title: Examination of the Role of Expectancies on Task Performance in College Students Concerned about ADHD.
abstract: Prior research has shown that performance on cognitive tasks can be influenced by expectations (Smith & Sullivan, 2003 ; Suhr & Gunstad, 2002 , 2005 ). The current study examined whether cuing a belief about the diagnostic saliency of a cognitive task among young adults who expressed concern about having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) influenced task performance. Participants were randomly assigned to either receive neutral directions or be cued to a belief that the task had diagnostic saliency prior to completing a working-memory task. Supporting our hypothesis, college students with higher prestudy report of ADHD symptoms who were cued with a belief about the diagnostic saliency of the task performed worse compared with students who received neutral instructions. As many researchers and clinicians currently rely exclusively on self-reported symptoms and neuropsychological tests to diagnose ADHD, our findings highlight the importance of comprehensive assessment for provision of appropriate clinical services to adults presenting with ADHD concerns.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Ohio University , Athens , Ohio.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Suhr
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D057566:Self Report; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: assessment/diagnosis; cognition; neuropsychology