Effect of a Third Party Observer on Neuropsychological Test Performance Following Closed Head Injury.

The effect of a third party observer on neuropsychological test performance was examined within the framework of social facilitation. Social facilitation refers to the influence of an observer's presence on human behavior. Previous studies of social facilitation have demonstrated that an observer improves performance on easy or well-learned tasks and diminishes performance on complex or novel tasks. To examine social facilitation effects on neuropsychological testing, the Trail Making Test, Verbal Paired Associates subtest from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R), Finger Tapping Test, Grip Strength, and the Grooved Pegboard were administered to 60 individuals with a self-reported history of mild to severe closed head injury. Half of the participants received a standard test administration, and the other half were tested in the presence of a third party observer. A statistically significant difference between groups was found on the Verbal Paired Associates delayed recall from the WMS-R with the observed group recalling fewer word pairs than the unobserved group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]