Neuropsychological assessment of suboptimal performance: The Word Memory Test

Although malingering, suboptimal cognitive performance, and negative response bias represent very problematic confounds in diagnostic work with a number of neurological and some psychiatric illnesses, the evaluation of these tendencies has not yet become common practice in German-speaking countries. Only a limited number of adequately validated instruments are available. The German adaptation of the Word Memory Test (WMT), an internationally renowned test for use in the area of neurocognitive disturbances, is presented. The first study compares performance of a healthy experimental group of malingerers (n=100) with a healthy control group after standard test instructions (n=27). The WMT achieved a 100% correct identification of group membership. The second study was carried out with a sample of mentally retarded patients (n=32) and showed that the WMT was likewise able to identify high performance motivation in almost all of the cases. Only one patient was incorrectly classified. These results are commensurate with the highly sensitive parameters that have been reported for the WMT in North America. With the introduction of the WMT into neuropsychological diagnostic work in Germany, it will become easier to meet quality standards that have become customary internationally.