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The Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT) is a measure of verbal fluency and is a subtest of the Multilingual Aphasia Examination (MAE; Benton, Hamsher, & Sivan, 1994). The COWAT uses the three letter set of C, F, and L to assess phonemic fluency. Individuals are given 1 min to name as many words as possible beginning with one of the letters. The procedure is then repeated for the remaining two letters (see Strauss, Sherman, & Spreen, 2006 and Benton, Hamsher, Rey, & Sivan, 1994 for specific administration instructions). Several tests of phonemic fluency exist, some of which are part of larger test batteries (e.g., the MAE or the Neurosensory Center Comprehensive Examination for Aphasia; Spreen & Benton, 1977) and others that can be administered independently (e.g., the F-A-S Test).
Verbal fluency is a cognitive function that facilitates information...
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References and Readings
Barry, D., Bates, M. E., & Labouvie, E. (2008). FAS and CFL forms of verbal fluency differ in difficulty: A meta-analytic study. Applied Neuropsychology, 15, 161–166.
Benton, A. L., Hamsher, K., Rey, G. L., & Sivan, A. B. (1994). Multilingual Aphasia Examination (3rd ed.). Iowa City, IA: AJA Associates.
Borkowski, J. G., Benton, A. L., & Spreen, O. (1967). Word fluency and brain damage. Neuropsychologia, 5, 135–140.
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Loonstra, A. S., Tarlow, A. R., & Sellers, A. H. (2001). COWAT metanorms across age, education and gender. Applied Neuropsychology, 8, 161–166.
Spreen, O., & Benton, A. L. (1977). Neurosensory Center Comprehensive Examination for Aphasia. Victoria BC: University of Victoria Neuropsychology Laboratory.
Spreen, O., & Risser, A. H. (2003). Assessment of aphasia. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Strauss, E., Sherman, E. M. S., & Spreen, O. (2006). Compendium of neuropsychological tests: Administration, norms, and commentary (3rd ed., p. 502). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Patterson, J. (2011). Controlled Oral Word Association Test. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_876
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