Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Chapter one has eight parts: (1) Background of the Study , (2) Statement of the Problem,

(3) Hypotheses,(4) Theoretical Framework, (5) Conceptual Framework, (6) Significance of the

Study, (7) Scope and Limitations of the Study, and (8) Definition of Terms.

Part One, Background of the Study, presents the contextual thoughts and realistic

observation on why a certain problem exists.

Part Two, Statement of the Problem, presents interrogative statements or questions that

the researchers target to answer.

Part Three, Hypotheses, states researchers’ basis on reasoning.

Part Four, Theoretical Framework, narrates the related theories to the study to explain

and predict a phenomenon.

Part Five, Conceptual Framework, presents concepts in a logical and sequential design.

Part Six, Significance of the Study, specifies the important contributions of the research

and its results to the people and the community.

Part Seven, Scope and Limitations of the Study, sets the limits and details the scope and

the coverage of the study other than its constraints and the restrictions.

Part Eight, Definition of Terms, provides important terms and its definitions on how they

will be used in the study.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Background of the Study

In today’s world, there are bunch of purposeful psychological assessments that are made

to assess one’s capabilities and various psychological skills. These psychological assessments are

helpful for these give valuable findings and ideas that would surely unleash one’s knowledge and

awareness about the person who undergoes the said assessment.

Everyone knows that for better understanding, sustained and focused attention are

needed, yet attention spans are declining. According to “The Science of Attention” (Briggs,

2014), psychologists claim that the typical student’s attention span is about 10 to 15 minutes long.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

This is very alarming because most of the learning institutions, including Numancia Integrated

School, practice a one-hour class discussion in each subject.

Poor processing skill of the students is also an upsetting problem. As what Hoard in 1998

defined, processing speed is the ability to accurately store and retrieve numerical information. In

the classroom, processing capability involves the expertise to take in information, understand the

information, and then formulate a response. For students with slow processing skill, this process

can be a burden, as it takes larger amount of time and effort to comprehend. Accomplishing

certain academic task takes longer time when compared to average students.

Two commonly used psychological assessments that measure the attention/processing

skills of a person are the Stroop Test and Trail Making Test. In its basic form, Stroop Test’s task

is to name the color word printed in a mismatched ink color. Stroop Test is used for measuring a

person’s selective attention capacity and skills, as well as their processing speed ability (Lamers,

M.J., 2010). Trail Making Test, on the other hand, is a neuropsychological test of visual attention

and task switching where it can provide information about visual speed, attentive responding, and

speed of processing. It measures the mental flexibility, visual scanning, and motor function of a

person (Katie Marvin of Stroke Engine, 2019).

This study will look into which of the two psychological assessments is more effective in

assessing and improving the processing/attention skills of the students. Furthermore, result of the

study will give idea on which assessment is more effective to be applied to improve students’

academic performance in Numancia Integrated School.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of Stroop Test and Trail Making Test in

the processing/attention skills of Grade 11 and Grade 12 students of Numancia Integrated School

Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of SHS students in terms of?:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performance

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

2. What is the result of Stroop Test of the students in terms of?:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performance

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

3. What is the level of processing/attention skills of students using Stroop Test in terms

of?:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performance

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

4. What is the result of Trail Making Test of the students in terms of?:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performance

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

5. What is the level of processing/attention skills of students using Trail Making Test in

terms of?:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performace

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

6. Is there a significant difference in the test result of student in Stroop Test and Trail

Making Test in terms of?:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performance

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

7. Is there a significant correlation in the results of Stroop Test and Trail Making Test in

level of processing/attention skills in terms of?:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performance

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

Hypotheses

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Based on the aforementioned statement of the problem, the following hypotheses are

formed.

1.) There is no significant difference in the result of Stroop Test and Trail Making Test of

the students in terms of:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performance

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

2.) There is no significant correlation in the results of Stroop Test and Trail Making Test

in the level of processing/attention skills in terms of:

a.) sex

b.) age

c.) track/strand

d.) academic performance

e.) highest educational attainment of parents

Theoretical Framework

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

There are many, more recent theories concerning information processing that differ from

other theories and processing models, and today, research and study continues to modify existing

beliefs in this area of cognitive psychology. Despite the fact that there are commonly accepted

pieces, the complete picture of how information is processed continues to change.

The following theories best support the study.

