Date of Submission

2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

Department Chair

Stephanie Felgoise, PhD, ABPP

First Advisor

Donald Masey, PsyD

Second Advisor

Stephen Poteau, PhD

Third Advisor

Michael Roberts, PsyD

Abstract

The global risk of dementia due to longer lifespans and increased medical interventions necessitates accurate diagnosis of cognitive decline. Thus, the utilization of neuropsychological testing to diagnose disorders of cognitive decline should seek to ascertain multiple data, including success/failure of cognitive tasks and evaluation of error patterns. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of executive function (EF) errors across diagnoses of cognitive decline (age-related cognitive decline [ARCD], mild cognitive impairment [MCI], vascular dementia [VaD], frontotemporal dementia [FTD], Lewy body dementia [LBD], and Alzheimer’s disease [AD]) and to examine whether the specific types of EF errors (intrusion, perseveration, stimulus-bound responses, and set-loss) differ across the diagnoses. This study also explored the roles of mental health history and educational attainment as variables to determine differences across diagnoses. It was hypothesized that rates of errors would not differ between the diagnoses of dementia (VAD, FTD, LBD, AD), but that there would be differences between the types of errors. It was also hypothesized that mental illness would be more associated with a diagnosis of dementia in comparison to ARCD and MCI. Lastly, it was hypothesized that education levels would not differ amongst the diagnoses of dementia. The results of this study have implications for the development of neuropsychological test batteries with older adult patients and further expand the understanding of the role of mental health and education on cognitive decline.

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