Logical Paradoxes and Paradoxical Constellations in Medicolegal Assessment

Abstract

In medicolegal contexts, the expert is confronted with a number of apparent or seemingly paradox constellations that are mostly not even explicit to the assessor involved, yet when they occur, they may have a profound effect on the shaping of the expert’s opinion and, subsequently, on the outcome of litigation. Because the paradoxes in this forensic work have not been made explicit for the most part in the field, it can be assumed that forensic experts themselves are often unaware of paradoxical situations and logical incoherence to be found in many cases. Difficulties to positively diagnose somatoform and dissociative disorders in disability claimants and compensation-seeking litigants are among the most prominent of these paradoxes. For example, in these diagnoses, presumably unconscious core motives and an involuntarily, unconsciously distorted symptom presentation (both being central for the diagnosis) might contrast with conscious symptom magnification and pursuit of monetary interests on the part of the complainant (external incentives in the form of disability or compensation seeking). Other paradoxes discussed in more detail are linked with symptom validity assessment in forensic psychology. Logical dilemmas and paradoxes, if not placed at the forefront in forensic psychological evaluations, potentially undermine the quality of forensic determinations.