Prospects for faking believable memory deficits on neuropsychological tests and the use of incentives in simulation research

Abstract

The vulnerability of several neuropsychological memory tests--the Wechsler Memory Scale--Revised, Complex Figure Test, Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and Rey Memory Test--to faked deficits was evaluated. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Control (n = 28), Malingering with a financial incentive (n = 30), and Malingering without a financial incentive (n = 28). Overall, the performance of the Malingering Groups was not significantly different from one another, but both groups were significantly poorer than Controls. Discriminant functions with a reduced set of predictors correctly classified about 75% of cases in both the Control and the combined Malingering Groups on cross-validation. The results suggest that neuropsychological memory tests are vulnerable to faked deficits, and that recognition tasks are disproportionately affected. The use of incentives in simulation research is also discussed.