This work presents normative data for Brazilian children on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), Verbal Fluency Test (VFT), and Stroop test (ST). The effects of age were evaluated. The patterns of results were compared with the literature, and validity was assessed using cluster analysis. The participants included 390 healthy subjects, 7–14 years old. Mixed-model analyses of variance were performed, with age as the between-subjects factor and test phase, trial, and stimulus type as the within-subjects factors. A cluster analysis explored the classification of the cognitive variables. Older children performed better than younger children, with differences in learning scores on the VFT and RALVT between children who were 7–8 and 11–12 years old and differences in Stroop times between children who were 9–10 and 11–12 years old. Letter fluency was easier than semantic fluency, with no interaction between type of fluency and age. Stroop times and errors increased as interference increased and decreased as age increased. Age differences in total learning, proactive interference, and forgetting were observed for the RAVLT. The cluster analysis revealed 2 groups: ST variables (attention) and RAVLT and VFT variables (memory). Some differences in terms of absolute scores were found compared with other Brazilian studies, but the results showed internal consistency and a pattern of results similar to the published data. The dissociation between the memory and attention cognitive domains and the pattern of subgroups in the cluster analysis were consistent with the cognitive neuropsychology literature, providing further evidence of the validity of the paradigms.

This study explored subgroups with similar patterns of cognitive functioning throughout normal development. The sample consisted of 350 healthy students of both genders, aged 7–14 years old, from low-income Brazilian families. Instruments included the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure, Stroop test, letter and semantic verbal fluency, and the Rey auditory-verbal learning test. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used as an exploratory method, and a nonhierarchical cluster analysis was used as a confirmatory method to classify the subjects in different groups according to their global functioning, organization, memory, and attention profiles. The ages and performance levels of each group were compared using ANOVAs. Post hoc procedures tested inter- and intragroup differences. A classification model was proposed, examining which factors contribute to the peculiarities found in each cognitive profile. A 4-group division demonstrated to be the best solution to classify cognitive profiles in this sample. It was found a significant effect of group for age, with the older adolescents systematically outperforming younger children in terms of global functioning. Secondarily to the global classification, the performance on organization scores is the bigger distinguishing factor between groups. Memory and attention variables appear to cause subtler and less relevant changes to overall functioning. Additionally, attentional ability was more useful in distinguishing the cognitive profiles of younger children, which have accentuated lower performance in this ability. These results are consistent with neuropsychological literature, which indicates a large range of variability in cognitive profiles during development, even to subjects in the same age group.