Abstract
Recent research has found that warning analogue malingerers about the ability to detect simulated symptoms of mild brain injury significantly reduced malingering behavior, but they still exhibited mildly impaired performance compared to controls. The present study re-examined the impact of warning about the ability to detect malingering on college students' simulation of mild brain injury sequelae and their ability to elude detection by a short form of the MMPI-2. Unwarned Simulators (n = 25), Warned Simulators (n = 26), and Controls (n = 28) did not differ significantly on finger and hand dexterity. Both groups of simulators exhibited more deficits in attention-concentration, memory, and some executive functions than the control group, but the MMPI-2 F scale invalidated the results of most simulators. Warning about detection of malingering did not significantly reduce simulation on any measure. These data and qualitative analysis of the comments offered by participants about their simulation efforts suggest that it may be difficult for naive individuals to simulate brain injury sequelae successfully across a variety of measures.
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Wong, J.L., Lerner-Poppen, L. & Durham, J. Does Warning Reduce Obvious Malingering on Memory and Motor Tasks in College Samples?. International Journal of Rehabilitation and Health 4, 153–165 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022954629505
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022954629505