The use of psychological tests to help identify the noncredible overreporting of psychiatric disorders is a long-standing practice that has received considerable attention from researchers. The purpose of this study was to experimentally determine whether feigning specific psychiatric disorders moderated the influence of coaching on the detection of noncredible overreporting using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Using a 2 × 3 experimental analogue design, 265 undergraduates were asked to feign schizophrenia, posttraumatic stress disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder and were either coached about validity scales and disorders or not. The results of this study indicated that the specific psychiatric disorder being feigned did moderate the impact coaching had on the detection of overreported psychopathology using several scales on the MMPI-2 and PAI. Future research examining noncredible overreporting should take into account the impact caused by the interaction of psychiatric disorder with coaching on the detection of symptom overreporting and also identify other important moderating/mediating variables in order to develop more effective means of identifying response bias.
AllportG. W. (1937). Personality: A psychological interpretation. New York, NY: Henry Holt.
2.
ArbisiP. A.Ben-PorathY. S. (1998). The ability of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 validity scales to detect fake-bad responses in psychiatric inpatients. Psychological Assessment, 10, 221-228. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.10.3.221
3.
ArbisiP. A.Ben-PorathY. S.McNultyJ. (2006). The ability of the MMPI-2 to detect feigned PTSD within the context of compensation seeking. Psychological Services, 3, 249-261. doi:10.1037/1541-1559.3.4.249
4.
BagbyR. M.NicholsonR. A.BacchiochiJ. R.RyderA. G.BuryA. S. (2002). The predictive capacity of the MMPI-2 and PAI validity scales and indexes to detect coached and uncoached feigning. Journal of Personality Assessment, 78, 69-86. doi:10.1207/S15327752JPA7801_05
5.
BagbyR. M.NicholsonR. A.BuisT.BacchiochiJ. R. (2000). Can the MMPI-2 validity scales detect depression feigned by experts?Assessment, 7, 55-62. doi:10.1177/ 107319110000700104
6.
BagbyR. M.RogersR.BuisT.NicholsonR. A.CameronS. I.RectorN. A.SeemanM. V. (1997). Detecting feigned depression and schizophrenia on the MMPI-2. Journal of Personality Assessment, 68, 650-664.
7.
BagbyR. M.RogersR.NicholsonR.BuisT.SeemanM. V.RectorN. (1997). Does clinical training facilitate feigning schizophrenia on the MMPI-2?Psychological Assessment, 9, 106-112.
8.
BaronR. M.KennyD. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
9.
Ben-PorathY. S. (2003). Assessing personality and psychopathology with self-report inventories. In GrahamJ. R.NaglieriJ. A. (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Assessment psychology (Vol. 10, pp. 553-577). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
10.
Ben-PorathY. S.TellegenA. (2008). MMPI-2-RF (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form): Manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
BerryD. T. R.SchipperL. J. (2007). Detection of feigned psychiatric symptoms during forensic neuropsychological examinations. In LarrabeeG. J. (Ed.), Assessment of malingered neuropsychological deficits (pp. 226-263). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
13.
BlanchardD. D.McGrathR. E.PoggeD. L.KhadiviA. (2003). A comparison of the PAI and MMPI-2 as predictors of faking bad in college students. Journal of Personality Assessment, 80, 197-205.
14.
BurchettD. L.Ben-PorathY. S. (2010). The impact of overreporting on MMPI-2-RF substantive scale score validity. Assessment, 17, 497-516. doi:10.1177/1073191110378972
15.
BuryA. S.BagbyR. M. (2002). The detection of feigned uncoached and coached posttraumatic stress disorder with the MMPI-2 in a sample of workplace accident victims. Psychological Assessment, 14, 472-484. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.14.4.472
16.
ButcherJ. N.GrahamJ. R.Ben-PorathY. S.TellegenA.DahlstromW. G.KaemmerB. (2001). MMPI-2 manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation (Rev. ed.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
17.
CalhounP. S.EarnstK. S.TuckerD. D.KirbyA. C.BeckhamJ. C. (2000). Feigning combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder on the Personality Assessment Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 75, 338-350.
18.
CamaraW. J.NathanJ. S.PuenteA. E. (2000). Psychological test usage: Implications in professional psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31, 141-154. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.31.2.141
19.
EakinD. E.WeathersF. W.BensonT. B.AndersonC. F.FunderburkB. (2006). Detection of feigned posttraumatic stress disorder: A comparison of the MMPI-2 and PAI. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28, 145-155. doi:10.1007/s10862-005-9006-5
20.
EfendovA. A.SellbomM.BagbyR. M. (2008). The utility and comparative incremental validity of the MMPI-2 and the Trauma Symptom Inventory validity scales in the detection of feigned PTSD. Psychological Assessment, 20, 317-326.
21.
ElhaiJ. D.GoldP. B.FruehC. B.GoldS. N. (2000). Cross-validation of the MMPI-2 in detecting malingered posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Personality Assessment, 75, 449-463. doi:10.1207/S15327752JPA7503_06
22.
ElhaiJ. D.GoldS. N.SellersA. H.DorfmanW. I. (2001). The detection of malingered posttraumatic stress disorder with MMPI-2 fake bad indices. Assessment, 8, 221-236.
23.
GervaisR. O.Ben-PorathY. S.WygantD. B.GreenP. (2007). Development and validation of a Response Bias Scale (RBS) for the MMPI-2. Assessment, 14, 196-208. doi:10.1177/1073191106295861
24.
