Definition
The construct of verbal fluency measures verbal knowledge, but also addresses speed of retrieval from semantic memory and thus, has a speed/working memory component. For this reason, verbal fluency is treated as a separate construct from vocabulary. The task requires participants to generate as many words as possible in 60 seconds relating to a letter or a category.
Caution: Please note that there are differences in the administration of the phonemic letter task across waves. Also note that the semantic category task was not presented in wave 1.
References
Spreen, O., & Benton, A. L. (1977). Neurosensory Center Comprehensive Examination for Aphasia: Manual of instructions (NCCEA) (rev. ed.). Victoria, BC: University of Victoria.
Salthouse, T. A. (2019). Trajectories of normal cognitive aging. Psychology and Aging, 34(1), 17–24.
Hedden, T., Lautenschlager, G., & Park, D. C. (2005). Contributions of Processing Ability and Knowledge to Verbal Memory Tasks across the Adult Life-Span. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 58(1), 169-190.
7.29 Controlled Word Oral Association (FAS)
Description (task duration: 3 minutes): This task assesses the spontaneous production of words under a phonemic search condition. Participants are presented with three blocks of letters (F, A, and S) and are asked to write down (wave 1) or say out loud (wave 2 and wave 3) as many words beginning with that specific letter as possible in 60 seconds. Responses are recorded for accuracy and each unique word response receives a score of correct (1) or incorrect (0). Proper nouns and repeated words with a different suffix (e.g., friend, friends, friendly) are counted as incorrect. The variables of interest for this task are the number of correct words produced for the F, A, and S blocks as well as a total score.
Caution: In Wave 1, participants were instructed to write down their responses for 60 seconds. In Wave 2 and Wave 3, participants were instructed to orally respond, and responses would be recorded for later scoring and validation.
Primary Reference:
Bechtoldt, H.P., Benton, A.L. & Fogel, M.L. (1962). An application of factor analysis in neuropsychology. The Psychological Record, 12, 147–156.
7.30 Controlled Oral Association: Categories
Description (task duration: 2 minutes): This task is similar to the letter task but assesses the spontaneous production of words under a semantic search condition. Participants are present with two blocks of categories (animals and vegetables) and asked to verbally respond with all the items they can think of that fit into that specific category in 60 seconds. Responses are recorded for accuracy and each unique word response receives a score of correct (1) or incorrect (0). The variables of interest for this task are the total number of correct words produced for the animal and vegetable blocks as well as a total score. It is important to note that this task was not administered in wave 1.
Primary Reference:
Bechtoldt, H.P., Benton, A.L. & Fogel, M.L. (1962). An application of factor analysis in neuropsychology. The Psychological Record, 12, 147–156.
Verbal Fluency Data Set: Key to Names and Data Structure in Data Set
| Item Name | Abbreviation | Description | Measurement |
| Item Name | Abbreviation | Description | Measurement |
| Subject Number | S# | Subject identifier | |
| Age Interval | AgeInterval | Age at wave recoded into 3-year intervals | 20-100 |
| Sex | Sex | Participant’s biological sex. | m = Male f = Female |
| Race | Race | Race that the participant self-identifies with. | 1 = Asian American/ Pacific Islander 2 = Black/African American 3 = Multiracial 4 = Native American 5 = White/Caucasian 6 = Other 7 = Unknown |
| Ethnicity | Ethnicity | Ethnicity that the participant self-identifies with. | 1=Hispanic/Latin(o/a) 0 = Non-Hispanic |
| Handedness Score | HandednessScore | Average score of participant hand preference while completing various tasks. Higher scores indicate preference for the right hand. | Score range: 0-4 0 = Always left 1 = Usually left 2 = No preference 3 = Usually right 4 = Always right |
| Mini-Mental State Exam Total | MMSE | Total # of items answered correctly. | Score range: 0-30 |
| Cognitive Battery Wave 1-2 Interval | CogW1toW2 | Interval between cognitive testing day 1 for waves 1-2. | # of Years |
| Cognitive Battery Wave 2-3 Interval | CogW2toW3 | Interval between cognitive testing day 1 for waves 2-3. | # of Years |
