During the period 1966-1972 cognitive performance research shifted from global intelligence measures toward processing efficiency, selective attention, and the role of attentional/arousal dysfunction in cognitive deficits. The information-processing lens enabled researchers to identify bottlenecks in processing levels as central to performance, promoting models that link cognitive operations to symptomatology in psychopathology. Neuropsychological methods, memory profiling, and emerging test-design innovations began shaping standardized assessment across clinical and educational settings, while cognitive-behavioral strategies for test performance started to appear.