GervaisR. O.WygantD. B.SellbomM.Ben-PorathY. S. (2011). Associations between Symptom Validity Test failure and scores on the MMPI-2-RF validity and substantive scales. Journal of Personality Assessment, 93, 508-517. doi:10.1080/00223891.2011.594132
25.
GrahamJ. R. (2011). MMPI-2: Assessing personality and psychopathology (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
26.
Guriel-TennantJ.FremouwW. (2006). Impact of trauma history and coaching on malingering of posttraumatic stress disorder using the PAI, TSI, and M-FAST. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 17, 577-592. doi:10.1080/ 14789940600895838
27.
HandelR. W.Ben-PorathY. S.TellegenA.ArcherR. P. (2010). Psychometric functioning of the MMPI-2-RF VRIN-r and TRIN-r scales with varying degrees of randomness, acquiescence, and counter-acquiescence. Psychological Assessment, 22, 87-95. doi:10.1037/a0017061
28.
HawesS. W.BoccacciniM. T. (2009). Detection of overreporting of psychopathology on the Personality Assessment Inventory: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Assessment, 21, 112-124.
29.
LangeR. T.SullivanK. A.ScottC. (2010). Comparison of MMPI-2 and PAI validity indicators to detect feigned depression and PTSD symptom reporting. Psychiatry Research, 176, 229-235. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2009.03.004
30.
LiljequistL.KinderB. N.SchinkaJ. A. (1998). An investigation of malingering posttraumatic stress disorder on the Personality Assessment Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 71, 322-336.
31.
MarionB. E.SellbomM.BagbyR. M. (2011). The detection of feigned psychiatric disorders using the MMPI-2-RF overreporting validity scales: An analog investigation. Psychological Injury and Law, 4, 1-12. doi:10.1007/s12207-011-9097-0
32.
MarshallM. B.BagbyR. M. (2006). The incremental validity and clinical utility of the MMPI-2 Infrequency Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale. Assessment, 13, 417-429. doi:10.1177/1073191106290842
33.
MoreyL. C. (1996). An interpretive guide to the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
34.
MoreyL. C. (2007). Personality Assessment Inventory professional manual (2nd ed.). Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
35.
MoyerD. M.BurkhardtB.GordonR. M. (2002). Faking PTSD from a motor vehicle accident on the MMPI-2. American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 20, 81-89.
36.
RogersR.BagbyR. M.ChakrabortyD. (1993). Feighning schizophrenic disorders on the MMPI-2: Detection of coached simulators. Journal of Personality Assessment, 60, 215-226.
37.
RogersR.Gillard.N. D.BerryD. T. R.GranacherR. P. (2011). Effectiveness of the MMPI-2-RF validity scales for feigned mental disorders and cognitive impairment: A known-groups study. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 33, 355-367. doi:10.1007/s10862-011-9222-0
38.
RogersR.OrnduffS. R.SewellK. W. (1993). Feigning specific disorders: A study of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Journal of Personality Assessment, 60, 554-560. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa6003_12
39.
RogersR.SewellK. W.MartinM. A.VitaccoM. J. (2003). Detection of feigned mental disorders: A meta-analysis of the MMPI-2 and malingering. Assessment, 10, 160-177.
40.
RogersR.SewellK. W.MoreyL. C.UstadK. L. (1996). Detection of feigned mental disorders on the Personality Assessment Inventory: A discriminant analysis. Journal of Personality Assessment, 67, 629-640.
41.
SellbomM.BagbyR. M. (2010). The detection of over-reported psychopathology with the MMPI-2-RF (Restructured Form) validity scales. Psychological Assessment, 22, 757-767. doi:10.1037/a0020825
42.
SellbomM.ToomeyJ. A.WygantD. B.KucharskiL. T.DuncanS. (2010). Utility of the MMPI-2-RF (Restructured Form)validity scales in detecting malingering in a criminal forensic setting: A known-groups design. Psychological Assessment, 22, 22-31. doi:10.1037/a0018222
43.
SivecH. J.LynnS. J.GarskeJ. P. (1994). The effect of somatoform disorder and paranoid psychotic role-related dissimulations as a response set on the MMPI-2. Assessment, 1, 69-81.
44.
StormJ.GrahamJ. R. (2000). Detection of coached general malingering on the MMPI-2. Psychological Assessment, 12, 158-165.
45.
ViglioneD. J.WrightD. M.MoynihanJ. E.DuPuisS.PizitzT. D. (2001). Evading detection on the MMPI-2: Does caution produce more realistic patterns of responding?Assessment, 8, 237-250.
46.
WaltersG. L.CloptonJ. R. (2000). Effect of symptom information and validity scale information on the malingering of depression on the MMPI-2. Journal of Personality Assessment, 75, 183-199.
47.
WetterM. W.BaerR. A.BerryD. T. R.RobisonL. H.SumpterJ. (1993). MMPI-2 profiles of motivated fakers given specific symptom information: A comparison to matched patients. Psychological Assessment, 5, 317-323.
48.
WygantD. B.AndersonJ. L.SellbomM.RapierJ. L.AlgeierL. M.GranacherR. P. (2011). Association of MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) validity scales with structured malingering criteria. Psychological Injury and Law, 4, 13-23. doi:10.1007/s12207-011-9098-z
