The present study investigated the usability of whole and partial
report of briefly displayed letter arrays as a diagnostic tool for the
assessment of attentional functions. The tool is based on Bundesen's
(1990, 1998, 2002; Bundesen et al., 2005)
theory of visual attention (TVA), which assumes four separable attentional
components: processing speed, working memory storage capacity, spatial
distribution of attention, and top-down control. A number of studies
(Duncan et al., 1999; Habekost & Bundesen, 2003; Peers et al., 2005) have already demonstrated the
clinical relevance of these parameters. The present study was designed to
examine whether (a) a shortened procedure bears sufficient accuracy and
reliability, (b) whether the procedures reveal attentional constructs with
clinical relevance, and (c) whether the mathematically independent
parameters are also empirically independent. In a sample of 35 young
healthy subjects, we found high intraparameter correlations between full-
and short-length tests and sufficient internal consistencies as measured
via a bootstrapping method. The clinical relevance of the TVA parameters
was demonstrated by significant correlations with established clinical
tests measuring similar constructs. The empirical independence of the four
TVA parameters is suggested by nonsignificant or, in the case of
processing speed and working memory storage capacity, only modest
correlations between the parameter values. (JINS, 2005,
11, 832–842.)