The Auditory Consonant Trigram (ACT) Test: A norm updating study for university students

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Auditory Consonant Trigram (ACT) Test is a key measure of verbal working memory.
• Previous research established its validity and reliability in Turkish adults.
• Normative data and psychometric properties require updating for broader application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To update the normative data for the ACT test in a young adult Turkish sample.
• To investigate the psychometric properties of the ACT test in this demographic.
• To address methodological limitations in previous ACT test studies.

Main Methods:

• Data collected from 304 healthy young adults (18-26 years old; 152 female, 152 male).
• ACT test administered with varying delay intervals (0-3s, 9-18s).
• Statistical analysis to compare scores across delay intervals and between genders.

Main Results:

• Significant differences observed across all delay intervals.
• Female scores decreased with increasing delay; male scores showed no change between 9-18s delays.
• Males outperformed females on total ACT scores and at longer delay intervals (9-18s).

Conclusions:

• The ACT test demonstrates reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.75) for measuring working memory.
• Gender differences in verbal working memory performance emerge with increasing delay intervals.
• Updated normative data are crucial for accurate interpretation of ACT test results in young adults.