Date of Award

Fall 11-12-2020

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology degree

Department

Department of Psychology

First Advisor

Poreh, Amir

Second Advisor

Elizabeth Goncy

Third Advisor

Colleen McMahon

Abstract

n the field of neuropsychology, feigning symptoms, also known as malingering or response bias, is an important issue as a large number of assessment referrals are for individuals that may receive benefits if the assessment results suggest cognitive impairment. Therefore, it is crucial to have valid and reliable measures that detect the feigning of symptoms (Slick et al., 1999). Currently, the tests that are routinely used to detect response bias are vulnerable to coaching. The goal of this study was to validate a new response bias test aimed at being less susceptible to coaching than existing measures: The Tri-Choice Naming and Response Bias Measure (N-Tri). To this end, 400 participants were assigned to either the coached malingerers’ group, uncoached malingerers’ group, or control group. Participants completed an online survey consisting of the N-Tri, Reliable Digit Span (RDS), and Portland Digit Recognition Test (PDRT). ROC curves demonstrated that all three tests were able to detect coached malingerers from controls, but the N-Tri had higher sensitivity than the RDS and PDRT. Thus, the NTri was able to better detect coached malingerers than compared to the RDS and PDRT. Several additional hypotheses were examined.

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