David L’s Information Processing Theory (Bransford, 1979)

Fig. 1 Basic Information Processing Model Fig. 2 Detailed Information Processing Model

The concept of David L’s Information Processing theory discusses the mechanisms

through which learning occurs. Specifically, it focuses on aspects of memory encoding and

retrieval. The basic idea of Information processing theory is that the human mind is like a

computer or information processor — rather than behaviourist notions that people merely

responding to stimuli. These theories equate thought mechanisms to that of a computer, in that it

receives input, processes, and delivers output. Information gathered from the senses (input), is

stored and processed by the brain, and finally brings about a behavioral response (output).

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Information processing theory has been developed and broadened over the years. Most

notable in the inception of information processing models is Atkinson and Shriffin’s ‘stage

theory,’ presenting a sequential method, as discussed above, of input-processing-output. Though

influential, the linearity of this theory reduced the complexity of the human brain, and thus

various theories were developed in order to further assess the inherent processes.

Following this line of thought, Craik and Lockhart issued the ‘level of processing’ model.

They emphasize that information expanded upon (processed) in various ways (perception,

attention, labeling, and meaning) which affect the ability to access the information later on. In

other words, the degree to which the information was elaborated upon will affect how well the

information was learned.

Bransford broadened this idea by adding that information will be more easily retrieved if

it is accessed similarly to the way it was stored. The next major development in information

processing theory is Rumelhart and McClelland’s connectionist model, which is supported by

current neuroscience research. It states that information is stored simultaneously in different areas

of the brain, and connected as a network. The amount of connections as a single piece of

information will affect the ease of retrieval.

Retrieved from https://www.learning-theories.com/information-processing-theory.html (2015)

Daniel Kahneman’s Attention and Effort Theory (1973)

Daniel Kahneman wrote a book in 1973 called “Attention and Effort”, which he describes

it as a model of 'attention as a limited resource.'

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Kahneman suggests that there are limits to what we can attend to and process at any one

time, and that the limits are changed by factors like our health or level of distraction. To use an

analogy, Kahneman said our brains are like computers, and we cannot exceed the limits of our

processors in dealing with information; if we do A, we cannot do B at the same time. We may

deal with several things at once, but there's always a limit. Although he suggested we can up that

limit by study and practice, and that therefore attention is a skill, not just a set of number.

Retrieved from http://ph.answer.yahoo.com/question/index (2009)

Conceptual Framework

Stroop
Test Attention/

D2 Test Processing Skills

of Attention of NIS Students
Trail
Making
Test

Figure 1. The figure aims to show the relationship between the variables in the study and

its correlation.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Significance of the Study

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of Stroop Test and Trail Making Test to

the attention/processing skills of Senior High School students of Numancia Integrated School.

Hence, the following will benefit from this study:

Students. To improve the processing/attention skills with the aid of the two

psychological assessments, namely Stroop Test and Trail Making Test.

Parents. To be aware about the strengths and weaknesses of children in terms of

processing/attention expertise will be promoted for better guidance, supervision, and assistance.

Teachers. To practice best learning materials and appropriate learning method inside the

classroom, in response to the result of the test.

Future Researchers. To serve as a source of topic for future use, or can be replicated

using additional variables in another locale or setting or with different respondents. Enrichment

of same variables is recommended for them to be able to reinforce the results of this study.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This study aims to provide information regarding Stroop Test and Trail Making Test and

its relation to the effectiveness in the students’ attention/processing skills. This research is

focused only to Grade 11 and Grade 12 students, enrolled in the school year 2019 – 2020 and will

be conducted at Numancia Integrated School where the researchers and respondents of the study

are enrolled. The data in this research will be collected through a researcher-made version of the

famous D2 Test of Attention, Stroop Test and Trail Making Test. The researcher-made version of

D2 Test of Attention is taken from Plakos App (2019) and is retrieved from

https://www.plakos.de/d2-test/. The researcher-made version of Stroop Test is taken from

University of Utah (Learn.Genetics.utah.edu Genetic Science Learning Center, 2016) and is

retrieved from https://learngendev.azurewebsites.net/. The researcher-made version of Trail

Making Test is taken from yumpu.com (2013) and is retrieved from

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/3824735/trail-making-test-tmt-parts-a-b/4.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Definition of Terms

To fully understand the terms used in the study, conceptual and operational meanings

were provided. The definitions describe important terms that are used in the study.

Stroop Test. A test used of cognitive ability assessing the ability to direct attention to a

task (Stroop, 1973).

In this study, the term is used as an assessment tool that provides precise measurement

result of a student’s processing/attention skills.

