Response mode and performance on the Rey 15-item test: A preliminary study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of response mode and perceptual organization on performance on the Rey 15-item test.

Method: The test was administered to 65 participants with a brain injury and 30 participants without a brain injury in a clinical setting.

Results: The frequency with which participants appeared to perceive the test stimuli vertically instead of horizontally was 17% in the brain injury group and 10% in the general clinical group. In both groups, those who perceived the test stimuli vertically performed significantly worse than those that perceived the stimuli horizontally.

Conclusion: This study identified a potential performance variable that may undermine the utility of the test. Strategies are suggested for increasing the rate of horizontal perception, which may improve test performance among clinical groups, thereby reducing the likelihood of genuine respondents obtaining a low score and being misclassified as malingerers.

• Rey 15-item test
• brain injury
• malingering