Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T13:48:26.792Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relationship between general intellectual ability and performance on ecologically valid executive tests in a severe brain injury sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2006

RODGER Ll. WOOD  and
CHRISTINA LIOSSI
RODGER Ll. WOOD
Affiliation:
Brain Injury Research Group, Department of Psychology, School of Human Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
CHRISTINA LIOSSI
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Recent studies of brain injured and healthy individuals have provided empirical support for the theoretical proposition that executive function and general intelligence are closely associated by demonstrating that performance on tests of executive function is correlated with general intellectual ability (g). In the present investigation, the relationship between performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-III (WAIS-III), as a measure of g, and performance on recently developed ecological tests of executive function [i.e., Hayling and Brixton, Zoo Map and Key Search sub-tests from the Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS) battery], was examined in a sample of 118 severely brain injured individuals. The results indicated that (a) performance on tests of executive function share significant variance, and (b) a proportion of that shared variance is associated with performance on the WAIS-III. Correlations between conventional measures of executive function (i.e. Trails B and Controlled Oral Word Association) and WAIS-III were of comparable magnitude to the correlations between new, ecologically valid executive tests and WAIS-III. The results provide some support to the notion that tests of executive function measure non-specific intellectual functions, reminiscent of g. (JINS, 2007, 13, 90–98.)

