Today we give you our discussion with Dr. Yana Suchy about executive functioning and everyday living, centering on her work with the Contextually Valid Executive Assessment (or ConVExA) model.
About Yana
Yana Suchy, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist, a tenured Professor of Psychology at the University of Utah, and Editor-in-Chief of The Clinical Neuropsychologist. Yana obtained her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at Northwestern Healthcare in Evanston, IL, as well as a 2-year postdoctoral research fellowship at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, IL. She is the Fellow of the American Academy of Neuropsychology and the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (American Psychological Association). She has over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and professional texts, and has authored two books: Clinical Neuropsychology of Emotion (Guilford Press, 2011), and Executive Functioning: A Comprehensive Guide for Clinical Practice (Oxford University Press, 2015). Yana loves to hike, ski, scuba-dive, and travel.
Yana’s long-term research goal is to advance our understanding of what triggers lapses in executive functioning, as well as to advance methods for identifying individuals who are at risk for such lapses. Over the past decade, her lab has been focusing on testing and refining the Contextually Valid Executive Assessment (ConVExA) model. This model is built on several assumptions: First, while EF represents a stable trait, it also presents as a fluctuating state; consequently, EF performance on any given day may or may not reflect one’s true and stable EF capacity. Second, a variety of contextual and situational factors have an impact on both EF and daily functioning. For example, even a simple daily task may not be carried out correctly if imbedded within the context of the complexities and hassles of daily life, and EF may be depleted if strained by coping with physical pain, lack of sleep, or emotional turmoil. And third, EF functions as both a mediator and a moderator of the associations between the various contextual and situations factors and EF. Thus, for example, while daily complexity tends to impact completion of daily tasks for most people, those with high EF are protected from such effects. The work in her laboratory focuses on quantifying these various relationships, so as to improve the predictive utility of EF assessment.
Selected References
Suchy, Y. (2020). Introduction to special issue: Contextually valid assessment of executive functions in the era of personalized medicine. In (Vol. 34, pp. 613-618): Taylor & Francis.
Suchy, Y., DesRuisseaux, L. A., Mora, M. G., Brothers, S. L., & Niermeyer, M. A. (2024). Conceptualization of the term “ecological validity” in neuropsychological research on executive function assessment: A systematic review and call to action. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 30(5), 499-522.
Suchy, Y., Lipio Brothers, S., DesRuisseaux, L. A., Gereau, M. M., Davis, J. R., Chilton, R. L. C., & Schmitter-Edgecombe, M. (2022). Ecological validity reconsidered: the Night Out Task versus the D-KEFS. Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 44(8), 562-579.
Suchy, Y., Mora, M. G., Brothers, S. L., & DesRuisseaux, L. A. (2024). Six elements test vs D-KEFS: what does “Ecological Validity” tell us? Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 30(4), 350-359.
Suchy, Y., Mora, M. G., DesRuisseaux, L. A., Niermeyer, M. A., & Brothers, S. L. (2024). Pitfalls in research on ecological validity of novel executive function tests: A systematic review and a call to action. Psychological Assessment, 36(4), 243.
Suchy, Y., Ziemnik, R. E., Niermeyer, M. A., & Brothers, S. L. (2020). Executive functioning interacts with complexity of daily life in predicting daily medication management among older adults. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 34(4), 797-825.
Ziemnik, R. E., & Suchy, Y. (2019). Ecological validity of performance-based measures of executive functions: Is face validity necessary for prediction of daily functioning? Psychological Assessment, 31(11), 1307.
