eprintid: 7049
rev_number: 4
userid: 6
dir: disk0/00/00/70/49
datestamp: 2011-11-10 19:36:08
lastmod: 2016-11-15 13:39:46
status_changed: 2011-11-10 19:36:08
type: thesis_degree
metadata_visibility: show
contact_email: sls64pitt@yahoo.com
item_issues_count: 0
eprint_status: archive
creators_name: Shugars, Sara L
creators_email: sls64pitt@yahoo.com
title: A FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING: THE HAMBURGER TURNING TASK
ispublished: unpub
divisions: sch_hrs_healthandrehabsciences
full_text_status: public
keywords:  Executive Function; Ecological Validity; Functional Assessment
abstract: The number of neuropsychological tests and functional assessments that claim to have a relationship between the patient's testing performance and behavior in real-world settings is limited. Additionally, there is a growing concern among testing professionals that most, if not all, psychological tests and standardized assessments introduce environments and stimuli that people never encounter and tasks that often do not emulate life situations or vocational requirements. In order to address the current issues surrounding the ecological validity of psychometric tests, this pilot study introduced a hands-on assessment using a simulated real-world vocational task. Twenty-three subjects between the ages of 18-26, with varying cognitive disabilities, completed a vocational simulation task, the Hamburger Turning Task (HTT), and the results were compared to their scores on a battery of commonly used neuropsychological tests (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Finger Tapping test, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, Trailmaking Test, Stroop Color-Word test) that purport to measure aspects of executive functioning analogous to those measured by the HTT. A Pearson-product correlation was run to compare the relationship between the scores from the HTT and the psychometric tests, as well as the relationship between both psychometric tests and HTT scores and daily behavioral observations of executive functioning related performance over a 7 week period. The results of the study found a significant correlation between the HTT and behavioral data, leading us to believe that the HTT can be used to evaluate real-world aspects of executive functioning. It was also found that there was a high level of interrater reliability on the scoring of the HTT, allowing future researchers to use this as a standardized tool.
date: 2007-04-25
date_type: completed
institution: University of Pittsburgh
refereed: TRUE
etdcommittee_type: committee_chair
etdcommittee_type: committee_member
etdcommittee_type: committee_member
etdcommittee_name: McCue, Michael
etdcommittee_name: Pramuka, Michael
etdcommittee_name: Fitzgerald, Shirley
etdcommittee_email: mmccue@pitt.edu
etdcommittee_email: mpramuka@pitt.edu
etdcommittee_email: sgf9@pitt.edu
etdcommittee_id: MMCCUE
etdcommittee_id: MPRAMUKA
etdcommittee_id: SGF9
etd_defense_date: 2007-04-05
etd_approval_date: 2007-04-25
etd_submission_date: 2007-04-12
etd_access_restriction: immediate
etd_patent_pending: FALSE
assigned_doi: doi:10.5195/pitt.etd.2011.7049
thesis_type: thesis
degree: MS
committee: Michael McCue (mmccue@pitt.edu) - Committee Chair
committee: Michael Pramuka (mpramuka@pitt.edu) - Committee Member
committee: Shirley Fitzgerald (sgf9@pitt.edu) - Committee Member
etdurn: etd-04122007-120354
other_id: http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04122007-120354/
other_id: etd-04122007-120354
citation:   Shugars, Sara L  (2007) A FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING: THE HAMBURGER TURNING TASK.  Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.    (Unpublished)  
document_url: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/7049/1/hugars_ETD2007_final.PDF