Le Clercq, Diana L. (2016) The Trail Making Test: Comparing the Original and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System Versions. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
The Trail Making Test (TMT) has been used to assess processing speed and cognitive flexibility since the 1930s. The test consists of two parts: Part A in which the numbers 1 to 25 must be rapidly connected by lines in order; and Part B in which numbers and letters are rapidly connected by switching between them. In 2001, the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) was introduced and included a version of the TMT with three additional conditions: a cancellation task; a letter sequencing counterpart to Part A; and a speeded motor task. The additional conditions were designed to assist in determining the influence of other cognitive abilities on the switching condition. The increased cost and administration time for clinicians raises the question of whether the D-KEFS TMT provides more meaningful information when compared to the original. Seventy normal participants aged between 20 and 76 were administered the two versions to examine how they differ. Correlations between Part A and B were stronger than their D-KEFS counterparts. The confidence intervals were comparable for both versions and did not support the assertions of greater sensitivity of DKEFS conditions. A principal components analysis revealed three components labelled Verbal Processing, Visual Sequencing, and Visual Scanning which accounted for 71% of the variance. While the original TMT trials loaded on separate components, the D-KEFS loadings failed to support their purported roles in measuring cognitive flexibility and motor speed. The findings provided no support for the incremental validity of the D-KEFS TMT over the original.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Patricia Beaumont; Graeme Senior |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2025 23:30 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Aug 2025 23:30 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Trail Making Test ; Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System ; cognitive flexibility ; visual processing ; motor speed |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52212 |
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