What about Inhibition in the Winsconsin Card Sorting Test?

in The Clinical Neuropsychologist (2011), 25(4), 652-669

The commercially available Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is one of the most commonly used tests for assessing executive functions within clinical settings. Importantly, however, it remains relatively ... [more ▼]

The commercially available Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is one of the most commonly used tests for assessing executive functions within clinical settings. Importantly, however, it remains relatively unclear exactly what processes are assessed by the test. Conceptually, increased perseverative errors in sorting cards are usually related to deficient inhibition processes. Empirically, evidence supporting this conclusion is limited. In a sample of 38 healthy adults we addressed the question to what extent inhibition mechanisms assessed by the go/no-go and the stop-signal paradigm are related to WCST performances. Inhibition-related scores were found to predict non-perseverative errors better than perseverative errors. Consequently we conclude that the non-perseverative errors score reflects processes that are partly dependent on inhibition functions. [less ▲]

Incomplete Psychometric Equivalence of Scores Obtained on the Manual and the Computer Version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test?

in Psychological Assessment (2010), 22(1), 199-202

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) assesses executive and frontal lobe function and can be administered manually or by computer. Despite the widespread application of the 2 versions, the psychometric ... [more ▼]

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) assesses executive and frontal lobe function and can be administered manually or by computer. Despite the widespread application of the 2 versions, the psychometric equivalence of their scores has rarely been evaluated and only a limited set of criteria has been considered. The present experimental study (N 100 healthy adults) therefore examined the psychometric equivalence of 4 scores (i.e., Total Correct, Percentage of Errors, Perseverative Errors, and Failure-to-Maintain-Set) obtained on the 2 versions of the WCST in terms of 4 key criteria identified within the framework of classical test theory. The results showed considerable differences in variances, small to modest parallel-forms reliability coefficients, and small to modest temporal stability coefficients. Taken together, our results suggest that scores on the manual version and the computer version of the WCST show incomplete psychometric equivalence. [less ▲]