Validation and Comparison of Two Sensory Perceptual Examinations

Abstract

The problem. Inaccurate diagnosis of brain damaged and non-brain-damaged subjects when utilizing sensory perceptual examinations may be due to a lack of standardized administration procedures. The purpose of this study is to provide validation data for the Reitan-Klove Examination and evaluate an alternative standardized testing procedure which is based on subtests similar to the Reitan-Klove Examination. Procedure. Von Frey hairs, tuning forks, calipers, wire numbers, and raised designs were used for standardization. The control group consisted of 11 male and 23 female hospital staff members with a mean age of 40 years. The experimental group consisted of one female and 33 male brain-damaged patients with a mean age of 49 years. Findings. The procedures were compared on the occurrence of false positives and false negatives. Both procedures yielded no false positives and a small incidence (6%) of false negatives; both procedures were valid. Subtests involving the same variables were then compared. The comparison revealed that in the area of tactile perception and fingertip number writing perception, the discriminative validity of these tests was increased by procedural standardization. Conclusions. There are indications which suggest that procedural standardization could increase the validity of sensory perceptual examinations. Recommendations. Further research on this issue incorporating less severely brain-damaged and psychotic subjects is suggested in an attempt to provide more information regarding procedural standardization.