The effect of physical presence of the examiner on memory task performance through video teleconferencing

Abstract

The demand for digital and remote neuropsychological assessment is increasing. Before reliable remote and digital neuropsychological assessment through video teleconferencing (VTC) is possible, it is important to know whether the norms that are currently used for interpreting the test results (which are obtained in face-to-face (FTF) assessment) are appropriate for digital and remote testing as well. Physical presence is one of the differences between FTF and VTC assessment that might contribute to differences in outcome measures. The current study was conducted to investigate the influence of physical presence of the examiner on clinically relevant outcome measures of an online version of a widely used verbal memory task in the Netherlands: the Dutch Auditory Verbal Learning Task (AVLT). Scores on immediate recall, delayed recall and delayed recognition of the AVLT were compared within participants (N=40) with the examiner physically present and with the examiner physically absent. No significant differences were found between both ways of administration on any of the outcome measures. This might suggest that currently available norms don’t have to be adjusted. Nevertheless, further studies investigating the effect of examiner presence in a larger sample and studies investigating other possible interfering factors will be necessary.