The residual effect of feigning: how intentional faking may evolve into a less conscious form of symptom reporting

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
Harald MerckelbachMaarten Pieters

Abstract

We conducted three studies that address the residual effects of instructed feigning of symptoms. In Experiment 1 (N = 31), undergraduates instructed to exaggerate symptoms on a malingering test continued to report more neurocognitive and psychiatric symptoms than did nonmalingering controls, when later asked to respond honestly to the same test. In Experiment 2 (N = 28), students completed a symptom list of psychiatric complaints and then were asked to explain why they had endorsed two target symptoms that they did not, in actuality, endorse. A total of 57% of participants did not detect this mismatch between actual and manipulated symptom endorsement and even tended to adopt the manipulated symptoms when provided with an opportunity to do so. In Experiment 3 (N = 28), we found that self-deceptive enhancement is related to the tendency to continue to report neurocognitive and psychiatric symptoms that initially had been produced intentionally. "Blindness" for the intentional aspect of symptom endorsement may explain the intrinsic overlap between feigning and somatoform complaints.

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Citations

Aug 30, 2012·The Clinical Neuropsychologist·Harald Merckelbach, Thomas Merten
Sep 21, 2013·Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology : the Official Journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists·Brechje Dandachi-FitzGeraldThomas Merten
Feb 1, 2012·Acta Neuropsychiatrica·Harald MerckelbachCees Jonker
Apr 7, 2015·International Journal of Law and Psychiatry·Isabella J M NiestenDavid P Bernstein
Jul 4, 2012·The Journal of Clinical Hypertension·Joel Handler
Dec 11, 2014·The Clinical Neuropsychologist·Alfons van ImpelenThomas Merten
Mar 13, 2016·Journal of Clinical Psychology·Enrico Perinelli, Paola Gremigni
Jul 1, 2017·Memory·Henry Otgaar, Alysha Baker
Nov 3, 2011·JRSM Short Reports·Harald MerckelbachMaarten Pieters
Jan 5, 2018·Psychological Injury and Law·Isabella J M NiestenMarko Jelicic
Apr 30, 2013·Behavioral Sciences & the Law·Melanie SauerlandHarald Merckelbach

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