Influence of prior knowledge and experience on the ability to feign mild head injury symptoms in head injured and non-head-injured college students.
The present study investigated the effects of personal knowledge, experience and beliefs about traumatic brain injury (TBI) on persons' ability to successfully feign neuropsychological impairment. Head-injured and non-injured subjects completed the Head Injury Misconception Survey, and were evenly divided into malingering or control (do best) conditions. Subjects were given a scenario which asked them to imagine that they had been in a prior accident and were involved in litigation. They were then asked to either malinger or respond in the best way possible to a battery of neuropsychological tests. While instructions to malinger had a pronounced effect, knowledge of brain injury did not significantly influence an individual's ability to feign neuropsychological impairment. Future directions in the study of malingering are also discussed.
Hayes
J S
JS
Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-5501, USA.
Martin
R
R
Gouvier
W D
WD