09/2024

Serious game for cognitive assessment. Validation of a psychometric embedded test

Abstract

The evaluation of performance in serious video games is crucial when it comes to providing empirical evidence of the effectiveness of this type of educational tools. In turn, the design of psychometric tests demands specific procedures aimed at estimating validity levels. This paper presents the validation process of a psychometric test embedded in a video game, for the assessment of executive functions, understood as a set of cognitive processes associated with the functioning of the frontal lobes, including planning, inhibition, flexibility and monitoring. The sample consisted of 171 participants aged between 5 and 12 years (Mean=8.27; SD=1.589), students at elementary school. The analyses performed included Cronbach’s Alpha and McDonald’s Omega internal consistency indexes and an Exploratory Factor Analysis. The results indicate good levels of reliability and excellent fit indices for a two-factor model

Quimbaya, Jorge & Herrera M, Alejandra & Mejía, César. (2024). Serious game for cognitive assessment. Validation of a psychometric embedded test. International Journal of Serious Games. 11. 3-18. 10.17083/ijsg.v11i3.667.

This research mentions in its introduction, inside the «1.1. Related works» section, research and documentation directly linked to Nesplora Aula:

These technological developments also include testing in virtual reality devices. For example, there is Aula-Nesplora [30], a gamified test in virtual reality that simulates a school classroom. It was designed to assess items of attention and executive functions such as selective and sustained attention, motor activity, impulsivity, and reaction times. Díaz-Orueta et al., [31] found significant correlations between Aula-Nesplora and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) in a group of children of average cognitive ability diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

C. Mejia et al., p. 5

[30] G. Climent and F. Banterla, Nesplora Aula Manual., Segunda Edición. 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329371095_AULA_NESPLORA_evaluacion_de_los_procesos_atencionales
[31] U. Díaz-Orueta, C. Garcia-López, N. Crespo-Eguílaz, R. Sánchez-Carpintero, G. Climent, and J. Narbona, “AULA virtual reality test as an attention measure: convergent validity with Conners’ Continuous Performance Test,” Child Neuropsychol, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 328–342, 2014, doi: 10.1080/09297049.2013.792332

Furthermore, their references include research related to Nesplora Executive Functions Ice Cream:

G. Climent, P. Luna-Lario, I. Bombín-González, A. Cifuentes-Rodríguez, J. Tirapu-Ustárroz, and U. Díaz-Orueta, Evaluación neuropsicológica de las funciones ejecutivas mediante realidad virtual, RevNeurol, vol. 58, no. 10, p. 465, 2014, doi: 10.33588/rn.5810.2013487.