Trail Making Test. One of the most widely used instruments in neuropsychological

assessment as an indicator of speed cognitive processing and executive functioning (AITB,

1944 ; Lezak, 1995 ; Mitrushina et al., 2005 ; Reitan, 1992 ; Strauss et al., 2006 ).

In this study, the term is used as an assessment tool together with Stroop Test that

provides precise measurement result of a student’s processing/attention skills.

D2 Test of Attention. The D2 Test measures processing speed, rule compliance, and

quality of performance, allowing for a neuropsychological estimation of individual attention and

concentration performance (Roff Brickenkamp and Eric Zillmer, 1998).

In this study, the term is used as an intervening variable that will serve as the basis of

Stroop Test and Trail Making Test’s results, if it has an evident difference or consistency to the

student’s result in the independent variables.

Comparison. The act or process of comparing (Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, 2019).

In this study, the term refers to which of the assessment tests (Stroop Test and Trail

Making Test) is effective in improving students’ processing/attention skills.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Effectiveness. The degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which

targeted problems are solved (www.businessdictionary.com, 2019)

In this study, the term refers to the feat impact of Stroop Test and Trail Making Test to

the processing/attention skills of the students.

Processing Skill. The ability to accurately store and retrieve numerical information and

affects how quickly and to what extent skills become automatized (Hoard et al., 1998).

In this study, the term refers to the ability of a student to comprehend the test and

formulate a quick appropriate response.

Attention Skill. The ability to respond to a specific stimulation, such as something that is

heard, seen or felt (Haskins, E., 2012).

In this study, the term refers to the students’ ability to comprehensively focus on the test

without any distractions and formulate a quick appropriate response.

Senior High Students – Senior High School (SHS) refers to Grade 11 and 12, the last two

years of the K to 12 Basic Education Program. In SHS, students are required to go through a core

curriculum and subjects under a track of their choice. (www.deped.gov.ph, 2018).

In this study, the term refers to the Grade 11 and Grade 12 students of Numancia

Integrated School that will undergo the said assessments and will serve as the research

participants.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

For the better understanding of this study, this chapter includes the ideas, finished thesis,

generalizations, or conclusions, and others. Those that were included in this chapter help in

familiarizing information that are relevant and similar to the present study.

This chapter has six parts and includes the following sections. (1) The Stroop Effect –

How Does it Work and Why (2) What is the Stroop Effect? (3) Background of Stroop Test (4)

Use of Stroop Test (5) How can the Stroop test be used? (6) Importance of Stroop Test (7)

Administration and Interpretation of Trail Making Test (8) Administration, History, and Usage of

D2 Test of Attention and (9) Conclusion.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

The Stroop Effect – How it Works and Why

To see and interact with the world, it is necessary to understand it first. Visual processing

is one way to do this, and is composed of many parts. When an object is seen, it’s not only the

physical attributes that is seen, viewers also comprehend the meaning behind them. It is a given

knowledge that a chair needs legs because the seat needs to be raised, it is also assumed that

wood comes from trees, which is used for sitting. There is information that we process about the

things we see without even being aware of that processing (Farnsworth, 2019).

According to Bryn’s study in 2019, it is stated that John Ridley Stroop asked people to

read words on a sheet of paper in 1929, knowing the fact that their automatic processing would

come into play, and could offer a breakthrough insight into brain function. Research from as early

as 1894 had shown that associations of even nonsense syllables would become embedded into a

person’s understanding, and could interfere with how they processed and recalled these syllables,

despite no real meaning being attached to them. It was therefore clear, even in the beginnings of

contemporary psychological research, that associations are powerful and pervasive.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

What is the Stroop Effect?

Stroop’s innovation was to show, clearly and definitely, that our embedded knowledge

about our environment impacts how we interact with it. His research method is now one of the

most famous and well-known examples of a psychological test, and is elegant in its simplicity.

Bryn (2019) explained how Stroop Test will be performed. First, the participant reads a

list of words for colors, but the words are printed in a color different to the word itself. For

example, the word “orange” would be listed as text, but printed in green. The participant’s

reading time of the words on the list is then recorded. Next, the participant has to repeat the test

with a new list of words, but should name the colors that the words are printed in. So, when the

word “orange” is printed in green, the participant should say “green” and move on to the next

word. In most cases, it takes longer to state the colors of the words, rather than to read the text

they are printed in, despite the incongruence being essentially the same across both lists (i.e. both

show words in the wrong color). It appears we are more influenced by the physical text than the

text color.

