Tower of London test

Tower of London test
Screenshot of the PEBL psychology software running the Tower of London test
Purpose	assess executive function

The Tower of London test is a test used in applied clinical neuropsychology for the assessment of executive functioning specifically to detect deficits in planning,^[1]^[2] which may occur due to a variety of medical and neuropsychiatric conditions. It is related to the classic problem-solving puzzle known as the Tower of Hanoi.

The test was developed by the psychologist Tim Shallice

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Test

The test consists of two boards with pegs and several beads with different colors. The examiner (usually a clinical psychologist or a neuropsychologist) presents the examinee with problem-solving tasks: one board shows the goal arrangement of beads, and the other board is given to the examinee with the beads in a different configuration. By moving beads from one peg to another, the examinee must alter the second board to match the first - a task that requires a degree of thinking ahead.^[3]

One common use of the test is for diagnosis of executive impairment. The performance of the examinee is compared to representative samples of individuals of the same age to derive hypotheses about the person's executive cognitive ability, especially as it may relate to brain damage. A certain degree of controversy surrounds the test's construct validity.^[4]

Variants

Several variants of the test exist. Shallice's original test used three beads and pegs with different heights, although later researchers have generalized this to more beads without a peg height restriction.^[5] Versions of the test are available from a number of sources, including a stand-alone test by William Culbertson and Eric Zillmer (published by Drexel University) and a child/adolescent version that is part of the original NEPSY neuropsychological battery of tests by Marit Korkman, Ursula Kirk, and Sally Kemp (although removed from the second edition). A computerised variant, known as the Stockings of Cambridge test, is available as part of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB).

References

^ Shallice, T. (1982). "Specific impairments of planning". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 298 (1089): 199–209. Bibcode:1982RSPTB.298..199S. doi:10.1098/rstb.1982.0082. PMID 6125971.
^ Phillips, LH; et al. (2001). "Mental planning and the Tower of London task". Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Section A. 54 (2): 579–597. doi:10.1080/713755977. PMID 11394063. S2CID 22194356.
^ Phillips, L. H.; Wynn, V. E.; McPherson, S.; Gilhooly, K. J. (May 2001). "Mental planning and the Tower of London task". The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A. 54 (2): 579–597. doi:10.1080/713755977.
^ Kafer, K. L.; Hunter, M. (1997). "On Testing the Face Validity of Planning/Problem-Solving Tasks in a Normal Population". Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 3 (2): 108–119. doi:10.1017/s1355617797001082. PMID 9126852. S2CID 19292011.
^ Phillips, L. H.; V. Wynn; K. J. Gilhooly; S. Della Sala; R. H. Logie (1999). "The role of memory in the Tower of London task". Memory. 7 (2): 209–231. doi:10.1080/741944066. PMID 10645380.

External links

v t e Neuropsychological tests
Battery	Cognistat Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery Luria–Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery Montreal Cognitive Assessment Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status
Arousal/Attention	Continuous performance task D2 Test of Attention Four boxes test Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test Morningness–eveningness questionnaire Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test Posner cueing task Test of everyday attention Test of Variables of Attention
Sensation/Perception	Bender-Gestalt Test Benton Visual Retention Test Dot cancellation test Judgment of Line Orientation Navon figure Rey–Osterrieth complex figure
Memory	1-2-AX working memory task California Verbal Learning Test Corsi block-tapping test Digit symbol substitution test Doors and People MCI Screen Wechsler Memory Scale
Language	Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination Boston Naming Test Comprehensive aphasia test Controlled Oral Word Association Test Thurstone Word Fluency Test
Motor	Compensatory tracking task Purdue Pegboard Test
Problem-solving	Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System Hayling and Brixton tests Tower of London test Trail Making Test Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
Sleep	Epworth Sleepiness Scale
Specific impairments	British Columbia Postconcussion Symptom Inventory Clinical Dementia Rating Digit Cancellation Test Disability Rating Scale Florida Cognitive Activities Scale Glasgow Coma Scale Glasgow Outcome Scale Pediatric Attention Disorders Diagnostic Screener Rivermead post-concussion symptoms questionnaire
Intelligence	National Adult Reading Test Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Wechsler Test of Adult Reading
Bed-side	Abbreviated mental test score Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination General Practitioner Assessment of Cognition Mini–mental state examination
Social	Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale
Malingering	Test of Memory Malingering

This page was last edited on 5 December 2023, at 11:54

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