Hey
I am planning a study on Hypothyroidism and executive function. In this regard I am searching for tasks that asses executive function particulaly self monitoring, planning and organization? Tower of London task involves planning but does it assess other functions that are mentioned above?
Trail making task is very good at examining cognitive dysfunction. Depending on the way you want to test your participants, it would be a good measure of whether there is a decrease in executive functioning with hypothyroidism. See attached.
Tom N Tombaugh, Trail Making Test A and B: Normative data stratified by age and education, In Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Volume 19, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 203-214, ISSN 0887-6177, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0887-6177(03)00039-8.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887617703000398)
Keywords: Trail Making Test; Normative data; Age and education; Trails
Thanks Armin!
But does it assess self monitoring, planning and organization? Trail making test can be used for mental flexibility but can it also be used for self monitoring, planning and organization?
Vatsal,
assesing the different executive components that enable goal-directed behaviors independently could be tricky. The TOL itself could serve as a measure of all the three components that you formerly pointed out (i.e., self-monitoring, planning and organization).
Aside from self-monitoring, the TMT-B for some authors also assesses working memory. The TOL is a good test for planning and organization. For self-monitoring maybe speed-processing and flexibility tests could be helpful here (e.g., TMT-B).
hi, Vastal. rey complex figure- required organizational and planning abilities. there is a coding system which actually measures those abilities.
Hello Vatsal,
I have not understood whether you are planning a study with adults or children.
If you intend to work with adults, I recommend you to read the article by Miyake et al. (2000), The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Contributions to Complex “Frontal Lobe” Tasks: A Latent Variable Analysis, Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49-100, also posted on Researchgate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12374714_The_Unity_and_Diversity_of_Executive_Functions_and_Their_Contributions_to_Complex_Frontal_Lobe_Tasks_A_Latent_Variable_Analysis
This is a real milestone in executive function research that can help you to understand the abilities involved in numerous executive tasks, including the Tower of London/Hanoi.
If, instead, you intend to work with children, planning your research could be more complicated, because executive function development is a controversial matter. In a recent study, for instance, we had to do some preliminary analyses to make sure that we were actually testing what we intended to, as you can see here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304716646_Drawing_a_dog_The_role_of_working_memory_and_executive_function
But, this is merely an example. My colleagues and I are currently writing a review of the literature on executive function development, but unfortunately, we have not yet completed it.
in any case, good luck!
Article The Unity and Diversity of Executive Functions and Their Con...
Article Drawing a dog: The role of working memory and executive function
Hello Dr. Mora
Thanks for the references I will be using the task on adults only.
I will be looking forward for your article
Thanks again
Vatsal
Hey Frank !
Thanks is there a reference for the coding system you mentioned ?
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