Informationsverarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit - alter Hut oder aktuelles Konstrukt? Ein konzeptionelles Review.

The concept of information processing speed is one of the oldest research topics in experimental psychology. Tests for assessing the construct are widely used in clinical practice and among the world's most extensively used neuropsychological assessment instruments. The methods currently used were mainly developed in the middle of the last century. This raises the question of whether the construct and the method for use in clinical practice are still valid and whether the popularity is justified. In the present article we firstly discuss the limitation of the construct, followed by a review of typical test procedure and everyday relevance as well as the clinical significance of the construct. Finally, the treatment of information processing speed deficits is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]