Humanizing neuropsychological assessment: The role of empathy

Recent research and the majority of neuropsychological testing manuals emphasize the importance of establishing a proper relationship between the evaluator and the evaluatee. However, there is relatively little empirical research on this point.

The objective of this study was to operationalize empathy in the evaluator/evaluatee relationship during neuropsychological assessment. The subsequent aim was to determine the impact of this empathy on the evaluator/evaluatee relationship and cognitive performance.

The participants, designated as "evaluatees", were randomly assigned to complete a brief neuropsychological test in either an empathic (N = 47) or neutral condition (N = 47). The neuropsychological tests included the Stroop task from the GREFEX battery, the Letter-Number Sequencing from the WAIS-IV, and the d2 test of attention. Following the tests, participants completed scales indicating perceived relationship with the evaluator, lived experience of the test, and sociodemographic information.

The manipulation check indicated that it was possible to manipulate empathy. Evaluators demonstrating empathy led to a better evaluator/evaluatee relationship. However, the results regarding cognitive performance were less consistent.

In conclusion, there is a need for improvement in clinical neuropsychological practice with regard to relational competencies during testing. This study proposes benchmarks to make the evaluator's empathy perceptible. This technique has not been shown to have a consistent effect on cognitive performance.