Effects of coaching on malingered motor function profiles

Measures of motor functioning were evaluated to assess a nonphysiological performance pattern initially revealed in a sample of litigating patients with postconcussive syndrome (grip strength < finger tapping < grooved pegs). The opposite pattern is observed in patients with traumatic brain injury, whose performance follows a gradient of increasing impairment corresponding to the sensory-motor complexity of these tasks. Naive and coached malingerers performed worse on all three motor tests relative to controls (N = 92); however, the presence of nonphysiologic configurations showed poor predictive accuracy among malingerers and controls. Exploratory analyses suggested that IQ may mediate the ability to dissimulate successfully. Although worthy of additional study, the use of pattern analysis in evaluation of malingered motor functioning has not been proven reliable or valid.