Science Award: Award-Winning Projects 2024

For several years now, SCHUHFRIED has been awarding prizes to young scientists if their submitted study used tests from the Vienna Test System. Because it is not only research that is important to SCHUHFRIED, but also the promotion of innovation and further development.

Stability of Attention Performance of Adults with ADHD over Time: Evidence from Repeated Neuropsychological
Assessments in One-Month Intervals

Nana Guo is researching the stability of attention performance in adults with ADHD over a longer period of time. In the follow-up study, she examined 21 test subjects between the ages of 16 and 77. She tested the attentional performance of each person and repeated the test at one-month intervals.

Tests from the WAF test battery (from the Vienna Test System) were used to assess attention management: Selective Attention and Vigilance (WAFV).

The aim of the longitudinal survey was to record the stability of the attentional performance of adults with ADHD repeatedly and at regular intervals in order to identify any deviations.

The results confirmed previous research reports that a considerable proportion of adults with ADHD show below-average performance in selective attention and vigilance. In addition, the survey found that there was no significant difference in selective attention and vigilance performance across three repeated assessments.

You can find the whole study here!

Guo, N., Koerts, J., Tucha, L., Fetter, I., Biela, C., König, M., Bossert, M., Diener, C., Aschenbrenner, S., Weisbrod, M., & et al. (2022). Stability of attention performance of adults with ADHD over time: Evidence from repeated neuropsychological assessments in one-month intervals. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(22), 15234.

Analyzing cognitive characteristics of Train Drivers with and without Crashes to Predict Crash Likelihood

Ali Khanpour is interested in the predictive power of various cognitive abilities in relation to the probability of rail accidents.

The male participants were divided into two groups: The first group included 110 participants who were previously accident-free. In the second group, the 198 participants had already had at least one accident due to human error. All of the participating train drivers had at least ten years of professional experience.

Tests from the Vienna Test System were used for the assessment: WAF (vigilance & sustained attention) COG (concentration performance); VISGED (visual memory performance), ATAVT (overview acquisition in traffic situations), LVT (visual orientation and perception performance) and and AMT (adaptive matrix test).

According to the results, the accident-free train drivers performed better than the comparison group in each of these six cognitive tests. The results were significant: the greatest difference was found in the ability to sustain attention. The results of this study also show that more than one cognitive ability is involved in a train driver’s safety performance.

Kahnpour, A., Alizadeh, E., & Perego, P. (2022). Analyzing cognitive characteristics of train drivers with and without crashes to predict crash likelihood. Transportation Research Board 102nd Annual Meeting. Washington, DC, United States

Are you planning a project or have you already used tests from the Vienna Test System for your study?

Then take advantage of our SCHUHFRIED Research Support!
Or apply for the upcoming SCHUHFRIED Science Award and perhaps we will soon be able to present you and your work here.