Based on research in both neuropsychology and cognitive psychology, the TOMM offers a systematic way to discriminate between malingered and real memory impairments in adults.

    Completed in 15 to 20 minutes, the TOMM is particularly effective in detecting malingering for several reasons. First, it looks like a memory test, not a malingering test--patients do not suspect that they are being evaluated for malingering. Second, the test appears more difficult than it is, which leads malingerers to intentionally perform poorly while non-malingerers exert their full effort and do well. Third, though the TOMM is sensitive to malingering, it is insensitive to neurological impairments. The TOMM offers a norm-based criterion to detect malingering, which supplements the more traditional procedure of using below-chance performance as the criterion for malingering.

    Norms are provided for individuals aged 16 to 84. In addition, extensive data has been collected from cognitively intact normals and clinical samples with cognitive impairment, aphasia, traumatic brain injury, dementia, and no impairment at all.

    The TOMM provides a reliable, economical first step in judging whether a patient is malingering.