Executive Function At Different Levels Of Task Difficulty

Nancy GetchellThe objective of this study was to demonstrate that executive function increases when one is completing a difficult task that requires motor planning. The study aimed to demonstrate that functional near infrared spectroscopy is a valid tool for measuring prefrontal cortex activation. The Tower of Hanoi was used as a problem-solving task that elicits executive function. The problem-solving task could be manipulated to be operationally defined as easy or difficult. The study did not show a statistically significant increase in executive function with a more difficult task in a statistically significant manner (p>0.05). However, ancillary analysis reveals that in certain cases where the experimental design worked effectively results showed prefrontal cortex activation was indeed increased. When experimental design was flawed and did not accurately test what was intended, results were confounded. Ultimately, descriptive statistics do not accurately depict what was occurring in the study and further investigation is necessary.Psycholog