Administering the Digit Span Subtest of the WISC-ILL: Should the Examiner Make Eye Contact or Not?

Abstract

This study examined the impact of the examiner making eye contact versus not making eye contact during the administration of the Digit Span subtest of the Wechsler scales. Two groups of subjects were studied: A sample of 40 college students and 41 high school students. Results indicate that, regardless of the examiner's eye-contact behavior, subjects actively avoided eye contact while recalling numbers. College students performed significantly better on the Digit Span forward and backward task during both the eye-contact and no-eye-contact condition than did high school students. A significant order effect was obtained such that performance was enhanced in both groups when the no-eye-contact condition was delivered first and the eye-contact condition second. The results suggest that eye contact may be a source of distraction and is not preferred by those responding to the Digit Span subtest. Therefore, eye contact should not be emphasized in the administration.

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