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The impact of distraction and demographic variables on the BVRT
Abstracts from the 18th Annual Meeting
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of adults. Item difficulty is generally too low and discrimination is compromised among adults and especially those with good semantic knowledge. The first step in constructing the Williams Picture Vocabulary Test (WPVT) was selecting a sample of 200 words from extensive lists of words calibrated by readability indices. These words were then matched with photographic images gleaned from large collections now available electronically. Photographs from these collections were also chosen as distractors, resulting in a test containing 800 unique images. Distractor photographs were chosen from the same semantic category as the target word. Individual items consist of the word printed above four photographs. The subject is requested to choose one of the four photographs that is most associated in meaning with the word. For example, the item for the word "horse" depicts a horse in one photograph and a different mammal in each of the three distractor positions. Initial Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses were conducted using 120 normal volunteer subjects in order to determine the Rausch difficulty stratification of the items. This stratification is used to determine the basal and ceiling levels for tailoring the administration of the test. The internal consistency of the items was examined using Cronbach's alpha. Results indicated that items of the WPVT are highly stratified by IRT probabilities and this suggests that semantic knowledge is also highly stratified. The semantic knowledge associated with some words is known by only a few people. As one moves down the difficulty scale, semantic knowledge is well distributed across a continuous spectrum of ability, finally resulting in a set of words that are known by everyone. It is also associated with word types: nouns and adjectives having concrete imaginability are known by more people. Words that embody abstract semantics are less known and items on the WPVT that embody there are the most difficult. The WPVT also demonstrated very high internal consistency (alpha = .89). This suggests that the construct of semantic knowledge is highly integrated and reinforces the well-known hierarchical and association theories of semantic knowledge.
Chan, C. H. C., Lee, T. M. C., Wong, V., Fong, K., & Lee, C. Validation of the Chinese Version of Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination. This study was aimed to evaluate the content, substantive and discriminative validity of the NCSE for assessing cognitive function of Chinese stroke patients. The equivalence of the Chinese version NCSE was substantiated by an expert panel review. Relevance and representativeness of the test content were also evaluated. Culturally irrelevant test items were identified under the attention, language, memory, and reasoning sub-tests. Item analysis using item difficulty, discriminative, and internal consistency indices (Alpha = .37 to .82) indicated that most of the original and revised sub-tests behaved as expected. Results from the field test on stroke patients (n = 62) and their normal counterpart (n = 33) revealed significant differences in attention, calculation, and similarity functions (p = .00 to .05) between the two groups. Findings of this study demonstrated the importance of rigorous evaluation of cognitive assessment instruments when they are used for patients with different cultural background and language. The Chinese version NCSE was found useful in discriminating stroke patients with cognitive dysfunction from the normal group.
Crockett, D. J., & Finnie, C. J. The Impact olD&traction and Demographic Variables on the BVRT. We examined the impact of demographic variables on functioning on the Benton Visual Retention Test in a heterogeneous sample. Subjects reproduced the designs of the BVRT in the presence of an interfering background (BIP: N = 737) or against a plain, non-distracting background (NBIP: N = 317). Age had a significant impact on the number of designs correctly reproduced during the distraction condition (BIP-Correct: t-test = - 11.081, p <
72
Abstracts from the 18th Annual Meeting
.001) and non-distraction condition (NBlIP-Correct: t-test = -5.041, p < .001). Age also had an impact on the number of errors during the BlP (Errors: t-test = 7.467, p < .001) and NBIP condition (Errors: t-test = 5.153). Education had a significant impact on the number of designs correctly reproduced during the distraction condition (BIP-Correct: t-test = -11.081, p < .001 ) and non-distraction condition (NBIP: Correct: t-test = -5.041, p < .001). Age had an impact on the number of errors during the BIP (Errors: t-test = -7.356, p < .001) and NBIP condition (Errors: t-test = -5.173, p < .001). These results suggest that performance on the B V R T should be interpreted in the context of the subject's age and level of education. Gender made a weak contribution to the prediction of the number of errors during the BIP condition (t-test = 2.082, p < .038) and did not make a significant contribution to the other measures of visual memory. Vulnerability to distraction increased with age. Relative to the non-interference condition, older subjects produced fewer designs correctly and made an increasingly higher number of errors.