| Cognitive Battery Wave 1-3 Interval | CogW1toW3 | Interval between cognitive testing day 1 for waves 1-3. | # of Years |
| Take Home Wave 1-2 Interval | TakeHomeW1toW2 | Interval between Take Home for waves 1-2. | # of Years |
| Take Home Wave 2-3 Interval | TakeHomeW2toW3 | Interval between Take Home for waves 2-3. | # of Years |
| Take Home Wave 1-3 Interval | TakeHomeW1toW3 | Interval between Take Home for waves 1-3. | # of Years |
| MRI Wave 1-2 Interval | MRIW1toW2 | Interval between MRI scan for waves 1-2. | # of Years |
| MRI Wave 2-3 Interval | MRIW2toW3 | Interval between MRI scan for waves 2-3. | # of Years |
| MRI Wave 1-3 Interval | MRIW1toW3 | Interval between MRI scan for waves 1-3. | # of Years |
| Amyloid PET Wave 1-2 Interval | PETAmyW1toW2 | Interval between amyloid PET scan for waves 1-2. | # of Years |
| Amyloid PET Wave 2-3 Interval | PETAmyW2toW3 | Interval between amyloid PET scan for waves 2-3. | # of Years |
| Amyloid PET Wave 1-3 Interval | PETAmyW1toW3 | Interval between amyloid PET scan for waves 1-3. | # of Years |
| Highest Level of Education Completed | EduComp5 | This is an ordinal measure of participants’ self-reported highest level of education completed. | 1 = Less than high school graduate 2 = High school graduate/GED 3 = Some college/trade/ technical/business school 4 = Bachelor’s degree 5 = Some graduate work 6 = Master’s degree 7 = MD/JD/PhD/other advanced degree |
| Education Estimated Years Capped | EduYrsEstCap5 | This is a conversion of the participant’s self-reported highest level of education into a capped estimated number of years it would take to reach this highest level of education. The “capped” comes into play when someone spend a longer time than usual for a certain degree but did not complete it. In short, someone with a lot of years of education but did not complete a degree will not score higher than someone who did complete the degree. | 11 maximum = Less than High school 12 = High School 15 maximum = Some College 16 = Bachelor’s degree 20 maximum = Some Graduate Work 18 = Master’s degree 21 = MD/JD/PhD/ Advanced degree |
| Construct Name | ConstructName | Verbal Fluency | |
| Construct Number | ConstructNumber | Construct 7 | |
| Wave | Wave | Denotes the data collection wave. See individual differences data set for more detail, including testing date intervals. | 1 = Wave 1 2 = Wave 2 3 = Wave 3 |
| Has Data | HasData | 1 = Yes, returned for wave; 2 = No, did not return for wave | |
| Number of Tasks in Construct | NumTasks | How many tasks make up the Verbal Fluency construct | 2 Tasks for Verbal Fluency |
| Task 29—Controlled Oral Association Letters | Task 29 (column: AA) | 1 = Has data 2 = Task data partial 3 = No task data | |
| Written Controlled Oral Association Letters [Wave 1 Only] | WContOralAssocF29 | Total # correct for words beginning with letter F | DLBS Score Range: 0-25 |
| Written Controlled Oral Association Letters [Wave 1 Only] | WContOralAssocA29 | Total # correct for words beginning with letter A | DLBS Score Range: 0-25 |
| Written Controlled Oral Association Letters [Wave 1 Only] | WContOralAssocS29 | Total # correct for words beginning with letter S | DLBS Score Range: 0-25 |
| Written Controlled Oral Association Letter [Wave 1 Only] | WContOralAssocLetterTot29 | Total # of words correct summed across F, A, and S blocks | DLBS Score Range: 0-75 |
| Controlled Oral Association Letters | ContOralAssocF29 | Total # correct for words beginning with letter F | Score Range: 0-30 |
| Controlled Oral Association Letters | ContOralAssocA29 | Total # correct for words beginning with letter A | Score Range: 0-30 |
| Controlled Oral Association Letters | ContOralAssocS29 | Total # correct for words beginning with letter S | Score Range: 0-30 |
| Controlled Oral Association Letters | ContOralAssocTot29 | Total # of words correct summed across F, A, and S blocks | Score Range: 0-90 |
| Task 30—Controlled Oral Association Categories | Task30 (column: AF) | 1 = Has data 2 = Task data partial 3 = No task data | |
| Controlled Oral Association Categories | ContOralAssocCatAni30 | Total # correct for animals produced | Score Range: 0-36 |
| Controlled Oral Association Categories | ContOralAssocCatVeg30 | Total # correct for vegetables produced | Score Range: 0-30 |
| Controlled Oral Association | ContOralAssocCatTot30 | Total # of words correct summed across animal and vegetable blocks | Score Range: 0-66 |