<p>I believe neither ADHD-PI or ADHD in general.</p>
<p><strong>I think the 'attention' in TOVA for example is measuring your short-term attention</strong>. It's like playing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_(card_game)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">'memory' or 'concentration'</a> or something maybe. This makes me think of the concept of '<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludic_fallacy" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ludic fallacy</a>' by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. But eh Wikipedia does say <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_of_Variables_of_Attention" rel="nofollow noreferrer">TOVA</a> is legit.</p>
<p><strong>Meanwhile the 'attention' in ADHD likely refers to executive function</strong>, like your overall behaviour in life:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do you focus on what you need to do in general at any point in the day?</p>
</li>
<li><p>Can you prioritise correctly what you're supposed to do?</p>
</li>
<li><p>Can you make adjustments accordingly for the unexpected things (being resilient, maybe even anti-fragile) ?</p>
</li>
<li><p>When some notification of something pops up, are you able to process it accordingly and delay gratification instead of impulsively giving in to the notification? Note: The notification need not be in phone. It could be someone in person telling you something. Or while you're checking and responding to e-mail, there's another e-mail that comes but it's not quite urgent or important.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>I suspect a low exam result in a TOVA would be suggestive of something but a high exam result would be inconclusive, not just for ADHD-PI but also for ADHD-C, ADHD-PH and ADHD.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-18T13:10:33.153Z
2022-09-18T13:10:33.153Z
BCLC
<p>I read on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/" rel="nofollow">reddit</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder#cite_ref-Ramsay25_34-1" rel="nofollow">Wiki</a> that the types of ADHD are ADHD-PI (predominantly inattentive), ADHD-C (combined) and ADHD-PH (predominantly hyperactive or impulsive).</p>

<p>In a psychological test intended to test attention maybe like a continuous performance task or a TOVA, if a test taker scores above average overall, does that say there "no evidence to ADHD" or merely "no evidence of ADHD-PI" ?</p>

<measurement><abnormal-psychology><methodology><adhd>
Do ADHD exams necessarily test ADHD or merely ADHD-PI?
BCLC
# Do ADHD exams necessarily test ADHD or merely ADHD-PI?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-09-02)

I read on [reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/) and [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder#cite_ref-Ramsay25_34-1) that the types of ADHD are ADHD-PI (predominantly inattentive), ADHD-C (combined) and ADHD-PH (predominantly hyperactive or impulsive).

In a psychological test intended to test attention maybe like a continuous performance task or a TOVA, if a test taker scores above average overall, does that say there "no evidence to ADHD" or merely "no evidence of ADHD-PI" ?

**Tags:** measurement, abnormal-psychology, methodology, adhd


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2022-09-18. Score: -1

I believe neither ADHD-PI or ADHD in general.

**I think the 'attention' in TOVA for example is measuring your short-term attention**. It's like playing ['memory' or 'concentration'](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_(card_game)) or something maybe. This makes me think of the concept of '[ludic fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludic_fallacy)' by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. But eh Wikipedia does say [TOVA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_of_Variables_of_Attention) is legit.

**Meanwhile the 'attention' in ADHD likely refers to executive function**, like your overall behaviour in life:

1. Do you focus on what you need to do in general at any point in the day?
2. Can you prioritise correctly what you're supposed to do?
3. Can you make adjustments accordingly for the unexpected things (being resilient, maybe even anti-fragile) ?
4. When some notification of something pops up, are you able to process it accordingly and delay gratification instead of impulsively giving in to the notification? Note: The notification need not be in phone. It could be someone in person telling you something. Or while you're checking and responding to e-mail, there's another e-mail that comes but it's not quite urgent or important.

I suspect a low exam result in a TOVA would be suggestive of something but a high exam result would be inconclusive, not just for ADHD-PI but also for ADHD-C, ADHD-PH and ADHD.


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