COMPUTERIZED NEUROBEHAVIORAL TESTING - TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING TEST INSTRUCTIONS

The development of new computer-administered neuropsychological tests has brought a renewed focus on the issue of written instructions. Desi gners and programmers often fail to take advantage of the display opti ons and feedback potential available in modern computer systems to max imize the effectiveness of the instruction process. Guidelines from co mputer interface architecture and behavioral analysis are combined to present three principles for written instructions: precise language, a ttention focusing: and interactive instruction. A comparison of differ ent instruction formats in the Symbol-Digit and Simple Reaction Time t ests shows that the application of these principles can reduce trainin g time without degrading performance.