Background of Stroop Test

Since the very beginning of experimental psychology, it has been clear that words are

faster to read than objects or their properties are to name. In his dissertation in 1886, Cattel even

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

went so far as to suggest that word reading is automatic due to extensive practice, introducing the

concept of automaticity to cognitive science. According to MacLeod’s study in 2015, automatic

processes can be thought of as unintentional, uncontrolled, unconscious, and fast. Under the

automaticity account, people cannot comply with an instruction not to read because reading

cannot be “turned off”; hence it is guaranteed that incompatible words will cause interference

when attempting to name their print colors. From early on, the other prevalent explanation of

Stroop interference was the relative speed of processing account, which in its simplest form

argued that faster processes can affect slower processes but not vice versa. Thus, because words

are read faster than colors can be named, interference results when the task is to name the colors

and ignore the words. This also fits nicely with Stroop’s other finding – that there was no “reverse

Stroop” interference when the task was to read the words and ignore the colors: Reading

performance for incongruently colored words was equivalent to that for words printed in standard

black ink. Since Stroop’s landmark study, many hundreds of studies have sought to understand

this superficially simple phenomenon, and many more have used Stroop’s method to explore key

aspects of attention, learning, memory, reading, language, and other cognitive skills.

More recently, MacLeod (2015) added that the Stroop task has also been extended to

investigate neural mechanisms and clinical disorders, among other issues. Interest in Stroop’s

method shows no signs of abating; indeed, it is one of the rare phenomena/tasks where interest

seems to be growing rather than diminishing with the passage of time.

Use of Stroop Test

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Bryn (2019) indicated that using this paradigm, we can assess an individual’s cognitive

processing speed, their attentional capacity, and their level of cognitive control (otherwise known

as their executive function). These skills and facets are implicit in so many ways in which we

interact with the world, suggesting that this test reveals a brief – yet incisive – view into human

thought and behavior.

The test is also used in a variety of different ways to the original, in an effort to exploit

the experimental setup to reveal more about a clinical population, for example. Even

neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia and autism have been examined with the

Stroop test.

Furthermore, Bryn (2019) added that there are several variations and differing

implementations of the test available, allowing different aspects of cognition to be honed in on.

One of these variations is the “emotional Stroop test” in which participants complete both the

original Stroop, and a version which has both neutral and emotionally charged words. The

resulting text features words such as “pain” or “joy” amongst everyday words. Research has

shown that anxious people were likely to experience more interference (i.e. more time spent

declaring word color) with emotionally charged words, suggesting a preponderance of the

emotional word content.

How can the Stroop test be used?

The Stroop test can be simply administered with a basic experimental setup. At its most

fundamental, all you need is an image of the Stroop test words, a stopwatch, a willing participant

to record the time and answer.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Bryn (2019) professed that the ability to record from various synchronized biosensors

opens up new avenues for research. For example, with an eye-tracking tool, you can examine

exactly how long each participant looks at each word, and their precise speed of comprehension.

Using areas of interest (AOIs) can be of particular use as this allows you to analyze specific parts

of the scene in isolation, or compared to the data for the scene as a whole, or even with other

AOIs. It’s then possible to determine which words demanded the most visual attention, allowing

you to accurately dissect the data in fine detail.

Bryn (2019) concluded that the Stroop test is a widely-used, well established

methodology that reveals various brain functions, and implicit cognitive workings. The original

article has now been cited over 13,000 times and that number will surely continue to rise well

into the future.

Importance of Stroop Test

Alyssa Perry (2017) explained that the Stroop effect is important because it can help

psychologist better understand how our brain works. When doing a Stroop Test, the brain must

set aside the word that is seen and instead focus on the color of the word. For example, if you see

the word Blue but the color of the word is Red, it can be difficult for your brain to read the word

as red instead of blue. The importance of this effect comes from its ability to trick the mind and

cause interference in the reaction of reading the color aloud.

Overall, Perry (2017) concluded that the stroop effect is important because the word is

not as closely associated with the fact that it helps to expand the knowledge of how our mind

works and the flaws that our brains make.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Administration and Interpretation of Trail Making Test

The Trail Making Tests are popular neuropsychological instruments used either alone as

a screening instrument for detecting neurological disease and neuropsychological impairment or

as part of a larger battery of tests. The tests are believed to measure the cognitive domains of

processing speed, sequencing, mental flexibility and visual–motor skills. The most commonly

used version of the test, the TMT, was developed from the Taylor number series test, which

required the subject to connect numbers sequentially from 1 to 50. It was revised by Partington

and Leiter and included in the Army Individual Test Battery1 as well as the Halstead–Reitan

Neuropsychological Battery2 in its current form.

