Association between dyads and correct responses on the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT)

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) is a common tool for assessing working memory.
• Traditional scoring of the PASAT relies on total correct responses.
• The utility of the PASAT may be enhanced by alternative scoring methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of "dyads" (consecutive correct responses) as a complementary metric to the total correct score on the PASAT.
• To determine if dyad analysis improves sensitivity to working memory deficits.

Main Methods:

• A sample of 397 healthy adults, predominantly African American (79%), completed the PASAT.
• Data were analyzed by comparing total correct scores with total dyad scores.
• The association between dyad and total correct scores was examined under varying stimulus presentation speeds.

Main Results:

• Total dyad and total correct scores on the PASAT were highly correlated (r = .96, p < .001).
• The correlation between dyad and total correct scores decreased significantly during faster stimulus presentation trials.
• This diminished association was more pronounced in participants identified with working memory impairments.

Conclusions:

• Dyad analysis provides a valuable, sensitive measure that complements traditional PASAT scoring for working memory assessment.
• The dyad metric is particularly useful for detecting working memory deficits under challenging cognitive load conditions (faster trials).
• This refined approach enhances the diagnostic capabilities of the PASAT for cognitive assessment.