Listening to voices: the use of phenomenology to differentiate malingered from genuine auditory verbal hallucinations.
Simon McCarthy-Jones, Phillip J Resnick
International journal of law and psychiatry 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2013.11.004 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Hearing voices Insanity defense Malingering Psychosis Schizophrenia |
| Key points | Argues that because auditory verbal hallucinations are heterogeneous, using typical AVH features as a yardstick to judge whether a defendant is malingering is likely less effective than accumulating instances of defendants endorsing atypical AVH features, and proposes steps toward a formal assessment tool. |
Abstract
The experience of hearing a voice in the absence of an appropriate external stimulus, formally termed an auditory verbal hallucination (AVH), may be malingered for reasons such as personal financial gain, or, in criminal cases, to attempt a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. An accurate knowledge of the phenomenology of AVHs is central to assessing the veracity of claims to such experiences. We begin by demonstrating that some contemporary criminal cases still employ inaccurate conceptions of the phenomenology of AVHs to assess defendants' claims. The phenomenology of genuine, malingered, and atypical AVHs is then examined. We argue that, due to the heterogeneity of AVHs, the use of typical properties of AVHs as a yardstick against which to evaluate the veracity of a defendant's claims is likely to be less effective than the accumulation of instances of defendants endorsing statements of atypical features of AVHs. We identify steps towards the development of a formal tool for this purpose, and examine other conceptual issues pertinent to criminal cases arising from the phenomenology of AVHs.
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Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- The phenomenology of auditory verbal hallucinations in bipolar disorder. Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice February 7, 2023
- Varieties of Voice-Hearing: Psychics and the Psychosis Continuum. Schizophrenia Bulletin January 2017
- Better than mermaids and stray dogs? Subtyping auditory verbal hallucinations and its implications for research and practice. Schizophrenia Bulletin July 2014
Cites 5
- The Phenomenological Diversity of Hallucinations: Some theoretical and clinical implications Psychologica Belgica March 1, 2006
- A new phenomenological survey of auditory hallucinations: evidence for subtypes and implications for theory and practice. Schizophrenia Bulletin January 2014
- Do we need multiple models of auditory verbal hallucinations? Examining the phenomenological fit of cognitive and neurological models. Schizophrenia Bulletin September 26, 2008
- Computerized binary scale of auditory speech hallucinations (cbSASH). Schizophrenia Research December 2006
- Auditory hallucinations, source monitoring, and the belief that "voices" are real. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2003