Miyake Revisited: Validating the Factor Structure of an Open-Source Cognitive Control Test Battery

Cognitive control is a prerequisite for achieving goals in daily life. Miyake et al. (2000) distinguished three separable but correlated cognitive control functions in young adults: inhibition, shifting, and updating. This three-factor model was later adapted to a bi-factor model with a common factor and separate updating and shifting factors. Over the years, these models have been replicated in various young adult samples. However, other studies have failed to confirm these models. Furthermore, the variety of tasks used in these studies hampers replication of the underlying factor structure of cognitive control. The primary goal of this study was to address this issue of replicability by validating the factor structure of cognitive control functions using a new test battery based on often-used tasks, while offering full transparency about each step in the analysis process. This test battery comprises nine behavioral tasks measuring inhibition, shifting and updating. The factor structure was assessed in 247 young adults (84.21% female). Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to test the one-factor model with a common cognitive control function, the three-factor model with separate but correlated cognitive control functions, and the bi-factor model. Our findings supported the three-factor model with correlated cognitive control functions as the best-fitting model, despite some fit indices yielding mixed evidence. Additionally, the test battery in this study is offered as an open-source and easily accessible resource. Finally, we offer a critical look on the field and provide recommendations for future use and adaptations of this test battery to increase its broad applicability.