ABSTRACT
Concern regarding the motivation and effort of forensic neuropsychological evaluees first became prominent in the 1980s when cases of patients claiming devastating impairment from apparently trivial or questionable head injuries began to appear with increasing frequency in the referral streams of neuropsychologists (Binder & Willis, 1991; Hiscock & Hiscock, 1989). Since that time, a number of objective procedures for evaluating the effort put forth by such evaluees have been validated (Bianchini, Mathias, & Greve, 2001; Vickery, Berry, Inman, Harris, & Orey, 2001). Similar to recommendations made for the examination of compensation-seeking psychological evaluees (Berry, Baer, Rinaldo, & Wetter, 2002), most sources in the area suggest that all forensic neuropsychological examinees should receive at least one, and preferably several, well-validated objective tests of motivation and effort (Reynolds, 1998; Sweet, 1999). Although these tests are invaluable in forensic neuropsychological examinations, a number of complex issues regarding detection of malingering arise in this setting. Among these are:
1. Some forensic evaluees have probably been “coached” prior to their forensic evaluations regarding motivational tests to assist them in avoiding detection of feigning.
