Even when relatively infrequent, deviant response sets, such as defensive and careless responding, can have remarkably robust effects on individual and group data and thereby distort clinical evaluations and research outcomes. Given such potential adverse impacts and the widespread use of self-report measures when appraising addictions and addictive behavior, the detection of deviant response sets is an important clinical and research objective. Using a video game questionnaire as an exemplar, we examined the capacity of individuals to manipulate questionnaire scores and the effectiveness of various items to detect defensive, careless, and random responding. Individuals who obtained elevated questionnaire results when instructed to respond honesty often reduced their scores to unremarkable levels under "fake good" instructions. Most types of items for detecting defensive responding were ineffective with a possible exception, although items for detecting random and careless responding seemed promising. Potential guides for item development and use are provided.