Factors differentiating successful versus unsuccessful malingerers.

Relatively little is known about the processes in which "successful" malingerers engage to avoid detection. This study summarizes the response strategies used by participants (N = 540) instructed to feign a specific mental disorder while completing various self-report instruments designed to detect faking. Postexperiment questionnaires indicated that those who were able to appear symptomatic while avoiding being detected as feigning (n = 60) were more likely to endorse a lower rate of legitimate symptoms, to avoid overly unusual or bizarre items, and to base their responses on their own personal experiences.

Effects of positive impression management on the Psychopathic Personality Inventory.

The Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; S. O. Lilienfeld & B.

An investigation of the relationship between psychopathic traits and malingering on the psychopathic personality inventory.

This study employed a repeated-measures simulation design to examine (a) the specific effects of malingering on a recently developed measure of psychopathy, the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI), and (b) the broader association between psychopathic traits and dissimulation. One hundred and forty-three participants completed the PPI twice (both under standard instructions and with instructions to feign psychosis), and also completed post-test questionnaires assessing their attitudes toward engaging in malingering across several hypothetical settings. When attempting to feign psychosis, participants produced elevated scores on a validity scale designed to identify deviant responding, and use of a cross-validated cutoff score with this scale produced high sensitivity and specificity rates across the honest and malingering conditions.

A method to quantitatively compare in vivo the effects of gallstone solvents on intestinal mucosal function: a controlled study comparing mono-octanoin with methyl tert-butyl ether in the rat.

During contact dissolution of gallstones, solvents may escape from the gallbladder and damage the intestinal mucosa. In order to compare the extent of this potential injury, we developed a method to objectively quantify the effects of two commonly used cholesterol solvents, methyl tert-butyl ether and mono-octanoin, on mucosal transport function in the rat intestine. Two intestinal segments in each of 184 anesthetized rats were cannulated.

Inhibition of Shiga-like toxins by brefeldin A.

The effects of Shiga-like toxins on the morphology and protein synthetic capability of HeLa cells in tissue culture could be prevented by brefeldin A, an inhibitor of certain intracellular Golgi functions. Brefeldin A was without effect on the binding of Shiga-like toxin to cells. These results provide evidence that the Shiga-like toxins are first processed by the Golgi before moving to their 60S ribosome target site.