Detecting Feigned Impairment with the Digit Span and Vocabulary Subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition

The WAIS-III Digit Span and Vocabulary subtests were investigated as indicators of feigned cognitive impairment. Participants included 64 undergraduates randomly assigned to control, symptom-coached, or test-coached groups. Six previously researched validity indicators were examined. We hypothesized...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical neuropsychologist 2006-12, Vol.20 (4), p.741-753
Main Authors: Schwarz, Lauren R., Gfeller, Jeffrey D., Oliveri, Michael V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Chi-Square Distribution
Cognition Disorders - diagnosis
Cognition Disorders - psychology
Deception
Female
Humans
Male
Malingering - diagnosis
Malingering - psychology
Psychomotor Performance
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Vocabulary
Wechsler Scales - statistics & numerical data
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Summary:The WAIS-III Digit Span and Vocabulary subtests were investigated as indicators of feigned cognitive impairment. Participants included 64 undergraduates randomly assigned to control, symptom-coached, or test-coached groups. Six previously researched validity indicators were examined. We hypothesized that symptom-coached participants would perform worse relative to test-coached simulators. Analyses determined both simulator groups performed lower than controls on all indicators except Vocabulary. Symptom-coached participants, however, did not differ from test-coached participants on any indicator. Classification accuracies for these six indicators ranged from 42 to 78%. While the WAIS-III validity indicators hold some promise, they should not be employed as independent measures.
ISSN:1385-4046
1744-4144
DOI:10.1080/13854040590967054