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Usability of a theory of visual attention (TVA) for parameter-based measurement of attention I: Evidence from normal subjects

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2005

KATHRIN FINKE ,
PETER BUBLAK ,
JOSEPH KRUMMENACHER ,
SØREN KYLLINGSBÆK ,
HERMANN J. MÜLLER  and
WERNER X. SCHNEIDER
KATHRIN FINKE
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
PETER BUBLAK
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
JOSEPH KRUMMENACHER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
SØREN KYLLINGSBÆK
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Center for Visual Cognition, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
HERMANN J. MÜLLER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
WERNER X. SCHNEIDER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
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Abstract

The present study investigated the usability of whole and partial report of briefly displayed letter arrays as a diagnostic tool for the assessment of attentional functions. The tool is based on Bundesen's (1990, 1998, 2002; Bundesen et al., 2005) theory of visual attention (TVA), which assumes four separable attentional components: processing speed, working memory storage capacity, spatial distribution of attention, and top-down control. A number of studies (Duncan et al., 1999; Habekost & Bundesen, 2003; Peers et al., 2005) have already demonstrated the clinical relevance of these parameters. The present study was designed to examine whether (a) a shortened procedure bears sufficient accuracy and reliability, (b) whether the procedures reveal attentional constructs with clinical relevance, and (c) whether the mathematically independent parameters are also empirically independent. In a sample of 35 young healthy subjects, we found high intraparameter correlations between full- and short-length tests and sufficient internal consistencies as measured via a bootstrapping method. The clinical relevance of the TVA parameters was demonstrated by significant correlations with established clinical tests measuring similar constructs. The empirical independence of the four TVA parameters is suggested by nonsignificant or, in the case of processing speed and working memory storage capacity, only modest correlations between the parameter values. (JINS, 2005, 11, 832–842.)

Keywords

HumanAdultNeuropsychological testsExperimental designReliability of resultsCognition
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 11 , Issue 7 , November 2005 , pp. 832 - 842
Copyright
© 2005 The International Neuropsychological Society

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