Bowie & Harvey (2015) illustrated that the most widely used version of the Trail Making

Test comprises parts A and B. In part A, the subject uses a pencil to connect a series of 25

encircled numbers in numerical order. In part B, the subject connects 25 encircled numbers and

letters in numerical and alphabetical order, alternating between the numbers and letters. For

example, the first number ‘‘1’’ is followed by the first letter ‘‘A,’’ followed by the second

number ‘‘2’’ then second letter ‘‘B’’ and so on.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

The numbers and letters are placed in a semi-random fixed order, in such a manner as to

avoid overlapping lines being drawn by the examinee. The primary variables of interest are the

total time to completion for parts A and B. A cut off time of 300 s is generally used to discontinue

test administration and is therefore the typical maximum score. Specific cut offs have been

suggested based on total time to complete the practice versions of the tests. Errors on the TMT do

not directly contribute to the scoring and are generally not tallied. The effect of errors is realized

on the total time to complete the test, as the examiner stops the examinee and returns him or her

to the last correct response. Although some studies have found that patient populations, such as

those with head injury, are more prone to make errors in shifting from letters to numbers, these

findings are of limited clinical value.

As what Bowie & Harvey (2015) stated in their study, Part A is generally presumed to be

a test of visual search and motor speed skills, whereas part B is considered also to be a test of

higher level cognitive skills such as mental flexibility, although there has been some debate over

the ability of these tests to measure discrete cognitive domains. Aside from the additional

cognitive demands of switching mental sets, the structure of part B places more demands on

visual search; even when removing the switching component, part B is more difficult because the

distance between stimuli is greater and there are more visually interfering stimuli than part A7.

However, other work has established part B as a measure of executive control via its correlation

with other tests of executive function that does not require motor components. Within the

executive functioning domain, part B appears to be a measure of cognitive flexibility, rather than

a measure of the ability to maintain a cognitive set. Still, several studies have cautioned against

inferring a frontal lobe deficit based on part B performance, based on a lack of discrimination

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

between patients with front allobe disease and healthy individuals when performing this test.

Performance on the TMT is considered a robust correlate of overall measures of intelligence, and

a particularly sensitive indicator of neurological impairment.

Administration, History, and Usage of D2 Test of Attention

Attention is a basic neurocognitive function that is a prerequisite for performance on

more complex cognitive tasks (Cooley & Morris, 1990). Deficits in attention are symptoms of

several disorders in individuals with acquired brain injury (Sohlber & Mateer, 2001) and other

disorders including schizophrenia and metabolic disturbances (Mirsky, Anthony, Duncan,

Ahearn, & Kellam, 1991). Furthermore, affective and anxiety disorders such as depression and

bipolar disorder coincide with impairments of attention.

According to the study of Baghaei (2018), the D2 Test of Attention is a widely used

paper and pencil measure of sustained and selective attention in which both components of speed

and accuracy have been taken into consideration in its scoring system. It is a cancellation test in

which respondents have to cross out target variables among similar non-target stimuli

(Brickenkamp & Zillmer, 1998). The target variables are ds’ with two dashes above or below

them. The targets are randomly interspersed among non-target characters. Non-target characters

are d’s with one, three or four dashes above or below them and p’s with one, two, three, or four

dashes above or below them. The target and non-target characters are presented in 14 consecutive

lines. Separate time limits of 20 seconds are allotted for each line with no pause between the

lines. Since the D2 test is timed and requires focus on the target, stimuli amongst background

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

irrelevant noise it is also considered a measure of speed, scanning accuracy, and selective

attention.

The construct validity and reliability of the test has been investigated with factor analysis

and against criterion measures. Brickenkamp and Zillmer (1998) demonstrated that the D2 test

correlates with Symbol Digit Modalities Test (Smith, 1973), Stroop Color Word Test (Stroop,

1935), and Trail Making Test Parts A and B (Reitan &Wolfson, 1985), all of which are measures

of attention, scanning, and mental flexibility. Brickenkamp and Zillmer (1998) also showed that

the test has a weak correlation with performance and verbal subtests of the Wechsler Adult

Intelligence Scale–Revised, which was deemed as evidence of divergent validity for the d2 test.