Davis, K. L., & Zillmer, E. A. Contrasts Between the d2 Test of Attention and Intelligence Measures from a Normative Sample. The US version of the d2, a cancellation task of attention, purports to measure selective attention, inhibition, processing speed, rule compliance and quality of performance. The d2 and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) were administered to a normative sample of 506 US college students (59% male; mean age 20.7 years, range 1832; 79% Caucasian). Statistically significant (p < .05), yet minimal correlations were demonstrated between the Picture Completion (PC) subtest and the d2 percentage of errors (E%; r = -.28), total performance (TN-E; r = .16), concentration performance (CP; r = -.25), and fluctuation of performance across trials (FR; r = -.14). Similarly, small, yet significant (p < .05) correlations were found between the Information (INF) subtest and the d2 E % (r -- -.17), CP (r = .16), and FR (r = -.13). These results complement investigations of normal German samples included in Brickenkamp and Zillmer's (in press) review, as well as providing evidence for discriminant validity of the d2.
Demakis, G. J., Fritz, D., & Sweet, J..L Incidental Recall of Digit Symbol in Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease. Groups of patients with Alzheimer's Disease (n = 34) and Parkinson's Disease (n = 20) were administered the WAIS-R Digit Symbol subtest with incidental recall in the context of a neuropsychological evaluation. The incidental memory adaptation to Digit Symbol requires the patient to complete the entire subtest and then, without warning, to immediately recall the symbol associated with each number. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients were matched on age and education. On standard Digit Symbol administration (90 seconds), their performance did not significantly differ for either Standard Score of Age-Corrected Standard Score. However, Parkinson's patients recalled significantly more symbols and symbol and number pairs than Alzheimer's patients. These findings indicate similar psychomotor speed for both groups, but significantly better incidental recall for Parkinson's patients. The incidental memory adaptation to Digit Symbol may be a useful method for detecting differences between these two disease processes, as well as memory problems more generally.
Devinney, R. B., Sewick, B. G., & Haslund, S. L. Practice Effects in Short-Term, Test Retest of the Olfactory Discrimination Examination. The Olfactory Discrimination Examination (ODE), a neuropsychological test in development, seeks to measure an individual's ability to identify common household odors. In
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of adults. Item difficulty is generally too low and discrimination is compromised among adults and especially those with good semantic knowledge. The first step in constructing the Williams Picture Vocabulary Test (WPVT) was selecting a sample of 200 words from extensive lists of words calibrated by readability indices. These words were then matched with photographic images gleaned from large collections now available electronically. Photographs from these collections were also chosen as distractors, resulting in a test containing 800 unique images. Distractor photographs were chosen from the same semantic category as the target word. Individual items consist of the word printed above four photographs. The subject is requested to choose one of the four photographs that is most associated in meaning with the word. For example, the item for the word "horse" depicts a horse in one photograph and a different mammal in each of the three distractor positions. Initial Item Response Theory (IRT) analyses were conducted using 120 normal volunteer subjects in order to determine the Rausch difficulty stratification of the items. This stratification is used to determine the basal and ceiling levels for tailoring the administration of the test. The internal consistency of the items was examined using Cronbach's alpha. Results indicated that items of the WPVT are highly stratified by IRT probabilities and this suggests that semantic knowledge is also highly stratified. The semantic knowledge associated with some words is known by only a few people. As one moves down the difficulty scale, semantic knowledge is well distributed across a continuous spectrum of ability, finally resulting in a set of words that are known by everyone. It is also associated with word types: nouns and adjectives having concrete imaginability are known by more people. Words that embody abstract semantics are less known and items on the WPVT that embody there are the most difficult. The WPVT also demonstrated very high internal consistency (alpha = .89). This suggests that the construct of semantic knowledge is highly integrated and reinforces the well-known hierarchical and association theories of semantic knowledge.
