Practical Training: Measuring Attention and Executive Functions in Behavioural Paradigms
Full course description
Students will perform several attention and executive function tasks that are frequently applied in clinical and non-clinical developmental settings. Already gathered data from children will be provided to the students so that they can practice with performing statistical analyses. Each student formulates a research question based on the literature. All research questions will focus on themes within the field of childhood development of attention and executive control and associated disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ADHD. During the course, students will present and discuss their research questions and findings in both group meetings and in a written report.
The final assessment for this course is a numerical grade between 0,0 and 10,0.
Course objectives
Students:
- can read, interpret and reflect upon papers reviewing theories and experimental studies in the field of typical or atypical development of attention and executive function;
- are able to recognize, understand and differentiate between different experimental paradigms and neuropsychological measures to assess cognitive functions (attention and executive functions) in children and adults;
- can formulate a relevant and innovative research question based upon a review of the relevant literature in the field of study;
- can select the appropriate research design and statistical analyses fitting their research question;
- can apply statistics to developmental data and interpret results;
- can write/report findings in the format of a research paper.