Executive speed and accuracy at work: Effects of profession, socioeconomic status, and academic stream on the color trails test

Background: The color trails test (CTT) is widely used to assess processing speed, sequencing, and executive functioning. However, Indian normative data remain limited, particularly regarding the effects of education and socioeconomic status on test performance. Aims and Objectives: To establish demographic influences on CTT-1 and CTT-2 performance in an Indian sample, with specific focus on age, education level, gender, stream, profession, and socioeconomic class. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 132 healthy adults aged 18–60 years. Participants were evaluated using the CTT-1 and CTT-2 following standard administration protocols. Demographic variables included age, sex, education, socioeconomic class, marital status, occupational group, and residential status. Statistical analysis included analysis of variance, t-tests, and Chi-square tests. Results: Education and socioeconomic class showed strong, statistically significant effects on CTT-1 performance (P<0.001), with undergraduate students and participants belonging to the lower-middle socioeconomic class demonstrating slower completion times. However, younger subjects, students, and humanities sub-group were more error prone with respect to wrong attempts on CTT. Higher educational attainment was associated with superior visual scanning, sequencing strategy, and processing speed. Socioeconomic class influenced outcomes through differences in cognitive stimulation, stress exposure, and educational quality. CTT-2 exhibited similar patterns, although with greater variance. No significant differences were observed for sex or marital status. Conclusion: Age, education, and socioeconomic class are major determinants of CTT performance in Indian adults and must be considered when interpreting test scores. Stratified, population-specific norms are essential to prevent misclassification of executive dysfunction. The findings reinforce the influence of cognitive enrichment, chronic stress, and educational quality on neuropsychological performance.