Noncredible performance and the intentional faking of symptoms during psychological evaluations have been observed in those seeking to obtain personal benefits. Cognitive deficits, such as impairments in attention are common in mental health settings and many seek an evaluation to rule out an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Previous literature establishes a base rate for malingering to be between 22-47% in adult ADHD evaluations (Sullivan, 2007; Suhr et al., 2008; Marshall et al., 2010). However, those faking or exaggerating ADHD can go unnoticed on self-report measures. There are limited studies that have identified methods that can specifically discriminate true ADHD from malingered ADHD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether attention can be differentiated from effort in the ADHD population, non-ADHD population, and Malingering groups with the use of simple visual Spot the Difference tasks. Results from the study suggest that a pattern of incorrect responses may be displayed by the malingered group, while individuals with ADHD take longer to find an image than those without a reported history of ADHD, particularly on difficult tasks. Overall, results are promising for understanding visual attention reaction patterns in ADHD and one step closer to creating simple, fun tools designed to measure effort.
","abstract_html":"<p>Noncredible performance and the intentional faking of symptoms during psychological evaluations have been observed in those seeking to obtain personal benefits. Cognitive deficits, such as impairments in attention are common in mental health settings and many seek an evaluation to rule out an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Previous literature establishes a base rate for malingering to be between 22-47% in adult ADHD evaluations (Sullivan, 2007; Suhr et al., 2008; Marshall et al., 2010). However, those faking or exaggerating ADHD can go unnoticed on self-report measures. There are limited studies that have identified methods that can specifically discriminate true ADHD from malingered ADHD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether attention can be differentiated from effort in the ADHD population, non-ADHD population, and Malingering groups with the use of simple visual Spot the Difference tasks. Results from the study suggest that a pattern of incorrect responses may be displayed by the malingered group, while individuals with ADHD take longer to find an image than those without a reported history of ADHD, particularly on difficult tasks. Overall, results are promising for understanding visual attention reaction patterns in ADHD and one step closer to creating simple, fun tools designed to measure effort.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Juan, Roselia"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Human Services","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Luis E. Aguerrevere, Ph.D","Frankie Clark, Ph.D","Nina Ellis-Hervey, Ph.D"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-08-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-08-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:30Z","subjects":["ADHD","malingering","visual attention","Spot the Difference","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/338","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Luis E. Aguerrevere, Ph.D","Frankie Clark, Ph.D","Nina Ellis-Hervey, Ph.D"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Juan, Roselia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-08-06T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Human Services"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ADHD","malingering","visual attention","Spot the Difference","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/338"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Noncredible performance and the intentional faking of symptoms during psychological evaluations have been observed in those seeking to obtain personal benefits. Cognitive deficits, such as impairments in attention are common in mental health settings and many seek an evaluation to rule out an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Previous literature establishes a base rate for malingering to be between 22-47% in adult ADHD evaluations (Sullivan, 2007; Suhr et al., 2008; Marshall et al., 2010). However, those faking or exaggerating ADHD can go unnoticed on self-report measures. There are limited studies that have identified methods that can specifically discriminate true ADHD from malingered ADHD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether attention can be differentiated from effort in the ADHD population, non-ADHD population, and Malingering groups with the use of simple visual Spot the Difference tasks. Results from the study suggest that a pattern of incorrect responses may be displayed by the malingered group, while individuals with ADHD take longer to find an image than those without a reported history of ADHD, particularly on difficult tasks. Overall, results are promising for understanding visual attention reaction patterns in ADHD and one step closer to creating simple, fun tools designed to measure effort.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Exploring Visual Attention Patterns of Adults With Reported Adhd, Without Adhd, and Those With Malingering Adhd Symptoms"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Luis E. Aguerrevere, Ph.D","Frankie Clark, Ph.D","Nina Ellis-Hervey, Ph.D"],"dc:creator":["Juan, Roselia"],"dc:date.available":["2020-08-06T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Noncredible performance and the intentional faking of symptoms during psychological evaluations have been observed in those seeking to obtain personal benefits. Cognitive deficits, such as impairments in attention are common in mental health settings and many seek an evaluation to rule out an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Previous literature establishes a base rate for malingering to be between 22-47% in adult ADHD evaluations (Sullivan, 2007; Suhr et al., 2008; Marshall et al., 2010). However, those faking or exaggerating ADHD can go unnoticed on self-report measures. There are limited studies that have identified methods that can specifically discriminate true ADHD from malingered ADHD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether attention can be differentiated from effort in the ADHD population, non-ADHD population, and Malingering groups with the use of simple visual Spot the Difference tasks. Results from the study suggest that a pattern of incorrect responses may be displayed by the malingered group, while individuals with ADHD take longer to find an image than those without a reported history of ADHD, particularly on difficult tasks. Overall, results are promising for understanding visual attention reaction patterns in ADHD and one step closer to creating simple, fun tools designed to measure effort.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/338"],"dc:subject":["ADHD","malingering","visual attention","Spot the Difference","Clinical Psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Exploring Visual Attention Patterns of Adults With Reported Adhd, Without Adhd, and Those With Malingering Adhd Symptoms"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Human Services"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy - School Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:30Z"}