Examination of Self-Perceived Cognition and Objective Cognitive Performance in an Undergraduate Sample: A Preliminary Investigation

While the field of neuropsychology has made great efforts to improve assessment measures and the objective data they yield, fewer studies have examined the congruence that exists between patients’ perceived (subjective) performance and objective performances on these measures. The purpose of this project was to quantify the level of consistency or inconsistency that exists between subjective ratings of intellectual functioning and corresponding objective, performance-based indicators of intellectual functioning by comparing subjective ratings of objective performances on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) in a sample of 33 healthy college students. Following a brief tutorial regarding the normal distribution and scaled scoring, participants completed the 10 core subtests of the WAIS-IV, and then offered subjective ratings of performance across each subtest. Results showed that participants largely under-estimated their abilities, even after being provided a tutorial on normative performances. Future studies could utilize the tutorial and methodology from this study with the goal of creating norms of objective/subjective perception for varying assessments, and provide clinicians with a better understanding of patients’ level of insight into their cognitive abilities.