Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 21, 2025

Author Spotlight: Unveiling the Connection Between Sleep Disorders and Cognitive Symptoms in Depression
Published on: April 26, 2024
The relationship of cogniphobia to performance validity and symptom validity in neuropsychological assessment
Grace J Lee1, Julie Suhr1, George K Henry
1Department of Psychology.
Objective:
Emerging research suggests that fear and avoidance are associated with not only physical symptoms, but also cognitive functioning. The concept of cogniphobia describes the fear and avoidance of cognitively effortful tasks to avoid the onset or worsening of symptoms. Extant studies provide preliminary evidence for associations between cogniphobia and validity testing. However, less is known about the subcomponents of cogniphobia. This study investigated the relationship of cogniphobia subcomponents to validity testing and psychological presentations.
Method:
Participants included 171 adults from an archival database who had completed measures of cogniphobia and psychological symptom reports as part of a larger neuropsychological study. The sample was classified as scoring above or below published cutoffs on performance validity tests (PVTs) and symptom validity tests (SVTs), consistent with current research/recommendations.
Results:
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a two-factor model of cogniphobia, with Avoidance and Dangerousness as subcomponents. Logistic regression analyses identified Avoidance as the strongest predictor of scores falling in the invalid range on PVTs and SVTs, as well as the presence of external incentives. After excluding participants who fell in the invalid range on SVTs, only Avoidance significantly predicted report of somatic complaints.
Conclusions:
Cogniphobia, especially the avoidance of cognitive exertion component, is associated with performance in the invalid range on both PVTs and SVTs and is also related to report of somatic concerns when controlling for beliefs that cognitive exertion is dangerous. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Language and Cognition
Reliability and Validity
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
Preparedness and Phobias
Cognitivism
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process...

