Performance validity tests (PVTs) are psychological measures designed to assess whether a person may be putting little effort during cognitive testing and feigning poor performance.

People with low IQ often score poorly on PVTs, as these measures were not created for or validated on people with low IQ. Thus, they are often falsely classified by PVTs as feigning when they are, in fact, providing genuine effort.

Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists can avoid misinterpreting PVT results by being aware of how people with low IQ may respond during testing and how their scores may be affected by their disability.

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