THE USE OF THE REY MEMORY TEST TO ASSESS MALINGERING IN CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS

An attempt was made to evaluate the utility of the Rey Memory Test (Re y, 1964) to assess malingering in criminal defendants referred for inp atient forensic evaluation. The performance of 14 diagnosed malingerer s was compared to a control group of 14 forensic inpatients who had be en acquitted by reason of insanity. Malingerers performed significantl y less well on the test then did controls. A previously suggested cut- off score of 9 items remembered (Lezak, 1983) resulted in correct clas sification of 86% of the subjects as either malingering or not malinge ring. However, a cut-off of 3 rows remembered correctly was found to b e inappropriate because 57% of the controls would have been labeled in correctly as malingerers.