Basic knowledge of psychopathology does not undermine the efficacy of the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) to detect feigned psychosis

The aim of the present study was to examine whether basic knowledge of psychopathology undermines the efficacy of the structured inventory of malingered symptomatology (sims) to detect feigned psychosis. The sims was administered twice to participants without knowledge of psychopathology (n = 30) and participants with a basic knowledge of psychopathology (n = 31). On one occasion, they had to fill out the sims honestly. On the other occasion they were asked to complete the sims after they had been instructed to malinger psychosis because they were standing trial for a serious offence and wanted to avoid legal responsibility. Participants with knowledge of psychopathology engaged in less flagrant feigning on the sims than those without such knowledge. However, when asked to malinger psychosis, nearly all participants were classified by the sims as malingerers, regardless of their knowledge of psychopathology. It seems that a basic knowledge of psychopathology does not undermine the efficacy of the sims to detect feigned psychosis. (netherlands journal of psychology 63, 107-110.).