Mental alternation test: administration mode, age, and practice effects.

Administration mode, age, education, and practice effects were examined for the Mental Alternation Test (MAT), a brief orally administered measure of executive function. Participants (N = 135) between the ages of 65 and 85 years completed the MAT twice in person, twice over the telephone, or once in person and once over the telephone. MAT scores did not differ across administration modes. Furthermore, the MAT detected normative decreases in executive ability in later life. The correlation between MAT performance and educational attainment was small. Finally, practice effects, which were influenced by age, were found between administration times. These findings provide important implications for both research and clinical applications of the MAT in older populations.