Group administration influences design but not written word fluency testing.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Assessing frontal lobe function (left and right) can be done efficiently in groups using design and language fluency tasks.
• The effects of social facilitation on dissociation models in group settings are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of social facilitation on frontal lobe function assessments in a group setting.
• To examine how working alongside confederates of varying speeds affects performance on design and word fluency tasks.
• To explore the relationship between trait worry and performance on these tasks, particularly concerning right and left hemisphere function.

Main Methods:

• One hundred college students completed design and written word fluency tasks.
• Participants were seated next to a confederate working either faster or slower.
• Questionnaires assessed trait worry, emotion regulation, depression, anxiety, and stress.

Main Results:

• Participants in the fast confederate condition produced significantly more unique designs.
• No significant difference in written word fluency performance was observed between conditions.
• High trait worriers showed reduced design task performance (higher error ratios) but preserved word task performance.

Conclusions:

• Performance on design tasks (right frontal lobe) may be negatively impacted by pairing with a slow confederate.
• High trait worriers exhibit a single dissociation, indicating compromised right hemisphere function and preserved left hemisphere function.
• Social facilitation can influence cognitive assessments, particularly for tasks associated with specific brain hemisphere functions.