Preparation for Child Psych PRITE and Boards
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An example of a single screen from a 12-image abstract Self-Ordered Pointing Test

Introduction

Self-Ordered Pointing Test (SOPT) is a neuropsychological test that assesses spatial working memory. It tests the ability to generate and monitor a sequence of responses. SOPT evaluates only one aspect of executive functioning and is generally administered as part of a battery of tests.

Administering the test

  • A number of images (12 in the figure) are shown to the subject and he is asked to pick one. On the next screen the order of the images is scrambled and the the subject is asked to pick a different image.
  • This is repeated until the subject picks an image he had selected previously.

Correlates

Subjects do better when presented with recognizable images compared to abstract images, which suggests that language areas areas used to aid performance.

The performance on this test improves throughout childhood and adolescence and declines with advanced age.