No abstract

To learn how culture may affect neuropsychological performance, eight tests were administered to non-brain damaged adult volunteers in the United States and Russia. The tests included Ruff Figural Fluency Test (RFFT), Color Trails Test (CTT), Digit Span Forward and Backward, and Category Fluency Test. Verbal and Visual Memory measures and Blind Clock Test were selected from Luria's (1980) battery. Forty-two Russian and 42 American volunteers (age 18-44) were assessed. It was hypothesized that the American group would outscore the Russian on timed measures (RFFT & CTT) due to cultural differences in familiarity with timed testing procedures. Otherwise, significant differences between the two groups were not expected to emerge. Consistent with the hypotheses, significant effect of culture was found on CTT and RFFT in favor of the American group. ANCOVA suggested that intergroup differences were not fully explained by differences in subjective relevance of the tasks to culture-specific experiences. The rest of the tests appeared similar for potential application in both cultures.

No abstract

Cultural differences in time attitudes and their effect on timed neuropsychological test performance were examined in matched non-clinical samples of 100 Russian and American adult volunteers using 8 tests that were previously reported to be relatively free of cultural bias: Color Trails Test (CTT); Ruff Figural Fluency Test (RFFT); Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT); and Tower of London-Drexel Edition (ToL(Dx)). A measure of time attitudes, the Culture of Time Inventory (COTI-33) was used to assess time attitudes potentially affecting time-limited testing. Americans significantly outscored Russians on CTT, SDMT, and ToL(Dx) (p,.05) while differences in RFFT scores only approached statistical significance. Group differences also emerged in COTI-33 factor scores, which partially mediated differences in performance on CTT-1, SDMT, and ToL(Dx) initiation time, but did not account for the effect of culture on CTT-2. Significant effect of culture was revealed in ratings of familiarity with testing procedures that was negatively related to CTT, ToL(Dx), and SDMT scores. Current findings indicated that attitudes toward time may influence results of time limited testing and suggested that individuals who lack familiarity with timed testing procedures tend to obtain lower scores on timed tests.