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Nonverbal Memory Assessment with Designs: Construct Validity and Clinical Utility

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Abstract

The evaluation of memory is often a principal objective in psychological testing, especially for older adults. Differentiation between subtypes of memory functioning is critical in making differential diagnoses and in predicting everyday functioning. In this paper, 23 tests using memory for designs and developed for clinical or research applications are reviewed. Overall, reliabilities are low, normative samples varied in size, and findings regarding the construct validity of design memory testing are mixed. Tests with higher reliability, large numbers of designs, and recognition formats may be more specific to nonverbal memory. A series of studies that systematically establishes construct validity for design memory tests will enhance clinical utility.

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  1. Jennifer Moye

    Present address: Psychology Service, Department of Veterans Affairs, Brockton, Massachusetts, and Psychiatry Department, Harvard Medical School, USA

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Jennifer Moye

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Moye, J. Nonverbal Memory Assessment with Designs: Construct Validity and Clinical Utility. Neuropsychol Rev 7, 157–170 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:NERV.0000005907.34499.43

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