In recent years, much research has focused on developing tests to detect ma
lingering. A drawback of existing tests is their poor ability to detect mal
ingerers possessing more "sophisticated" knowledge of neuropsychological de
ficits. The current study presents preliminary validation data on a new mea
sure, the Word Completion Memory Test (WCMT), which is the first malingerin
g test to utilize a sophisticated coaching methodology in its development.
The WCMT was administered to control participants, memory-impaired patients
, and coached simulators. The coached simulators were provided with specifi
c information about and examples of memory deficits commonly experienced fo
llowing closed head injury (CHI; e.g., anterograde vs. retrograde amnesia).
They also read a detailed scenario describing the lifestyle and motivation
s likely experienced by CHI litigants, and then practiced their roles by ta
king a quiz about their deficits. Results showed that 93% of coached simula
tors and 100% of control and memory-impaired participants were correctly cl
assified by the WCMT. (C) 2001 National Academy of Neuropsychology. Publish
ed by Elsevier Science Ltd.