Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:43:08.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Further exploration of the effect of “diagnosis threat” on cognitive performance in individuals with mild head injury

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2005

JULIE A. SUHR  and
JOHN GUNSTAD
JULIE A. SUHR
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
JOHN GUNSTAD
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The present study further explored the phenomenon of “diagnosis threat” (Suhr & Gunstad, 2002), by examining the potential explanatory roles of anxiety, effort, and depression. Individuals with mild head injury history were randomly assigned to receive either neutral instructions (controls, N = 25) or to have attention called to their head injury history as a reason for invitation into the study (diagnosis threat, N = 28). Depression was measured at baseline. Following the neuropsychological battery, ratings of effort, test pressure, and state anxiety were completed. The diagnosis threat group performed worse than controls on attention/working memory, psychomotor speed, and memory tasks, but not on measures of executive functioning, post-test anxiety, or effort. Effort, anxiety and depression were not related to cognitive performance, nor did depression interact with expectations in explaining group differences in performance. Results provide further support for the “diagnosis threat” effect, but offer no support for effort, anxiety, or depression explanations for diminished performance. (JINS, 2005, 11, 23–29.)

Keywords

Head injuryMemoryExpectationsDepressionAnxiety
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , January 2005 , pp. 23 - 29
Copyright
© 2005 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aronson, J., Lustina, M.J., Good, C., Keogh, K., Steele, C.M., & Brown, J. (1999). When White men can't do math: Necessary but sufficient factors in stereotype threat. Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, 35, 29–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aronson, J., Quinn, D.M., & Spencer, S.J. (1998). Stereotype threat and the academic underperformance of minorities and women. In J.K. Swim & C. Stangor (Ed.), Prejudice: The target's perspective (pp. 83–103). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Baumeister, R.F. & Showers, C.J. (1984). A review of paradoxical performance effects: Coking under pressure in sports and mental tests. European Journal of Social Psychology, 16, 361–383.Google Scholar
Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., & Brown, G.K. (1996). Beck Depression Inventory, Second Edition. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
Blascovich, J., Spencer, S.J., Quinn, D., & Steele, C. (2001). African Americans and high blood pressure: The role of stereotype threat. Psychological Science, 12, 225–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, D.A. (2001). The persistent problem of negative cognition in anxiety and depression: New perspectives and old controversies. Behavior Therapy, 32, 3–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, D.A., Beck, A.T., & Alford, B.A. (1999). Scientific foundations of cognitive theory and the therapy of depression. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Croizet, J.-C. & Claire, T. (1998). Extending the concept of stereotype threat to social class: The intellectual underperformance of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 588–594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gass, C.S. (2002). Does test anxiety adversely affect neuropsychological test performance? Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 17, 860.Google Scholar
Gass, C.S. & Daniel, S.K. (1990). Emotional impact on Trail Making Test performance. Psychological Reports, 67, 435–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gass, C.S., Ansley, J., & Boyette, S. (1994). Emotional correlates of fluency test and maze performance. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 50, 586–590.3.0.CO;2-Z>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geen, R.G. (1991). Social motivation. Annual Review of Psychology, 42, 377–399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gervais, R.O., Russell, A.S., Green, P., Allen_III, L.M., Ferrari, R., & Pieschl, S.D. (2001). Effort testing in fibromyalgia patients with disability incentives. Journal of Rheumatology, 28, 1892–1899.Google Scholar
Gotlib, I.H. & Neubauer, D.L. (2000). Information-processing approaches to the study of cognitive biases in depression. In S.L. Johnson & A.M. Hayes (Eds.), Stress coping and depression (pp. 117–143). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Green, P. & Iverson, G.L. (2001). Effects of injury severity and cognitive exaggeration on olfactory deficits in head injury compensation claims. Neurorehabilitation, 16, 237–243.Google Scholar
Green, P., Rohling, M.L., Lees-Haley, P.R., & Allen_III, L.M. (2001). Effort has a greater effect on test scores than severe brain injury in compensation claimants. Brain Injury, 15, 1045–1060.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, W.P., Allen_III, L.M., & Astner, K. (1996). The Word Memory Test. Durham, NC: CogniSyst, Inc.
Heaton, R.K., Chelune, G.J., Talley, J.L., Kay, G.G., & Curtiss, G.G. (1993). Wisconsin Card Sorting Test manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Hess, T.M., Auman, C., Colcombe, S.J., & Rahhal, T.A. (2003). The impact of stereotype threat on age differences in memory performance. Journal of Gerontology Series B, 58, P3–P11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, B. (1996). Improving memory in old age through implicit self-stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1092–1107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leyens, J.-P., Desert, M., Croizet, J.-C., & Darcis, C. (2000). Stereotype threat: Are lower status and history of stigmatization preconditions of stereotype threat? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 1189–1199.Google Scholar
Osborne, J.W. (2001). Testing stereotype threat: Does anxiety explain race and sex differences in achievement? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 26, 291–310.Google Scholar
Reitan, R.M. (1971). Trail Making Test results for normal and brain-damaged children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 33, 575–581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rey, A. (1941). L'examen psychologique dans les cas d'encéphalopathie traumatique [The clinical examination in cases of traumatic brain injury]. Archives de Psychologie, 28, 286–340.Google Scholar
Rohling, M.L., Green, P., Allen_III, L.M., & Iverson, G.L. (2002). Depressive symptoms and neurocognitive test scores in patients passing symptom validity tests. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 17, 205–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarason, I.G. (1980). Introduction to the study of test anxiety. In I.G. Sarason (Ed.), Test anxiety: Theory, research and applications (pp. 57–78). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Spencer, S.J., Steele, C.M., & Quinn, D.M. (1999). Stereotype threat and women's math performance. Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, 35, 4–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spielberger, C.D. (1977). State–Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Steele, C.M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613–629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steele, C.M. & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 797–811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suhr, J.A. (2003). Neuropsychological impairment in fibromyalgia: The influence of pain, depression, and fatigue. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 55, 521–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suhr, J.A. & Gunstad, J. (2002). “Diagnosis threat”: The effect of negative expectations on cognitive performance. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 24, 448–457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walsh, M., Hickey, C., & Duffy, J. (1999). Influence of item content and stereotype situation on gender differences in mathematical problem solving. Sex Roles, 41, 219–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wheeler, S.C. & Petty, R.E. (2001). The effects of stereotype activation on behavior: A review of possible mechanisms. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 797–826.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Third Edition. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.