@Article{info:doi/10.2196/40188,
author="Hakun, Jonathan G
and Roque, Nelson A
and Gerver, Courtney R
and Cerino, Eric S",
title="Ultra-brief Assessment of Working Memory Capacity: Ambulatory Assessment Study Using Smartphones",
journal="JMIR Form Res",
year="2023",
month="Jan",
day="27",
volume="7",
pages="e40188",
keywords="ecological momentary assessment; EMA; mobile cognitive assessment; working memory capacity; measurement burst design; mobile phone",
abstract="Background: The development of mobile technology with substantial computing power (ie, smartphones) has enabled the adaptation of performance-based cognitive assessments to remote administration and novel intensive longitudinal study designs (eg, measurement burst designs). Although an ``ambulatory'' cognitive assessment paradigm may provide new research opportunities, the adaptation of conventional measures to a mobile format conducive to intensive repeated measurement involves balancing measurement precision, administration time, and procedural consistency. Objective: Across 3 studies, we adapted ``complex span'' tests of working memory capacity (WMC) for ultra-brief, smartphone-based administration and examined their reliability, sufficiency, and associations with full-length, laboratory-based computerized administrations. Methods: In a laboratory-based setting, study 1 examined associations between ultra-brief smartphone adaptations of the operation span, symmetry span, and rotation span tasks and full-length computerized versions. In study 2, we conducted a 4-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study (4 assessments per day), where we examined the reliability of ultra-brief, ambulatory administrations of each task. In study 3, we conducted a 7-day EMA study (5 assessments per day) involving the ultra-brief rotation span task, where we examined reliability in the absence of extensive onboarding and training. Results: Measurement models in study 1 suggest that comparable estimates of latent WMC can be recovered from ultra-brief complex span task performance on smartphones. Significant correlations between the ultra-brief tasks and respective full-length versions were observed in study 1 and 2, ranging from r=0.4 to r=0.57. Results of study 2 and study 3 suggest that reliable between-person estimates of operation span, symmetry span, rotation span, and latent WMC can be obtained in 2-3 ultra-brief administrations (equivalent to <1 day of testing in an EMA study design). The results of study 3 replicated our findings, showing that reliable between-person estimates of rotation span may be obtained in as few as 2 ultra-brief administrations in the absence of extensive onboarding and training. In addition, the modification of task parameterization for study 3 improved the estimates of reliability of within-person change. Conclusions: Ultra-brief administration of complex span tasks on smartphones in a measurement burst design can generate highly reliable cross-sectional estimates of WMC. Considerations for future mobile cognitive assessment designs and parameterizations are discussed. ",
issn="2561-326X",
doi="10.2196/40188",
url="https://formative.jmir.org/2023/1/e40188",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/40188",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36705953"
}