Researchers have also reported high retest reliability estimates for the test (Brickenkamp

& Zillmer, 1998; Lee, Lu, Liu, Lin, & Hsieh, 2017; Steinborn, Langner, Flehmig, & Huestegge,

2018). In fact, the D2 test is regarded as an extremely reliable test. Steinborn, et al. (2018)

recently, using an interpolated re-sampling technique (cumulative reliability function analysis),

demonstrated that the D2 reliability is retained even when test length is reduced by 50%. One

hypothesized reason for the exceptional test-retest reliability of the D2 test is the mode of

administration. In particular, it is believed that the participant's task motivation is constantly

refreshed by both the experimenter's presence and the time-critical instructions to shift to the next

line, both of which seem to encourage participants to give their best performance (cf. Steinborn,

Langner, & Huestegge, 2017, Van Breukelen et al., 1995; Pieters, 1985, for further theoretical

considerations).

In an attempt to demonstrate the validity of the D2 test with an American sample and

extend its scoring system, Bates and Lemay (2004) administrated it along with several other

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

neuropsychological measures to a relatively large participant sample. The other tests employed in

their study included measures of attention, processing speed, abstract reasoning, verbal ability,

visual spatial ability, and working memory. Results demonstrated that the test is internally

consistent as measured by Cronbach’s alpha. Principal component analysis of all the measures

along with different subscores of the D2 (as separate variables) revealed that five factors can be

extracted from the data. The first factor was a speed factor with the total number of characters

processed, the total number of characters correctly processed, concentration performance (total

number of correctly cancelled minus total number incorrectly cancelled), and the Digit Symbol

Substitution Test loading on this factor. A second factor, named scanning accuracy, was

comprised of total errors, errors of omission, and percent errors. An intelligence factor, a

scanning deterioration/acceleration factor, and a memory factor also emerged. These findings

were interpreted as convergent and discriminant validity evidence for the D2 test.

Baghaei (2018) emphasized that no study so far has examined the fit of the D2 test to

Item Response Theory models (IRT, Birnbaum, 1968). IRT models are a class of psychometric

theories which model the relationship between an examinee’s performance on an item and her

overall location on the latent trait. The probability of a correct response to an item is assumed to

be a function of a persons’ ability and some item parameters. With a higher ability parameter the

probability of a correct response is expected to increase. The relationship between ability and

probability of a correct response is depicted graphically in a set of graphs called item

characteristic curves which are the main tool for assessing item quality. Therefore, one

straightforward way to examine the psychometric quality of an item is to check whether

examinees with higher locations on the latent trait have higher probabilities of endorsing an item.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Although intelligence tests are commonly analyzed using IRT models, processing speed

tests are still evaluated using classical test theory because the structure of speed tests does not

match the requirements of most IRT models (Doebler & Holling, 2016). Usually in speed tests,

there are several simple tasks and the unit of analysis is a count of correct answers to these tasks.

This is unlike individual right/wrong or Likert type items that are commonly fed into IRT models.

IRT models are very flexible and allow for detailed item analysis, provision of standard errors of

measurement for different ability levels, computerized adaptive testing, optimal planning of test

designs, test equating, and differential item functioning (Doebler & Holling, 2016).

In this study, Baghaei (2018) examine the fit of the d2 test to the Rasch Poisson Counts

Model (RPCM, Rasch, 1960/1980). The structure of the test, i.e., a combination of 14 lines of

stimuli each with a separate time limit), makes it an ideal candidate for RPCM scaling. Thus, in

the present study, the overall fit of the d2 test to RPCM, the fit of the individual items (lines), and

the reliability of the test are all examined.

Summary

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Cognitive processing speed when defined as the ability to process information rapidly, is

closely related to the ability to perform higher-order cognitive tasks (Lichtenberger and Kaufman,

2012) and is often assumed to be the core issue responsible for deficits in performance on

complex cognitive measures in aging populations (Salthouse, 1996; Salthouse and Ferrer-Caja,

2003). Neuropsychological testing has traditionally assessed processing speed across the lifespan

with paper-and-pencil tests such as D2 Test of Attention, Stroop Test, and Trail Making Test.

Such tests are reported to measure working memory, processing speed, visual insight and

attention. These psychological assessments are truly helpful for it unlocks awareness and widens

one’s understanding on how our brain works using different mediums. Furthermore,

psychological tests like these helps people assess and measure their processing and attention

capacity in the easiest manner.

