Which of the following regarding the Wisconsin Card Sorting test is true?
It is unaffected by deficits in working memory13%It assesses abstract reasoning22%It is a projective test of personality16%The patient is not told during the test whether their responses are correct or incorrect24%It assesses parietal lobe dysfunction24%
The Wisconsin Card Sorting test is used to assess perseveration and abstract reasoning. It is considered a measure of executive function because of its reported sensitivity to frontal lobe dysfunction. As such, the test allows the clinician to assess the following 'frontal' lobe functions: strategic planning, organised searching, utilising environmental feedback to shift cognitive sets, directing behaviour toward achieving a goal, and modulating impulsive responding.
In the Wisconsin Card Sorting test a participant is presented with stimulus cards with shapes on them. The cards differ in colour of the shapes, number of the shapes, and the form of the shapes. The participant is asked to sort these cards into two piles. The participant is not told what stimulus dimension to use in order to sort the cards, but the administrator tells the participant if a particular match is correct. During the test, the sorting rules are changed and the participant must discover the new sorting rule in order to be successful.
Neuropsychological tests
| Neuropsychological domain | Neuropsychological test |
|---|---|
| Attention | Digit span Trails A Test |
| Language | Boston Naming Test Verbal Fluency |
| Memory | Wechsler Memory Scale Ray Auditory Verbal Learning Test |
| Visuospatial skills | Ray-Osterrieth Complex Figure |
| Executive function | Wisconsin Card Sort Test Stroop test Trials B Test |
| Intelligence | Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test National Adult Reading Test Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale |
| Personality (Projective Tests) | Rorschach Inkblot Thematic Apperception Test Draw-A-Person test Sentence completion tests |
| Personality (Objective Tests) | Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) NEO Personality Inventory Esyenck personality test (EPQ) |
