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Is the Continuous Performance Task Useful in Research with ADHD Children? Comments on a Review
Author(s) -
Koelega Harry S.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7610.1995.tb01677.x
Subject(s) - psychology , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , task (project management) , continuous performance task , arousal , attention deficit , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , cognition , social psychology , management , economics
A recent review of the Continuous Performance Task (CPT) as a research tool by Corkum and Siegel, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 34 , 1217–1239, 1993, is criticized for insufficient covering of the relevant literature, disregard of the question of differentiation among clinical groups, and inadequacy of explanations of Attention‐Deficit‐Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in terms of arousal, activation, and effort. An attention‐deficit in ADHD children cannot be inferred from poor performance on a CPT. Impaired performance is anything but specific to ADHD children and is caused by a host of variables among which “attention” probably plays a minor role.