Social facilitation effect of examiner attention or inattention to computer-administered neuropsychological tests: first sign that the examiner may affect results.

Studies have demonstrated that third-party observation impairs performance on some types of neuropsychological tests. The current study was designed to determine if the examiner's attention or inattention during computerized tests would have similar effects on performance as third-party presence or absence. This study examined the effects of the test administrator's attention or inattention on the performance of 74 undergraduates on computerized versions of the Word Memory Test, the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM), and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The results from independent samples t-tests showed that there were significantly more total errors on the TOMM in the unobserved group than the observed group. This is the first indication that computerized symptom validity tests may be affected by examiner's attention to the examinee's performance.