What does the Cowa measure?

Controlled Oral Word Association Test, abbreviated COWA or COWAT, is a verbal fluency test that measures spontaneous production of words belonging to the same category or beginning with some designated letter.

What does the verbal fluency test measure?

Verbal fluency tests are a kind of psychological test in which participants have to produce as many words as possible from a category in a given time (usually 60 seconds).

What is word association test?

: a test of personality and mental function in which the subject is required to respond to each of a series of words with the first word that comes to mind or with a word of a specified class of words (such as antonyms)

Why is the COWAT test important for the elderly?

This measure is a useful component of a neuropsychological battery as it is able to detect changes in word association fluency often found with various disorders. In order to generate current norms for the elderly and aid in interpreting their performance, the COWAT was administered to a group of community-dwelling elderly persons.

How are neuropsychological tests used in the real world?

Neuropsychological tests are typically administered to a single person working with an examiner in a quiet office environment, free from distractions. As such, it can be argued that neuropsychological tests at times offer an estimate of a person’s peak level of cognitive performance.

How is neuropsychological testing related to behavioral health?

Neuropsychological testing is customarily associated with neurological diagnoses rather than behavioral health diagnoses. Neuropsychological tests are administered in a variety of contexts including paper-and-pencil, computers, and visual aids.

What are the current norms for the COWAT?

In order to generate current norms for the elderly and aid in interpreting their performance, the COWAT was administered to a group of community-dwelling elderly persons. Information regarding total numbers of words produced as well as frequency of perseverations, breaking set, using the same word stem, and using a proper noun is provided.