Date of Submission

2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department Chair

Stephanie Felgoise, PhD, ABPP

First Advisor

Donald P. Masey, Psy.D.

Second Advisor

Stephen R. Poteau, PhD

Third Advisor

Edward A. Maitz, PhD

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between executive functioning, semantic organization, and occupational classification, focusing on whether individuals in professional roles (as defined by the Career Occupational Preference System; COPS) demonstrated stronger executive functioning and semantic organization during memory recall than those in non-professional roles. Participants completed the Booklet Category Test (BCT) to assess executive functioning, the California Verbal Learning Test–Second Edition (CVLT-II) to evaluate semantic organization using short-delay free recall (SDFR), and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) to measure IQ. Results showed no significant associations among the main variables. While higher BCT performance was linked to greater use of semantic clustering, this trend was nonsignificant, as were differences between professional and non-professional groups. Professional status was associated with higher IQ and somewhat stronger cognitive performance, but not at a significant level. These findings suggest that factors such as cognitive style, education, and task familiarity may play a greater role than occupation in shaping memory strategies. Thus, occupational category alone is not a reliable predictor of cognitive performance, supporting an individualized approach to neuropsychological assessment that accounts for personal and contextual variables to improve ecological validity.

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