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Analysis of Narrative Discourse Structure as an Ecologically Relevant Measure of Executive Function in Adults

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Abstract

This study examined the narrative discourse production and executive function (EF) abilities of 46 neuro-typical adults (18–98 years old). Two questions were addressed: Is the analysis of narrative structure sensitive to changes associated with aging? & What is the relationship between measures of narrative structure and EF? Narratives were elicited under two conditions and narrative structure was analyzed for the presence of organizing story grammar elements. Narrative structure was significantly correlated with age as well as linguistic and non-linguistic measures of EF. Factor analysis of story structure and EF variables yielded two factors reflecting constructs of output-fluidity and organizational-efficiency. These data suggest that narrative structure and EF represent aspects of goal-directed knowledge that are not bound by a traditional linguistic and non-linguistic division. Thus, narrative structure may represent a global and ecologically valid measure of goal-directed executive function knowledge that is also sensitive to changes associated with typical aging.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Vermont, 401 Pomeroy Hall, 489 Main Street, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    Michael S. Cannizzaro

  2. Communication Sciences Department, University of Connecticut, 850 Bolton Rd. Unit 1085, Storrs, CT, 06269-1085, USA

    Carl A. Coelho

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Correspondence to Michael S. Cannizzaro.

Appendix: Appendix A & B—Transcripts

Appendix: Appendix A & B—Transcripts

Appendix A

Example transcripts demonstrating differences in the proportion of T-units within episode structure (TUP-R) from a younger (A) and older (B) participant in the story retelling condition.

  1. A.

    Twenty year old male retelling of the “Carl” story

    1. 1.

      this is a story about this lady who’s going out (S)

    2. 2.

      and she leaves her dog at home to watch over her baby (S & I.E.)

    3. 3.

      and the dog helps the baby get out of the crib (I.E.)

    4. 4.

      and they go all-around house having fun (I.E.)

    5. 5.

      and go into the room jump on the bed (A)

    6. 6.

      and they go downstairs to the fish tank (A)

    7. 7.

      and listen to the stereo (A)

    8. 8.

      and the dogs dancing (A)

    9. 9.

      and they go to the refrigerator (A)

    10. 10.

      and have a little food (A)

    11. 11.

      pretty much cause a lot of trouble (D.C.)

    12. 12.

      then the dog cleans everything up (D.C. & I.E.)

    13. 13.

      gives the baby a bath (A)

    14. 14.

      makes the bed (A)

    15. 15.

      puts everything away (A)

    16. 16.

      throws all the food away that they didn’t use (A)

    17. 17.

      and then puts the baby back in the crib (D.C.)

    18. 18.

      and lady gets back home (I.E.)

    19. 19.

      and everything looks in order (A)

    20. 20.

      and she doesn’t know anything happened (A & D.C.)

    21. 21.

      and rewards the dog by petting him (D.C. & R)

Number of T-units = 21, 3 complete episodes, 100 % of T-units within episode structure (1.0 - TUP-R)

  1. B.

    Eighty four year old male retelling of the “Carl” story

    1. 1.

      this is a story about a mother that had to leave the house (S & I.E.)

    2. 2.

      and has told the dog to babysit for the baby (S & I.E.)

    3. 3.

      and gave the dog the instructions (S)

    4. 4.

      and after she had left all things sort of broke loose (S & I.E.)

    5. 5.

      I can’t believe there wasn’t any destruction (N.E.)

    6. 6.

      And they seem to like each other (N.E.)

    7. 7.

      and apparently the mother had strong faith in the dog that the dog would keep everything under control (N.E.)

    8. 8.

      and apparently they may have deviated a certain respect but not much of any damage was occurred (N.E.)

    9. 9.

      and when the dog saw the mom coming back home they both restored everything the way it should be (A)

    10. 10.

      and it seemed as though everything went according to the instructions from the mother (D.C. & R)

Number of T-units = 10, 1 complete episode, 60 % of T-units within episode structure (0.6—TUP-R)

Numbers indicate t-unit segmentation; Story Grammar markers are labeled—S setting, I.E. initiating event, A attempt, D.C. direct consequence, R resolution, or N.E. non-episodic.

Appendix B

Example transcript demonstrating differences in the number of complete episodes generated (COMP-G) from a younger (A) and older (B) participant in the story generation condition.

  1. A.

    Twenty year old female generating a “Runaway” story

    1. 1.

      this is a story about a little boy who wants to Runaway (S)

    2. 2.

      standing in the kitchen very upset he looks at mother and says that’s it I’m running away (S & I.E.)

    3. 3.

      so the little boy takes his all his prized possessions his teddy bears and his toys and puts them into a sheet (A)

    4. 4.

      and he goes outside (A)

    5. 5.

      finds a stick (A)

    6. 6.

      ties it all up (A)

    7. 7.

      and says that’s it I’m running way (D.C.)

    8. 8.

      walking down the street (down the street) decides I am hungry mama didn’t give me a lunch yet (S & I.E.)

    9. 9.

      so he goes into the local counter (I.E. & A)

    10. 10.

      and he sits on the counter (A)

    11. 11.

      and says alright this is what I would like I would like a grilled cheese please no crust (D.C.)

    12. 12.

      and a police officer is a right next to him and he says Sir you look a little bit young to be here all by yourself (I.E.)

    13. 13.

      and he says nope I’m running away I am all by myself from now on (S & I.E.)

    14. 14.

      and he says well why are you running away (A)

    15. 15.

      and he says well mom wont let me have a dog (S & A)

    16. 16.

      and so the police officer talks to him (A)

    17. 17.

      and the guy running the counter talks to him (A)

    18. 18.

      and they decide after the the police officer will go talk to his mother (A)

    19. 19.

      and maybe he could convince her to compromise (A)

    20. 20.

      and even if he can’t have a dog it’s not worth running away

    21. 21.

      and after they eat the police officer drives him home in his cruiser to talk to his mom (D.C.)

Number of complete episodes (COMP-G) = 3

  1. B.

    Eighty two year old female generating a “Runaway” story

    1. 1.

      this little boy was not happy home (S)

    2. 2.

      so he decided to leave home (S & I.E.)

    3. 3.

      and he went into a restaurant (I.E.)

    4. 4.

      and happened to sit next to a policeman (I.E.)

    5. 5.

      who asked him what he was doing (A)

    6. 6.

      and he told him he was running away from home (S & A)

    7. 7.

      and the policeman told him all kinds of reasons why he should not runaway from home (A)

    8. 8.

      and so (he took the little boy) the little boy understood (D.C.)

    9. 9.

      and had the policeman take him back to his own house (D.C. & R)

Number of complete episodes (COMP-G) = 1

Numbers indicate t-unit segmentation; Story Grammar markers are labeled—S setting, I.E. initiating event, A attempt, D.C. direct consequence, R resolution, or N.E. non-episodic.

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Cannizzaro, M.S., Coelho, C.A. Analysis of Narrative Discourse Structure as an Ecologically Relevant Measure of Executive Function in Adults. J Psycholinguist Res 42, 527–549 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-012-9231-5

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