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Methodological considerations in estimating speed of cognitive operations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2009

James T. Becker ,
Rocco Caldararo ,
Alan D. Baddeley ,
Mary Amanda Dew ,
William C. Heindel ,
Gordon Banks ,
Stanley K. Dorst  and
Oscar L. Lopez
James T. Becker
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 Departments of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
Rocco Caldararo
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
Alan D. Baddeley
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council–Applied Psychology Unit, Cambridge, England, CB2 2EF
Mary Amanda Dew
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 Departments of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 Departments of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
William C. Heindel
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
Gordon Banks
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
Stanley K. Dorst
Affiliation:
Departments of Family Medicine and Community Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
Oscar L. Lopez
Affiliation:
Departments of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213 Departments of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213
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Abstract

Individuals infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and having cognitive impairment have been described as having slow mentation. Data supporting this proposition come from a variety of sources, including Sternberg's (1966) item recognition memory task. The procedure nominally provides an index of speed of mental operations, independent from input/output demands. However, since the original use of this procedure in the 1960s, advances in cognitive psychology have revealed many of its limitations. The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric characteristics of this task. Each participant performed the Sternberg item recognition task twice, 6 mo apart. The stability of the estimate of the slope of regression equations and for zero intercept ranged from excellent (r = .87) to poor (r = .30), and the data from many individual subjects could not be reliably modelled using multiple linear regression techniques. These data, as well as those from previous research, demonstrate the limited practical use of this task in clinical samples. Furthermore, as cognitive psychological theory has advanced in the past 30 yr, the conceptual underpinnings of the procedure have essentially evaporated. (JINS, 1995, 1, 3–9).

Keywords

Cognitive operationHuman Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)Recognition memory task
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , January 1995 , pp. 3 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 1995

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