Detecting malingered performance with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: A preliminary investigation in traumatic brain injury

The present study examined the classification accuracy of four potential Wisconsin Card Sorting Test malingering indicators (Bernard and Suhr formulas and two types of Unique responses). Participants were 89 traumatic brain-injury (TBI) patients assigned to malingering and nonmalingering groups on the basis of the Slick, Sherman, and Iversion (1999) criteria. Individual Sensitivities were greater than .33 with acceptable Specificity. Combined Sensitivity for two of the indicators was greater than .60. Overall, this study demonstrated three distinct approaches to the WCST used by probable malingerers. The clinical relevance of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.