Rey III: Redeveloping the Rey II Screening Test of Malingering

Abstract

The Rey II Test of Malingering (1997) successfully eliminated age and IQ biases of the Rey 15-item Visual Memory Test (1964). Propagated use of the Rey II in clinical and forensic settings, however, led to its mass recognition as a test of malingering, resulting in successful manipulation of the test for personal gain. This study, the Rey III, has redeveloped the Rey II by introducing a total of five stimulus cards. Presented to the subject as multiple exercises of memory, the increased quantity of cards strengthens overall reliability and face validity. The Rey III was tested on 30 college students at a four-year Liberal Arts and Sciences college in Los Angeles. Seventy-seven percent of participants received perfect scores, demonstrating sufficient though not optimal reliability. In addition, by testing participants under both maximum effort and malingering scenarios, the Rey III has developed a concise and accurate qualitative and quantitative scoring system. This dual scoring paired with an increased number of exercises will produce higher classification accuracy than the quantitative or qualitative scoring on single exercises used in both Rey and Rey II.