Computer Maze–Solving Task: Preliminary Psychometric Evidence in Young Adult and Older Adult Sample

The maze-solving task is used extensively to evaluate several executive functions. The present study aimed to analyze the construct validity and the internal consistency of a new computer maze-solving task in a sample of young adults and older adults. The new software allows the resolution of 25 mazes (3 difficulty levels) on a touchscreen and registers four variables for analysis: visual analysis time, motor resolution time, number of dead-ends, and number of touches on the maze lines. The construct validity and internal consistency of the mazes were estimated for each group (young adult and older adult subjects) and for each dependent variable investigated. The construct validity was estimated through the item-total correlation and the power of discrimination between groups (young adults and older adults). Cronbach’s alpha was estimated to confirm the internal consistency of the task. The results suggest that the computer maze-solving task is a viable and practical test to investigate various aspects related to cognition and motor skills in samples of different ages.