Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2008
Publication Title
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
Volume
14
Abstract
Neuropsychologists routinely rely on response validity measures to evaluate the authenticity of test performances. However, the relationship between cognitive and psychological response validity measures is not clearly understood. It remains to be seen whether psychological test results can predict the outcome of response validity testing in clinical and civil forensic samples. The present analysis applied a unique statistical approach, classification tree methodology (Optimal Data Analysis: ODA), in a sample of 307 individuals who had completed the MMPI-2 and a variety of cognitive effort measures. One hundred ninety-eight participants were evaluated in a secondary gain context, and 109 had no identifiable secondary gain. Through recurrent dichotomous discriminations, ODA provided optimized linear decision trees to classify either sufficient effort (SE) or insufficient effort (IE) according to various MMPI-2 scale cutoffs. After “pruning” of an initial, complex classification tree, the Response Bias Scale (RBS) took precedence in classifying cognitive effort. After removing RBS from the model, Hy took precedence in classifying IE. The present findings provide MMPI-2 scores that may be associated with SE and IE among civil litigants and claimants, in addition to illustrating the complexity with which MMPI-2 scores and effort test results are associated in the litigation context. (JINS, 2008, 14, 842–852.)
Recommended Citation
COLETTE M. SMART, NATHANIEL W. NELSON, JERRY J. SWEET, FRED B. BRYANT, DAVID T.R. BERRY, ROBERT P. GRANACHER and ROBERT L. HEILBRONNER (2008). Use of MMPI-2 to predict cognitive effort: A hierarchically optimal classification tree analysis. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 14, pp 842-852. doi:10.1017/S1355617708081034.
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Copyright Statement
© 2008 International Neuropsychological Society.
Comments
Author Posting. © 2008 International Neuropsychological Society. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Cambridge University Press for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, Volume 14, 2008. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1355617708081034