Effect of warning on feigned malingering on the WAIS-R in college samples

Research indicates claimant malingering of cognitive deficits to be common in personal injury litigation. Efforts have been made to either detect such tendencies or deter efforts at malingering. The present study examined whether warning people that feigned malingering efforts would be detected results in more valid profiles on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. Undergraduates (N = 48) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: feigned malingerers without warning, feigned malingerers with warning, and controls. Analysis indicated both feigned malingerer groups performed significantly worse than the control group; however, feigned malingerers with warning did not perform significantly better than those without warning. Unlike previous research using the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, results did not support effectiveness of warning in reducing feigned malingering scores.