Tower of London: What Level of Planning Does it Measure?

Abstract

We examined which of two levels of planning, namely action and operations planning, are involved in Tower of London (TOL). One hundred nine university students (79 females; mean age = 20.81 years) from China were assessed on measures of action planning (Crack the Code), operations planning (Planned Connections, Planned Codes, Matching Numbers), and on TOL. The results of factor analysis showed first that TOL, scored as total number of correct responses, had a split loading on action and operations planning. TOL, scored as first move time, loaded on the same action planning factor represented by Crack the Code first move time. These findings suggest that different TOL scores may capture different levels of planning. The implications of these findings especially for clinical diagnosis and rehabilitation are briefly discussed.