Response mode and performance on the Rey 15-item test: a preliminary study.

Area of Science:

• Neuropsychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• The Rey 15-item test is used to detect response bias.
• Understanding factors influencing test performance is crucial for accurate assessment.
• Perceptual organization can affect cognitive test outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how response mode and perceptual organization influence performance on the Rey 15-item test.
• To identify potential variables that may affect the Rey 15-item test's validity.

Main Methods:

• Administered the Rey 15-item test to 65 individuals with brain injuries and 30 non-injured individuals in a clinical setting.
• Assessed the frequency of vertical versus horizontal perception of test stimuli.
• Compared performance between participants who perceived stimuli vertically and those who perceived them horizontally.

Main Results:

• 17% of the brain injury group and 10% of the general clinical group perceived stimuli vertically.
• Participants perceiving stimuli vertically performed significantly worse on the Rey 15-item test.
• Vertical perception was associated with poorer performance in both groups.

Conclusions:

• Perceptual organization, specifically stimulus orientation, is a factor affecting Rey 15-item test performance.
• Strategies to promote horizontal perception may enhance test utility in clinical populations.
• Addressing perceptual variables could reduce misclassification of genuine respondents as malingerers.