Among his many contributions to the field of neuropsychology, Arthur Benton recognized the broad public health significance and unique ability of focused neuropsychological tests to screen for dementia. The need for validated screening tests for the presence of dementia will continue to grow as the cumulative prevalence of dementia grows and as our ability to treat or slow the progression of these diseases improves. We have developed a brief, self-administered computerized screening test for dementia, which is user friendly to the majority of elderly participants, including those with dementia. This test demonstrates comparable discriminant validity to the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and its subscales correlate well with the traditional neuropsychological tests upon which it is based. We discuss its relative merits and limitations in comparison to other current instruments as well as suggesting future directions for this field.

The decision to intentionally withhold truthful information, or deception, is a key component of moral development and may be a precursor to more serious anti-social tendencies. Two factors, executive function and temperamental fear are each thought to influence childhood deception. Few studies, however, have explored deception in relation to both of these factors simultaneously. This was the goal of the present study. Executive function, as measured by a working memory task, and temperamental fear, as measured via maternal report were assessed in relation to observed deceptive behavior among 6 – 9-year-old children (N = 43). Results showed that children displaying high working memory capacity and high temperamental fear were more likely to exhibit deceptive behavior. Implications for predictors of childhood deception and applications for moral education are discussed.