Chapter 3

Methodology

This chapter includes the following parts (1) Research Design; (2) Locale of the study;

(3) Subject and or/ Respondents/ Participant of the study;(4) Sample Size; (5) Sampling

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Technique; (6) Research Instruments (7) Data Gathering Procedure; (8) Data Analysis Procedure;

and (9) Statistical Tool.

Part One, Research Design. In this part we present the appropriate Blue print of the study

and real objective and purpose of the study.

Part Two, Locale of the study. In this part refers to the place of the study was conducted.

Part Three, Subject and/or Respondent/ Participants of the Study. In this part we present

the characteristic and population of the participants of the study conducted.

Part Four, Sample Size. In this part it indicates the sample size and how it is determined.

Part Five, Sampling Technique. In this part we discuss the procedure used to collect the

data for study.

Part Six, Research Instrument. In this part we discuss how data gathering instrument are

formulated. This also discusses how the instrument is validated to ensure reliability.

Part Seven, Data Gathering Procedure. In this part we present the detailed procedures on

how the desired data are gathered.

Part Eight, Data Analysis Procedure. In this part we explain how the gathered data are

processed and analyzed.

Part Nine, Statistical Tool used: Disseminates and enumerates the statistical tools used in

the data Analysis Procedures of the study.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Research Design

This quantitative research will employ True experimental research design that utilizes

scientific method to test cause-and-effect relationships under conditions controlled by the

researcher in order to collect and describe the responses of senior high school students, wherein

all the data will be collected with the use of Stroop Test, Trail Making Test and D2 Test of

Attention as the research instruments. An experimental study is where all the independent

variable is manipulated to determine the effects on the dependent variables.

Locale of the Study

This study will be conducted at SHS building in Grade 11 and Grade 12 rooms at

Numancia Integrated School, situated in Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan, Philippines.

Subjects of the Study

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

The subjects of the study are the Grade 11 and Grade 12 students, enrolled for the school

year 2019 – 2020. Randomly picked representatives of the entire population will be chosen as

subjects of the study.

Sample Size and Sampling Technique

Upon using Slovin’s formula, seventy – eight (78) out of 331 total student populations of

grade 11 and grade 12 will be considered as the sample size of the study. Simple random

sampling will be used in selecting the 78 students of Grade 11 and Grade 12 from each section.

Purposive method will be done first in completing the needed numbers of subjects, followed by

Fish Bowl method to ensure that the deserved samples has an equivalent characteristics and traits.

Research Instruments

In this study, the instruments that the researchers will use are the researcher-made version

of the famous D2 Test of Attention, Stroop Test, and Trail Making Test.

The researcher-made version of D2 Test of Attention Test is taken from Plakos App

(2019), retrieved from https://www.plakos.de/d2-test/ and is composed of one part, wherein the

subject must cross out target variables among similar non-target stimuli. The target variables are

ds’ with two dashes above or below them. The targets are randomly interspersed among non-

target characters. Non-target characters are d’s with one, three or four dashes above or below

30
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

them and p’s with one, two, three, or four dashes above or below them. The target and non-target

characters are presented in 14 consecutive lines.

The researcher-made version of Stroop Test is taken from University of Utah

(Learn.Genetics.utah.edu Genetic Science Learning Center, 2016), retrieved from

https://learngendev.azurewebsites.net/ and is composed of one part only, wherein the subject

must name the color word printed in a mismatched ink color. This will be used for measuring a

person’s selective attention capacity and skills, as well as their processing speed ability.

The researcher-made version of Trail Making Test is taken from yumpu.com (2013),

retrieved from https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/3824735/trail-making-test-tmt-parts-

a-b/4 and is composed of two parts and the times taken to complete each part are used to measure

central executive functioning. In Part A, the subject must draw a line to connect consecutive

numbers, from 1 to 25. In part B, the subject connects numbers and letters in an alternating

progressive sequence, 1 to A, 2 to B, and so on.

Data Gathering Procedure

Letter for the conduct of the study will be given to the school principal. The moment the

letter will be approved, a letter of intent will be also given to the class advisers of the Senior High

School students who are involve in the study. In collecting the data from the subjects, researchers

will administer the researcher-made D2 Test of Attention, Stroop Test, and Trail Making Test to

the subjects. Instructions will be explained clearly for them to easily respond to the assessments.