Keywords

Fluid intelligenceCrystallized intelligenceExecutive functionBrain injuryTest validityEcological validity
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , January 2007 , pp. 90 - 98
Copyright
© 2007 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ackerman, P.L., Beier, M.E., & Boyle, M.O. (2005). Working Memory and Intelligence: The Same or Different Constructs? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 30–60.Google Scholar
Anstey, K.J., Hofer, S.M., & Luszcz, M.A. (2003). Cross-sectional and longitudinal patterns of dedifferentiation in late-life cognitive and sensory function: The effects of age, ability, attrition, and occasion of measurement. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 132, 470–487.Google Scholar
Benton, A.L. & Hamsher, K. (1976). Manual for Multilingual Aphasia Examination. Iowa City: University of Iowa.
Burgess, P.W. (2000). Strategy application disorder: The role of the frontal lobes in human multitasking. Psychological Research, 63, 279–288.Google Scholar
Burgess, P.W. & Shallice, T. (1997). The Hayling and Brixton Tests. Bury St. Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company.
Carroll, J.B. (1993). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor analytic studies. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Catell, R.B. (1973). Measuring intelligence with a culture fair test. Champagne, IL: The Institute For Personality And Ability Testing.
Chan, C.K. & Manley, T. (2002). The application of dysexecutive measures across cultures: Performance and checklist assessment in neurologically healthy and traumatically brain-injured Hong Kong Chinese volunteers. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8, 771–780.Google Scholar
Collette, F., Van der Linden, M., Delfiore, G., Degueldre, C., Luxen, A., & Salmon, E. (2001). The functional anatomy of inhibition processes investigated with the Hayling task. Neuroimage, 14, 258–267.Google Scholar
Crawford, J.R. & Henry, J.D. (2005). Assessment of executive deficits. In P.W. Halligan & N. Wade (Eds.), The Effectiveness of Rehabilitation for Cognitive Deficits, (pp. 233–245). London: Oxford University Press.
Deary, I.J. (2005). The principles of cognition and the abilities of man: A natural collaboration. Cortex, 41, 225–227.Google Scholar
Della Sala, S., Gray, C., Spinnler, H., & Trivelli, C. (1998). Frontal lobe functioning in man: The riddle revisited. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 13, 663–682Google Scholar
Duncan, J. (1995). Attention, intelligence, and the frontal lobes. In M.S. Gazzaniga (Ed.), Cognitive Neurosciences (pp. 721–733). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Duncan, J. & Owen, A.M. (2000). Common regions of the human frontal lobe recruited by diverse cognitive demands. Trends in Neurosciences, 23, 475–483.Google Scholar
Duncan, J., Burgess, P., & Emslie, H. (1995). Fluid intelligence after frontal lobe lesions. Neuropsychologia, 33, 261–268.Google Scholar
Duncan, J., Johnson, R., Swales, M., & Freer, C. (1997). Frontal lobe deficits after head injury: Unity and diversity of function. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 14, 713–741.Google Scholar
Eslinger, P.J. & Grattan, L.M. (1993). Frontal lobe and frontal striatal substrates for different forms of human cognitive flexibility. Neuropsychologia, 31, 17–28.Google Scholar
Goodglass, H. & Kaplan, E. (1972). An assessment of aphasia and related disorders. Philadelphia: Lea and Fibiger.
Gray, J.R., Charbris, C.F., & Braver, T.S. (2003). Neural mechanisms of general fluid intelligence. Nature Neuroscience, 6, 316–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gronwall, D.M. & Wrightson, P. (1974). Delayed recovery of intellectual function after minor head injury. Lancet, 9, 605–609.Google Scholar
Horn, J.l. & Cattell, R.B. (1966). Refinement and test of the theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 57, 253–270.Google Scholar
Jensen, A.R. & Weng, L.J. (1994). What is a good g? Intelligence, 18, 231–258.Google Scholar
Luria, A.R. (1966). Higher Cortical Functions in Man. London: Tavistock.
McMillan, T.M., Jongen, E.L.M., & Greenwood, R.J. (1996). Assessment of post-traumatic amnesia after severe closed head injury: Retrospective or prospective? Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 60, 422–427.Google Scholar
Milner, B. (1963). Effects of different brain lesions on card sorting: The role of the frontal lobe. Archives in Neurology, 9, 100–110.Google Scholar
Nathaniel-James, D.A., Fletcher, P., & Frith, C.D. (1997). The functional anatomy of verbal initiation and suppression using the Hayling Test. Neuropsychologia, 35, 559–566.Google Scholar
Obonsawin, M.C., Crawford, J.R., Page, J., Chalmers, P., Cochrane, R., & Low, G. (2002). Performance on tests of frontal lobe function reflect general intellectual ability. Neuropsychologia, 40, 970–977.Google Scholar
Odhuba, R.A., van den Broek, M.D., & Johns, L.C. (2005). Ecological validity of measures of executive functioning. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 269–278.Google Scholar
Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B., Lee, J., & Podsakoff, N.P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 879–903.Google Scholar
Rabbitt, P. (1997). Methodologies and Models and the Study of Executive Function. In P. Rabbitt (Ed.), Methodology of Frontal and Executive Function. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
Reinert, G., Baltes, P., & Schmidt, L.R. (1965). Faktorenanalytishce Untersuchungen zur Differenzuierungshypothese der Intelligencz: Die Liestungsdifferenzierungshypothese (Factor analytic investigation of the differentiation hypothesis of intelligence: The differential performance of intelligence). Psychologische Forschung, 28, 246–300.Google Scholar
Reitan, R.M. & Wolfson, D. (1985). The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery. Tucson, AZ: Neuropsychology Press.
Reverberi, C., Lavaroni, A., Gigli, G.L., Skrap, M., & Shallice, T. (2005). Specific impairments of rule induction in different frontal lobe subgroups. Neuropsychologia, 43, 460–472.Google Scholar
Shallice, T. (1982). Specific impairments of planning. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B, 298, 199–209.Google Scholar
Shoqeirat, M.A, Maize, A., MacDonald, C., Meudal, P., & Pickering, A. (1990). Performance on tests sensitive to frontal lobe lesions by patients with organic amnesia. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 29, 401–408.Google Scholar
Spearman, C. (1927). The Abilities of Man. London: Macmillan.
Sternberg, R.J. (2000). Handbook of Intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R.J. (2005). The importance of converging operations in the study of human intelligence. Cortex, 41, 243–244.Google Scholar
Stroop, J.R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 643–662.Google Scholar
Stuss, D.T., Alexander, M.P., Hamer, L., Palumbo, C., Dempster, R., Binns, M., Levine, B., & Izukawa, D. (1998). The effects of focal anterior and posterior brain lesions on verbal fluency. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 4, 265–278.Google Scholar
Teasdale, G. & Jennett, B. (1974). Assessment of coma and impaired consciousness: A practical scale. Lancet, 8, 1–4.Google Scholar
Temple, C. (1997). Developmental cognitive neuropsychology. East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.
Tulsky, D., Zhu, J., & Ledbetter, M.F. (1997). The WAIS III, WMS III Technical Manual. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (1981). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. New York: The Psychological Corporation.
Wechsler, D. (1998). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
Wechsler, D., Wycherley, R.J., Benjamin, L., Crawford, J.R., & Mockler, D. (1998). Manual for the Wechsler Memory Scale–Third Edition (U.K.). San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
Williams, E.J. (1959). The comparison of regression variables. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 21, 396–399.Google Scholar
Wilson, B.A., Alderman, N., Burgess, P.W., Emslie, H., & Evans, J.J. (1996). Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome. Bury St. Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company.
Wood, R.Ll & Liossi, C. (2006). The ecological validity of executive tests in a severely brain injured sample. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 21, 429–437.Google Scholar
Wood, R.Ll. & Rutterford, N. (2004). Relationships between measured cognitive ability and reported psychosocial activity after bilateral frontal lobe injury: An 18-year follow-Up. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 14, 329–350.Google Scholar
Zakzanis, K.K., Mraz, R., & Graham, S.J. (2005). An fMRI study of the Trail Making Test. Neuropsychologia, 43, 1878–1886.Google Scholar