“Nothing but the Truth” … a Reexamination of Malingering

Malingering is examined in the broadening context of adversarial evaluations and their potential impact on clients’ openness and honesty. Traditional “moralistic” conceptualizations of malingering are critiqued, and an alternative adaptive model suggested. Several conceptual issues are addressed, including the study of malingering through simulation designs and the role of memory impermanence and interpersonal factors in the assessment of malingering. Finally, recent psychometric and psychophysiological measures of malingering are briefly reviewed.