California Verbal Learning Test: characteristics and uses

This assessment test is used to evaluate a person's memory capacity.

Psychological assessment encompasses a wide variety of tests and tests that evaluate different traits of the person, especially personality and intelligence.

In this article we will get to know the California Verbal Learning Testa test that evaluates verbal memory and learning ability, developed by Delis, Kramer, Kaplan and Ober in 1987.

This test consists of a brief technique to evaluate multiple strategies and processes involved in learning and verbal memory. In addition, it it contributes to the diagnosis and treatment of memory impairments secondary to neurological, psychiatric and learning disorders.

California Verbal Learning Test: general characteristics

The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) (Delis, Kramer, Kaplan, & Ober, 1987) is a neuropsychological test used to assess verbal memory and learning ability. a neuropsychological test used to assess a person's verbal memory and learning ability. learning ability. It was validated by Dimey, Matallana and Montañez in 1996.

Specifically, it also evaluates the following aspects: recall, recognition, serial position effects (how the order of presentation of words affects their recall), learning rate, interference and learning strategies.

Its age of application ranges from 5 years to 16 years and 11 months.Its scope of application is people with neurological, psychiatric or learning disorders.

The California Verbal Learning Test is guided by a methodology of data interpretation based on the so-called "multi-store" models of memory. In addition, it is a test that presents an ecological aspect by presenting the lists to be memorized as "shopping lists", as we will see below.

Test administration

The administration of the California Verbal Learning Test lasts approximately 35 minutes (although this is variable), and is administered individually.

First the examiner reads a shopping list aloud, called the "Monday shopping list." The list contains 16 common words, each of which belongs to one of 4 categories; thus there are 4 herbs, 4 fruits, and so on.

Subsequently, the subject is asked to remember as many words as possible. Distractor tasks are also included later to assess interference, as well as other lists. Let's look at it in detail:

Components of the test.

First of all, the examiner records the number of words the subject remembers, after the completion of several trials. The examiner also records whether the subject is using the information in each category, i.e., whether the subject has grouped the words into categories or not.The examiner also records whether the subject has grouped the words into categories or not.

Next, the examiner reads a second list, "the shopping list Tuesday," and then checks whether the subject is able to remember and keep the items on each list separately, or whether he or she confuses or mixes up the two lists.

Finally, the examiner offers 20 minutes of time to perform other tasks ("distractor tasks"), and then asks the subject again for the 16 words from the first list. In this way, interference is also assessed.

In addition to the free recall tests discussed above, the California Verbal Learning Test includes two recall tests with semantic cues, which are presented immediately after the short-term and long-term free recall tests, respectively.

• You may be interested in "Types of memory: how does the human brain store memories?"

Test results

In the application of the California Verbal Learning Test, it has been observed how, in general. women tend to group more by categories than men.. On the other hand, patients with different types of brain damage or disorders have shown certain patterns of performance.

For example, patients with Alzheimer's disease tend to show more difficulty in grouping by categories, and rarely do so (e.g., they say "oranges, apples, grapes, and fish"). Patients with Parkinson's disease, on the other hand, tend to make repetition errors (e.g., they say "apples, oranges, bananas, oranges").

Spanish version of the California Verbal Learning Test: TAVEC

The Spanish adaptation of the CVLT is the Test de Aprendizaje Verbal España-Complutense (TAVEC), elaborated by María Jesús Benedet and María Ángeles Alejandre in 1998 (with its latest version in 2014). The TAVEC explores, like the California Verbal Learning Test, verbal memory and learning.

The TAVEC contains three lists of items that can be grouped into 4 categories to assess learning, interference, and recognition.

The test allows to determine the "normality" of the subject, comparing him/her with a sample similar in age, sex and educational level. It also describes how the subject's memory system functions (it is based on theories of the modularity of the mind). In addition, it determines the form and reason for deviance, if it appears, and provides indicators of possible suspicion of dementia.

On a technical level, its administration lasts approximately 40 minutes (similar to the California Verbal Learning Test); it is also for individual application and the target population is adolescents and adults with and without brain damage (from 16 years of age).

Bibliographical references:

• Delis, D.C., Kramer, J.H., Kaplan, E., and Ober, B.A. (1987) California Verbal Learning Test. Research Edition Manual. New York: Psychological Corporation.
• Buela-Casal, G.; Sierra, J.C. (1997). Manual de evaluación psicológica. Ed. Siglo XXI. Madrid.
• Benedet, M. J. and Alejandre, M. A. (2014). TAVEC. Test de Aprendizaje Verbal España-Complutense. Madrid: TEA Ediciones.