Measuring confrontation naming under increased cognitive demands: proof-of-principle of the Picture Naming Cards test

Existing confrontation naming tests may not always detect subjective or mild word-finding difficulties, while these difficulties can negatively impact everyday conversations. Here, we introduce the Picture Naming Cards test, designed as a tool enabling more ecologically valid assessment of naming abilities, approximating everyday conversational challenges by introducing the cognitive demands of time pressure and distraction. The test consists of two cards each containing the same 20 pictures: one with bare pictures and the other with superimposed written word distractors. In this proof-of-principle study with two experiments, we report on the test’s development and initial validation. In an age-diverse pool of language-unimpaired individuals, we found the expected interference and repetition priming effects, next to convergent validity. Our findings demonstrate the proof-of-principle of the Picture Naming Cards test, supporting its potential value as screener for mild word-finding difficulties.