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Effect of practice and span length on the dual-task coordination executive test
R P Sylwan1, F M Rosin, C Galera
1Laboratório de Psicologia Experimental Humana, Departamento de Psicologia e Educação, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil.
Summary
Modifying digit span length and incorporating practice trials in the box-crossing task can improve the reliability of the "mu" index, which measures executive working memory coordination in dual-task scenarios.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Human Factors Engineering
Background:
- The "mu" index is proposed to assess executive working memory capacity for coordinating concurrent tasks.
- Executive functions are crucial for managing cognitive resources during dual-task performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how practice in box-crossing (BC) and variations in digit span (DS) length affect the
- mu" index.
- To enhance the reliability of the
- mu" as a measure of executive coordination.
Main Methods:
- Manipulated digit sequence length (diminished, maintained, increased) and included prior practice trials for the box-crossing task.
- Evaluated
- mu" performance across three test trials and analyzed digit task strategies.
- Compared performance in single-task and dual-task (DT) conditions.
Main Results:
- Subjects with a diminished digit span exhibited superior dual-task performance and more stable results across trials.
- Prior practice in box-crossing improved performance and differentiation between single- and dual-task conditions.
- Within-session practice and digit span variability were found to impact the reliability of the
- mu" index.
Conclusions:
- Prior practice in box-crossing and a modified digit sequence length determination method are proposed to increase the reliability of the
- mu" index.
- These adjustments aim to provide a more dependable evaluation of executive coordination capacity within the dual-task paradigm.