Motor Reaction Times as an Embedded Measure of Performance Validity: a Study with a Sample of Austrian Early Retirement Claimants

AbstractAmong embedded measures of performance validity, reaction time parameters appear to be less common. However, their potential may be underestimated. In the German-speaking countries, reaction time is often examined using theAlertness subtest of the Test of Attention Performance (TAP). Several previous studies have examined its suitability for validity assessment. The current study was conceived to examine a variety of reaction time parameters of the TAPAlertness subtest with a sample of 266 Austrian civil forensic patients. Classification results from the Word Memory Test (WMT) were used as an external indicator to distinguish between valid and invalid symptom presentations. Results demonstrated that the WMT fail group performed worse in reaction time as well as its intraindividual variation across trials when compared to the WMT pass group. Receiver operating characteristic analyses revealed areas under the curve of .775 –.804. Logistic regression models indicated the parameterintraindividual variation of motor reaction time with warning sound as being the best predictor for invalid test performance. Suggested cut scores yielded a sensitivity of .62 and a specificity of .90, or .45 and .95, respectively, when the accepted false-positive rate was set lower. The results encourage the use of theAlertness subtest as an embedded measure of performance validity.
Source: Psychological Injury and Law - Category: Medical Law Source Type: research