This study examined the vulnerability of several self-report instrumen
ts commonly used in neuropsychological evaluation - the Iowa Interview
for Partial Seizure-Like Symptoms, Postconcussion Checklist (PCL), Po
stconcussion Syndrome Checklist (PCSC), and Beck Depression Inventory
(BDI) - to exaggerated or feigned complaints. Two hundred twenty-nine
college student volunteers completed the instruments under one of thre
e conditions: 1) Base Rate/Control; simulated Head Injured, but 2) wit
hout or 3) with prospect of financial gain for the injury. Although th
e simulated Head Injured groups did not differ significantly from one
another, both groups endorsed more symptoms than the Base Rate group,
suggesting that the instruments are vulnerable to simulation. Base rat
es of head injury symptoms in the normal population, laypersons' knowl
edge about the sequelae of mild head injury, and implications of using
symptom checklists in medicolegal evaluations were discussed, as was
the desirability of replicating this study with noncollege student pop
ulations.