The D2 Test of Attention, Stroop Test, and Trail Making Test will be distributed to the

subjects in every section of each strand and all of the subjects will be given enough time to

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

analyse and familiarize the tests. D2 Test of Attention, Stroop Test, and Trail Making Test results

will be recorded after the tests were thoroughly performed by the subjects. After performing and

giving specific result from the subjects, their performances will be reviewed and tallied by the

researchers. The collected data will be analysed using the specific statistical answer.

Data Analysis Procedure

Data gathered will be categorized based on the mechanics stated in the D2 Test of

Attention, Stroop Test, and Trail Making Test. After the data will be collected, all the results will

be analysed to address the questions of the study. Results will be summarized and categorized

according to their sex, age, track/strand, academic performance, and highest educational

attainment of their parents based on the needed facts stated in the specific question.

In analyzing the data, the researchers will classify all the results of the subjects through

the use of validated researcher-made manual as to how do the Stroop Test and Trail Making Test

affect the attention and processing skills of the participants.

Statistical Tool

T-test - a type of inferential statistic used to determine if there is a significant difference

between the means of two groups, which may be related in certain features. A t-test is used as a

hypothesis testing tool, which allows testing of an assumption applicable to a population.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

Independent T-test - also called the two sample t-test, independent-samples t-test or

student's t-test, is an inferential statistical test that determines whether there is a statistically

significant difference between the means in two unrelated groups.

Frequency - is a tabular representation of a survey data set used to organize and

summarize the data. Specifically, it is a list of either qualitative or quantitative values that a

variable takes in a data set and the associated number of times each value occurs (frequencies).

Percentage - a display of data that specifies the percentage of observations that exist for

each data point or grouping of data points. It is a particularly useful method of expressing the

relative frequency of survey responses and other data. Many times, percentage frequency

distributions are displayed as tables or as bar graphs or pie charts.

Mean - implies average and it is the sum of a set of data divided by the number of data.

Mean can prove to be an effective tool when comparing different sets of data; however this

method might be disadvantaged by the impact of extreme values.

One- way analysis of variance (ANOVA ) - used to determine whether there are any

statistically significant differences between the means of two or more independent (unrelated)

groups (although you tend to only see it used when there are a minimum of three, rather than two

groups).

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

STROOP TEST
(Adapted from University of Utah, Learn.Genetics.utah.edu Genetic Science Learning Center, 2016)

Name: __________________________ Track/Strand: ______________Sex: ____ Age: ___

Gen. Average for the First Semester: _____ Highest Educational Attainment of Parents : _______

Direction: Say the names of the colors you see, not the colors you read. Go down the list
as fast as you can.

RED GREEN BLUE YELLO BLUE

W
RED BLUE RED YELLO RED
W
GREEN YELLO YELLO GREEN RED
W W
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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

BLUE YELLO GREEN BLUE YELLO

W W
GREEN GREEN RED BLUE GREEN
BLUE BLUE YELLO BLUE RED
W

TRAIL MAKING TEST (PART A)

(Adapted from yumpu.com , 2013)

Name: __________________________ Track/Strand: ______________Sex: ____ Age: ___

Gen. Average for the First Semester: _____ Highest Educational Attainment of Parents : _______

Direction: Draw a line to connect consecutive numbers, from 1 to 25. Connect each circle as
fast as you can.

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 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

TRAIL MAKING TEST (PART B)

(Adapted from yumpu.com , 2013)

TRAIL MAKING TEST (PART B)

(Adapted from yumpu.com , 2013)

Name: __________________________ Track/Strand: ______________Sex: ____ Age: ___

Gen. Average for the First Semester: _____ Highest Educational Attainment of Parents : _______

Direction: Draw a line to connect numbers and letters in an alternating progressive sequence, 1
to A, 2 to B, and so on.

36
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

D2 TEST OF ATTENTION

D2 TEST OF ATTENTION
(Adapted from Plakos App, (2019)

Name: __________________________ Track/Strand: ______________Sex: ____ Age: ___

Gen. Average for the First Semester: _____ Highest Educational Attainment of Parents : _______

Direction: Cross out the target variables among similar non-target stimuli. The target variables
are ds’ with two dashes above or below them while non-target characters are d’s with one, three
or four dashes above or below them and p’s with one, two, three, or four dashes above or below
them.

37
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

38
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
Division of Aklan
District of Numancia
NUMANCIA INTEGRATED SCHOOL
Poblacion, Numancia, Aklan

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