general intellectual ability for use with an inpatient psychiatric population when considerations of the setting or patient preclude administration of a longer measure of intellectual ability.     

Effects of age and sex on reciprocal tapping performance

Using a reciprocal tapping task (Fitts's task), the speed and accuracy of small-amplitude motor movements of the hand were measured for 62 men and 84 women, 20 to 89 yr. of age. Men and women in their 20s and 30s performed similarly, although men in their 20s displayed a tendency to trade accuracy in favor of speed. Movement time increased noticeably for both men and women beginning with the 40s decade and continued to increase through the 80s decade. Error rates were lower for women than men and were relatively uniform for both men and women across all age decades past 30 yr. Older subjects of both sexes appeared to sacrifice speed (slowed down) to maintain accuracy on the task. The slope of the linear regression relating movement time to task difficulty was steeper for men than for women and increased more for men than women with advancing age, indicating that older men slowed down relatively more than older women on more difficult tasks.     

Effects of reinforcement on standardized test performance

The effects of two different motivational conditions upon standardized test performance were explored for two student populations. The first study involving 12 trainable retardates showed a significant increase in score on the Metropolitan Readiness Test given under reinforcement conditions when these results were compared with scores taken under standard testing conditions. In a second study, these same results were obtained with a group of 30 normal fourth-graders. An additional study was conducted to determine the effect of different experiences with token reinforcement procedures on test performance. It was found that a group of children with six weeks' exposure to reinforcement for daily academic performance scored higher under both conditions of test administration (standard and reinforcement) than a control group. However, in a single exposure to token reinforcement for correct performance on the Metropolitan Test, both the experimental group and its match control showed a parallel increase in test performance. These findings offer a procedure that yields a more representative assessment of a student's academic achievement than does testing under standard conditions.     

Impacts of artificial intelligence on organizational decision making

Of all of the new technologies emerging in the late 20th century, the production of artificial intelligence may provide the most profound impacts on organizational decision making. Because the development of artificial intelligence technologies and models has largely been based on psychological models of human cognition, the effects of their implementation in complex social settings have not been thoroughly examined. This paper is an attempt to generate research which will develop a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of artificial intelligence and its role in complex organizations. A set of 11 hypotheses has been developed which examine the relationships between artificial intelligence technologies and the dimensions of organizational decision making. It is argued here that the implementation of expert systems will lead to less complex and political decision processes, while the implementation of natural language systems will lead to more complex and political decision processes.     

A validity study of the slosson intelligence test for use with educable mentally retarded students

The validity of the Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT) was investigated with two age groups of EMR children. The Stanford-Binet and WISC served as concurrent validating criteria. The SIT correlated significantly with the Binet although the SIT mean IQ was significantly higher. No significant differences were found between standard deviations or mental ages of the two tests. The SIT correlated significantly with WISC verbal and full scale with no significant differences found between standard deviations. The SIT mean IQ was significantly below that of WISC verbal, performance, and full scale. Implications for school psychologists are given.