Rey 15-Item Memory Test (RMT, Rey I)

Abstract

The Rey 15-Item Memory Test (RMT, Rey I), developed by Rey in 1964, is a specialized visual memory assessment tool designed primarily to detect the malingering or exaggeration of memory impairment in clinical and forensic settings. The test presents respondents with 15 characters arranged in five rows of three. The design is paradoxical: it appears difficult to the examinee but is simple enough that genuinely impaired patients can perform well, while individuals attempting to fake poor performance (malingerers) tend to recall significantly fewer items than expected. Although a meta-analysis indicated that the RMT demonstrates low sensitivity in identifying malingering, it exhibits excellent specificity, meaning those who pass are highly unlikely to be malingering.

Keywords

Malingering, Amnesia, Memory Disorders, Test Validity, Neuropsychological Assessment, Symptom Validity, Rey I

Authors

Rey, A.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Rey 15-Item Memory Test is to serve as an effort test within a broader neuropsychological assessment battery. It functions as a visual memory screening tool specifically calibrated to detect feigned or exaggerated memory complaints, distinguishing individuals who are genuinely suffering from memory loss from those who are intentionally underperforming to obtain secondary gain (i.e., malingering).

The instrument is crucial in environments where symptom exaggeration is suspected, such as disability evaluations or forensic psychological evaluations, providing objective data regarding the consistency and effort level applied during cognitive testing.

Construct

The RMT measures the construct of Malingering of Memory Impairment. It is not designed to measure the capacity of memory itself, but rather the effort exerted during a memory task. The test relies on the principle that the 15 items are easily recalled by individuals with normal cognitive function and even by those with genuine, moderate memory pathology, because the items are non-complex and structured.

Malingerers often estimate the difficulty of the test incorrectly, believing they must perform very poorly to appear impaired. Consequently, their recall scores fall below established cut-offs, indicating a deliberate effort deficit rather than a true organic deficit in memory function.

Validity

Research on the validity of the RMT indicates mixed but important findings, particularly concerning its utility as a standalone measure. Performance on the RMT was found to correlate highly with established measures of general cognitive function, specifically correlating with IQ (r = .55) and scores from the Mini-Mental State Examination (r = .81). These correlations suggest that the RMT is sensitive to overall cognitive status, though its primary function remains detecting effort.

In clinical samples, the RMT showed limitations in sensitivity: fewer than 15% of subjects instructed to fake various mental disorders were correctly identified by this procedure. Furthermore, a significant minority (27%) of patients with genuine neuropsychiatric disorders (such as amnesia or dementia) scored within the range commonly classified as “malingering,” highlighting the risk of false positives (low sensitivity) if interpretation relies solely on the score. However, its excellent specificity reinforces its value in ruling out malingering when scores are high.

Reliability

The source content reviewed did not indicate specific reliability data (e.g., test-retest, internal consistency measures) for the Rey 15-Item Memory Test. Further investigation is required to ascertain the scale’s temporal stability or item consistency.

Factor Analysis

No factor analysis results were indicated in the source material regarding the underlying dimensional structure of the Rey 15-Item Memory Test. Given its design as a simple effort test rather than a measure of multiple cognitive factors, factor analysis is often less prioritized.

Instrument

Test Type: Original

Format: Paper (Visual presentation followed by recall)

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human; Male; Female

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years & older)

Population Details: The validation sample included 76 subjects instructed to fake various mental disorders, 148 patients diagnosed with conditions such as amnesia, dementia, severe mental illness, or other neuropsychiatric disorders, and 80 normal control subjects.

Test Methodology: The test involves presenting a card containing 15 items (characters and symbols) arranged in five rows of three. The respondent is allowed only 10 seconds to study the card carefully before immediate recall is requested. The number of correctly recalled items out of 15 constitutes the score.

Keywords

Malingered Amnesia, Rey 15-Item Memory Test, Test Validity, Malingering, Effort Testing, Memory Impairment

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Provided

Affiliation Email addresses: Not Provided

Correspondence Address: Not Provided

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Rey 15-Item Memory Test is generally considered non-commercial and requires no fee for clinical usage, as it relies on simple, reproducible stimuli. The original instrument was published by Rey, A., in 1964. Alternative versions and revisions exist, including the Rey 15-Item Memory Test–2nd Version (9999-27241-000).

Reference’s

• Rey, A. (1964). L’examen clinique en psychologie. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

• Reznek, L. (2005). The Rey 15-item memory test for malingering: A meta-analysis. Brain Injury, 19(7), 539–543. The source article can be accessed via this DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02699050400005242

Items of the Rey 15-Item Memory Test (RMT, Rey I)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The 15 items are presented in five rows of three characters each:

• A B C
• 1 2 3
• a b c
• ○ □ ∆
• I II III