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Updated: Jun 15, 2026
Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties
Published on: September 27, 2020
The added value of metadata on test completion time for the quantification of cognitive functioning in survey
Emma Nichols1,2, Michael Markot1, Alden L Gross3
1Center for Economic and Social Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Objective:
Information on the time spent completing cognitive testing is often collected, but such data are not typically considered when quantifying cognition in large-scale community-based surveys. We sought to evaluate the added value of timing data over and above traditional cognitive scores for the measurement of cognition in older adults.
Method:
We used data from the Longitudinal Aging Study in India-Diagnostic Assessment of Dementia (LASI-DAD) study (N = 4,091), to assess the added value of timing data over and above traditional cognitive scores, using item-specific regression models for 36 cognitive test items. Models were adjusted for age, gender, interviewer, and item score.
Results:
Compared to Quintile 3 (median time), taking longer to complete specific items was associated (p < 0.05) with lower cognitive performance for 67% (Quintile 5) and 28% (Quintile 4) of items. Responding quickly (Quintile 1) was associated with higher cognitive performance for 25% of simpler items (e.g., orientation for year), but with lower cognitive functioning for 63% of items requiring higher-order processing (e.g., digit span test). Results were consistent in a range of different analyses adjusting for factors including education, hearing impairment, and language of administration and in models using splines rather than quintiles.
Conclusions:
Response times from cognitive testing may contain important information on cognition not captured in traditional scoring. Incorporation of this information has the potential to improve existing estimates of cognitive functioning.
