Detection of Feigned ADHD across Two Domains: The MMPI-2-RF and CAARS for Faked Symptoms and TOVA for Simulated Attention Deficits

Psychological assessments of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) must consider possible feigning of ADHD symptoms and simulated deficits on attentional measures. Studies have consistently found that motivated examinees can easily feign ADHD with little research focused on its detection. Via a between-subjects simulation design, the current study investigated the MMPI-2-RF and the Conners Infrequency Index (CII) in a university sample by comparing four groups: feigned ADHD, feigned mental disorders, genuine ADHD, and non-ADHD controls. Encouragingly, the CII evidenced moderate discriminability between feigned ADHD and (a) genuine ADHD (d?=?0.97) as well as (b) feigned mental disorders (d?=?0.96). Because the MMPI-2-RF F-family scores did not differentiate ADHD feigners from other feigners or genuine ADHD, a Dissimulation (Ds) ADHD (Ds-ADHD) scale was developed by utilizing erroneous stereotypes as the detection strategy. While requiring cross-validation, the initial data demonstrated good discriminant validity in distinguishing feigned ADHD from both genuine ADHD and general feigning. As noted in the Discussion, ADHD assessments must systematically take into account examinees’ level of effort and actively evaluate the possibility of feigned ADHD.     

ESSAYS IN HONOR OF CHRISTOPHER SOUTHGATE: INTRODUCTION

This article is an introduction to the special issue of Zygon in honor of Christopher Southgate. Over the years he has made many significant contributions to the field of science and religion, and contributors have gathered to celebrate him on his sixty‐fifth birthday. This introduction includes some biographical background and an outline of the issue's contents.     

Toward a Feminist and Multicultural Model of Consultation and Advocacy

The authors present core ideas or constructs that might be integral to a feminist and multicultural model of consultation. According to the model, the structure of consultation is (a) nonhierarchical and (b) an open triad (incorporating extrapersonal and outside factors). The process of consultation is (c) culturally responsive and (d) empowering. The role of the consultant is as (e) an agent for change and (f) an advocate for both the client and the system. Los autores y sus ideas centrales presente o construyentes quizás sea integral para una feminista y un modelo de la consulta multicultural. Según el modelo, la estructura de la consulta es (a) nonhierarchical y (b) una tríada abierta (incorporando extrapersonal y factores exteriores). El proceso de la consulta es (c) culturalmente receptiva y (d) autorizada. El papel del consultor es como (e) un agente para el cambio y (f) un defensor para el cliente y el sistema.     

‘I am–we are’: personal and social pathways to further study, work and family life

This project explores the apparent layers in motivation for young people’s plans in order to extend Pathways Theory. We bring together personal, relational and group motivation to explain the planned pathways to study, work and family life. Location was an Australian town, close to the national socio-economic average, to control broad social factors. Participants (N = 78) were 12 to 18 year-old girls and boys (mean age 14.5 years). Results provide little support for popular explanations based on demographic factors (age, gender, family background) and broad personal indicators of self esteem and mood. Instead, the results support proposed differential explanations for pathways to study, work and family life. In particular, personal aspects of identity and self concepts, social expectations and group identity influence young people’s pathways to further study. Group uniqueness explains pathways to paid work, yet experience of higher education tends to limit plans for family life. Findings support inclusion of personal, relational and group motivations in developing innovative theories of pathways motivation. Ongoing work considers common and distinct explanations across socio-economic contexts.     

Habituation in the rat fetus

Rat fetuses exhibit motor and cardiac responses to chemosensory stimulation on Days 20 and 21 of gestation. The first experiment demonstrated that fetuses exhibit an increase in overall motor activity and decrease in heartrate in response to an initial intraoral infusion of a lemon solution. After a series of nine exposures, however, fetuses no longer exhibit motor or cardiac responses to lemon infusion, suggesting the existence of a habituation-like process. Responsiveness recovers spontaneously following a 3-to 9-min period without stimulation. In a second experiment, a dishabituation treatment was administered to distinguish habituation, which is a centrally mediated decrement in response, from effector fatigue, sensory adaptation, and other peripheral mechanisms that can result in reduced responsiveness. A single infusion of mint following a series of nine lemon exposures was effective in reinstating fetal motor responses to lemon on both Days 20 and 21, but reinstated cardiac responses only on Day 21. Rat fetuses habituate to repeated chemosensory stimulation, suggesting the utility of the habituation paradigm in measuring CNS development during the perinatal period.     

The Word Association Implications Test

Three experiments (N = 144 college students) tested and documented the relationship between incidental learning of diagnostic schemata with performance on the Word Association Implications Test (WAIT). Moreover, Experiment 1 showed that instruction in diagnostic cues did not improve WAIT scores, although an incentive did. Experiment 2 supported the "developing schemata" concept by showing that subjects need to interpret WAIT protocols before they can generate possible diagnostic clues. Experiment 3 showed that inductive reasoning and viewing the task as more play- and game-like (vs. work- and test-like) predicted WAIT scores over and above the influence of incidental learning of schemata, in sum, results suggest that an heuristic discovery-oriented approach is most successful in learning "to read between the lines" of word associations. Discussion addresses the value of heuristic versus algorithmic approaches to the learning of personality assessment.     

Psychometric Properties of the Semantic Differential Scale in Studying Attitudes Toward Menstruation among Roman Catholics in India

Journal of Religion and Health - This article describes the psychometric properties of a semantic differential scale developed to evaluate the attitudes towards menstruation among Roman Catholics...