The use of event-related potentials and neuropsychological test performance to identify simulated malingerers

Since studies began to substantiate a high level of malingering taking place among medico-legal patients, methods for detecting such exaggeration have become a more frequently researched topic. Researchers have identified a new possibility by combining neuropsychological tests and event-related potentials (ERP; Ellwanger, Tenhula, Rosenfeld, & Sweet, 1999). This study combines performance on the well-validated symptom validity tests, the Word Memory Test (WMT) and the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT), with a new ERP task based on these measures that uses the P300. All participants in the malingering (n = 18) and full effort control group ( n = 8) were successfully classified by the WMT and the MSVT. The results of the EPP task supported expectations for the distribution of the P300 component. A subsequent bootstrap analysis successfully classified 62% of participants.