Developmental norms for the wisconsin card sorting test
Abstract
While the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) has been used widely among adult populations to evaluate the effects of frontal-lobe lesions, no comparable work has been done among younger populations due, in part, to the lack of an adequate normative base. This study presents developmental norms by age for the WCST for 105 school-age children. The data indicate that, by the time children are 10 years old, their performance on the WCST is indistinguishable from that of normal adults. Examination of the acquisition curves by age for Categories Achieved, Perseverative Errors, and Failures to Maintain Set reveals developmental changes that roughly correspond with neuroanatomical changes in the brain and cognitive stages of development. The present developmental norms are intended to complement and extend existing adult norms for the WCST and to facilitate the clinical use of the WCST as a neuropsychological test in child populations.
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Studies of complex switching report inconsistent developmental trajectories, including a plateau at age 10 or 11-12, gradual improvement across the teenage years, or an inverted U in the teenage years.
“with other studies suggesting a plateau at age 10 (Chelune and Baer, 1986; Chevalier et al., 2013; De Luca et al., 2003) or 11–12 (Huizinga et al., 2006; Huizinga and van der Molen, 2007; Somsen, 2007), gradual improvement across the teenage years (Crone et al., 2006; Crone et al., 2008), or an inverted U in the teenage years (van der Schaaf et al., 2011).”
From Does puberty mark a transition in sensitive periods for plasticity in the associative neocortex? (2017) · cites this paper as Chelune and Baer, 1986
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- Authors
- Chelune, G. J., & Baer, R. A.
- Affiliations
- University of California San Diego (US)
- University of Mississippi Medical Center (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 1986-06
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 219-228
- ISSN
- 0165-0475 (ISSN-L)
- 0168-8634
- OpenAlex
- W2021895097
- Cited by
- 467
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 5.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Historical and Modern Theater Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Developmental and Educational Neuropsychology
- Keywords
- Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, developmental norms, elementary school students, frontal lobe, cognitive development, perseverative errors, set maintenance, neuropsychological assessment
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Brain Damage, Chronic, Child, Concept Formation, Discrimination Learning, Female, Humans, Intelligence, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Problem Solving, Psychometrics, Reference Values
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