Planning

Question 1

Six Elements Task (SET)

Answer 1

• provided with 6 different tasks
• they ask you to do the best you can but to be sure you try as many as possible
• they look at how many tasks you complete and how many you try in provided time
• the DV is planning, they want to look at how you approach the tasks
• has great ecological validity
• difficult to administer

Question 2

Six Elements Task (SET) and frontal lobe patients

Answer 2

• patients try less tasks than the controls
• patients spend way longer on a singular task than controls

Question 3

Multiple Errands Task (MET)

Answer 3

• give participants a list of things you want them to do ie. go the grocery store, mail a letter
• ask them to complete as efficiently as possible
• they can only go to a place once
• should be mindful of locations close together to be quick
• when looking at the trajectories of controls vs PFC patients, found that PFC patients were way less organized in how they went from place to place
• great ecological validity
• more difficult to administer

Question 4

ecological validity

Answer 4

extent to which the findings of a study, or the tasks and settings used in an experiment, can be generalized to real-world situations

Question 5

Steps in the Planning Process

Answer 5

1. Goal articulation
2. Plan formulation
3. Marker creation
4. Marker triggering

Question 6

goal articulation

Answer 6

clearly stating your goal

Question 7

plan formulation

Answer 7

creating a framework for accomplishing your goal

Question 8

marker creation

Answer 8

• creating “cues”
• create events that trigger memory of what you want to do

Question 9

Marker triggering

Answer 9

going out and trying to execute the plan

Question 10

strategy application disorder

Answer 10

• higher order impairment in ability to organize thinking and engage in goal-directed behaviour
• difficulties in effectively using, adapting, or applying cognitive strategies to solve problems or manage tasks, even when the individual has the necessary knowledge or skills

Question 11

Tower of London

Answer 11

• sensitive to measures of plannig
• given a pattern of organization of the disks they have to accomplish
• there is a specific number of moves that each pattern should take ie. 2 move problems
• they can create various different constraints
  Variables of interest
• Number of moves needed (vs. made)
• planning time: how much time before 1st move
• execution time: how much time after 1st move

Question 12

Behavioural results of Tower of London (age)

Answer 12

• more moves you have to make, the more difficult it is to do perfectly (regardless of age)
• most variability in % perfect solutions between ages for the 5-move problems
• far fewer people cna complete the more difficult tasks even in the max # of moves
• this suggests that the task has a range of difficulty
• can allows us to look at planning abilities in diff age groups in neurotypical individuals

Question 13

Tower of London Task and PET scanning

Answer 13

• during the task, the PFC is strongly engaged
• PFC activity is strongly correlated with the ability to do well
• higher activity = better performance
• significant activity in right PFC (because working with spatial information)

Question 14

Tower of London Task with fMRI

Answer 14

• looked at brain activity across different task loads (diff # of moves)
• not much activity for simpler tasks
  -increased brain activity in multiple regions for difficult tasks (including the PFC)

Question 15

Tower of London Task: effects of brain stimulation

Answer 15

• stimulation of right DLPFC in patients with Parkinson’s significantly sped up ability to complete task correctly compared to left DLPFC
• showed improved planning ability and efficiency
• tCDS stimulation to left DLPFC appears to improve ToL performance in healthy controls

Question 16

criticism of the SET and MET

Answer 16

• they are telling you what is important and asking you to do it
• not having you decide what is important
• GPS is the opposite

Question 17

Goal Processing Scale (GPS)

Answer 17

• given options of things to think about and you get to choose which one interests you the most
• given broad criteria and you get to choose 1 of your own
• getting to choose your own goal is critical for being able to make the most progress
• given more to do then you have time for
• they want to understand how you are approaching the plan and making meaningful progress

Question 18

GPS compared to the MET

Answer 18

• if GPS is tapping into planning and related constructs, it should correlate well with the MET
• correlated measures on MET to measures on the GPS
• found significant correlations
• suggest GPS is tapping some of the same constructs as MET

Question 19

Goal management training (GMT)

Answer 19

• idea is to make sure you are on task on a regular basis
• at regular intervals you stop and ask yourself “what am I supposed to be doing right now?”
• if you aren’t on task, it is an opportunity to re engage
• increases mindfulness of where you are at on a task and to catch yourself if you are off task

Question 20

Results of goal management training (GMT)

Answer 20

• found better performance (less errors) and slowing down
• suggests GMT may be a useful tool for those with planning deficits
• can also help with more than just planning because it helps you improve task management skills