Chan, C. H. C., Lee, T. M. C., Wong, V., Fong, K., & Lee, C. Validation of the Chinese Version of Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination. This study was aimed to evaluate the content, substantive and discriminative validity of the NCSE for assessing cognitive function of Chinese stroke patients. The equivalence of the Chinese version NCSE was substantiated by an expert panel review. Relevance and representativeness of the test content were also evaluated. Culturally irrelevant test items were identified under the attention, language, memory, and reasoning sub-tests. Item analysis using item difficulty, discriminative, and internal consistency indices (Alpha = .37 to .82) indicated that most of the original and revised sub-tests behaved as expected. Results from the field test on stroke patients (n = 62) and their normal counterpart (n = 33) revealed significant differences in attention, calculation, and similarity functions (p = .00 to .05) between the two groups. Findings of this study demonstrated the importance of rigorous evaluation of cognitive assessment instruments when they are used for patients with different cultural background and language. The Chinese version NCSE was found useful in discriminating stroke patients with cognitive dysfunction from the normal group.
Crockett, D. J., & Finnie, C. J. The Impact olD&traction and Demographic Variables on the BVRT. We examined the impact of demographic variables on functioning on the Benton Visual Retention Test in a heterogeneous sample. Subjects reproduced the designs of the BVRT in the presence of an interfering background (BIP: N = 737) or against a plain, non-distracting background (NBIP: N = 317). Age had a significant impact on the number of designs correctly reproduced during the distraction condition (BIP-Correct: t-test = - 11.081, p <
72
Abstracts from the 18th Annual Meeting
.001) and non-distraction condition (NBlIP-Correct: t-test = -5.041, p < .001). Age also had an impact on the number of errors during the BlP (Errors: t-test = 7.467, p < .001) and NBIP condition (Errors: t-test = 5.153). Education had a significant impact on the number of designs correctly reproduced during the distraction condition (BIP-Correct: t-test = -11.081, p < .001 ) and non-distraction condition (NBIP: Correct: t-test = -5.041, p < .001). Age had an impact on the number of errors during the BIP (Errors: t-test = -7.356, p < .001) and NBIP condition (Errors: t-test = -5.173, p < .001). These results suggest that performance on the B V R T should be interpreted in the context of the subject's age and level of education. Gender made a weak contribution to the prediction of the number of errors during the BIP condition (t-test = 2.082, p < .038) and did not make a significant contribution to the other measures of visual memory. Vulnerability to distraction increased with age. Relative to the non-interference condition, older subjects produced fewer designs correctly and made an increasingly higher number of errors.
Davis, K. L., & Zillmer, E. A. Contrasts Between the d2 Test of Attention and Intelligence Measures from a Normative Sample. The US version of the d2, a cancellation task of attention, purports to measure selective attention, inhibition, processing speed, rule compliance and quality of performance. The d2 and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) were administered to a normative sample of 506 US college students (59% male; mean age 20.7 years, range 1832; 79% Caucasian). Statistically significant (p < .05), yet minimal correlations were demonstrated between the Picture Completion (PC) subtest and the d2 percentage of errors (E%; r = -.28), total performance (TN-E; r = .16), concentration performance (CP; r = -.25), and fluctuation of performance across trials (FR; r = -.14). Similarly, small, yet significant (p < .05) correlations were found between the Information (INF) subtest and the d2 E % (r -- -.17), CP (r = .16), and FR (r = -.13). These results complement investigations of normal German samples included in Brickenkamp and Zillmer's (in press) review, as well as providing evidence for discriminant validity of the d2.
Demakis, G. J., Fritz, D., & Sweet, J..L Incidental Recall of Digit Symbol in Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease. Groups of patients with Alzheimer's Disease (n = 34) and Parkinson's Disease (n = 20) were administered the WAIS-R Digit Symbol subtest with incidental recall in the context of a neuropsychological evaluation. The incidental memory adaptation to Digit Symbol requires the patient to complete the entire subtest and then, without warning, to immediately recall the symbol associated with each number. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's patients were matched on age and education. On standard Digit Symbol administration (90 seconds), their performance did not significantly differ for either Standard Score of Age-Corrected Standard Score. However, Parkinson's patients recalled significantly more symbols and symbol and number pairs than Alzheimer's patients. These findings indicate similar psychomotor speed for both groups, but significantly better incidental recall for Parkinson's patients. The incidental memory adaptation to Digit Symbol may be a useful method for detecting differences between these two disease processes, as well as memory problems more generally.
Devinney, R. B., Sewick, B. G., & Haslund, S. L. Practice Effects in Short-Term, Test Retest of the Olfactory Discrimination Examination. The Olfactory Discrimination Examination (ODE), a neuropsychological test in development, seeks to measure an individual's ability to identify common household odors. In