Which statement best differentiates factitious disorder from malingering in terms of rewards?

• A. External incentives
• B. Personal gain
• C. Absence of obvious rewards
• D. Attention seeking

Answer: (C)

The key idea is reward motivation. Factitious disorder involves faking symptoms to assume the sick role, with no clear external payoff. The person is driven by psychological needs—care, sympathy, and attention from health professionals. Malingering, by contrast, is intentional symptom production for concrete external gains like avoiding work, obtaining financial compensation, or getting drugs. So stating there’s an absence of obvious rewards best differentiates the two, since malingering hinges on external incentives.