A-61 The Cattell-Horn-Carroll Model Does Not Outperform a Traditional Neuropsychological Model When Using a Digital Test Battery

Abstract

Abstract Objective Following recent (meta-)analyses showing that the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model outperforms traditional neuropsychological models of cognition, we investigated the relative performance of the traditional neuropsychological model (TNM) of cognitive functioning and the CHC model using the digital Philips IntelliSpace Cognition (ISC) test battery. Method The ISC battery consists of 11 conventional cognitive tests, which were administered to 221 healthy participants. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to map outcome measures to cognitive domains. Both models contained processing speed, working memory, memory, and visuospatial ability. TNM included executive functioning consisting of TMT B, Stroop interference, and Phonetic and Semantic Fluency. In the CHC model, these outcome measures were distributed over processing speed and a word fluency domain. The models’ fit was compared through Vuong test for non-nested models. Results Both models were a good fit (TNM: χ2(64) = 91.95, p = .013, CFI = .971, RMSEA = .044; CHC: χ2(64) = 83.66, p = .050, CFI = .979, RMSEA = .037). The Vuong test showed that the models could be significantly distinguished based on the observed data, ω2 = 0.21, p < .001. However, the non-nested likelihood ratio test did not offer evidence that either model was a better fit, z = -0.61, p = .727. The 95% confidence interval of the AIC difference contained zero [-18.60, 35.20]. Conclusions Recent findings showing that the CHC model outperforms the TNM are not corroborated by our findings. Instead, both models captured the data equally well, suggesting that the two theoretical frameworks are not necessarily mutually exclusive.