MMPI2

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MMPI-2

• William P. Wattles, Ph.D.
• Francis Marion University

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? (Cannot Say)

• Omitted items
• Encourage person to complete them
• Up to 10 may still be valid above that a concern.
  
• Scales are additive.

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Infrequency Scale (F)

• 60 items answered in the significant direction by
  less than 10
• High scores suggest
• Not cooperating
• Reading difficulty
• Exaggerating
• Over 90 invalid, 70-90 questionable

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Infrequency Scale (F)

• 60 items
• My sex life is satisfactory (F)
• I have a cough most of the time (T)
• Most anytime I would rather sit and daydream than
  anything else (T)

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Lie Scale (L)

• Minor flaws that most people are willing to
  acknowledge.
• High scores
• Resistant confused
• Moderate scores
• Overly moralistic
• Low scores
• Normal or exaggerating

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Lie Scale (L)

• 15 items
• At times I feel like swearing (F)
• I do not always tell the truth (F)

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Correction Scale (K)

• Characteristics many people prefer to deny
• High Scores
• Defensive, lack of insight
• Moderate
• Adaptive, self-reliant
• Low
• Fake bad, plea for help

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Correction Scale (K)

• 30 items
• Often I cant understand why I have been so
  irritable and grouchy. (F)
• At times my thoughts have raced ahead faster than
  I could speak them. (F)

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VRIN

• Items have similar or opposite content.
• Inconsistent responding. May have answered items
  indiscriminately.

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VRIN

• 67 pairs
• I wake up fresh and rested most mornings
• My sleep is fitful and disturbed

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TRIN

• Made up of pairs opposite in content.
• High suggests answering all true
• Low suggests answering all false

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TRIN

• 23 pairs
• My daily life is full of things that keep me
  interested.
• I wish I could be as happy as others seem to be.

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Invalid protocols

• Cannot say gt30
• VRIN or TRIN 80
• F or F(p) 100
• Fb 110
• L 80
• K 75

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Clinical scales

• Scale labels can be misleading.
• Labels also outdated (i.e. psychasthenia)

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Scale 1 Hypochondriasis

• See themselves as physically ill and seek medical
  explanations
• Stubborn, pessimistic, narcissistic, egocentric
• Unhappy, whinny

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Scale 1 Items

• I am troubled by attacks of nausea and vomiting
  (T)
• I have a good appetite (F)
• I wake up fresh and rested most mornings (F)
• I seldom worry about my health (not on this scale
  or 3!)

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Scale 2 Depression

• Depressive symptoms, apathy, lethargy, brooding
• Pessimism
• Low energy

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Scale 2 Items

• I am easily awakened by noise (T)
• I am troubled by attacks of nausea and vomiting
  (T)
• I have never vomited blood or coughed up blood.
  (T)
• I enjoy many different kinds of play and
  recreation (F)

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Scale 3 Hysteria

• Denial of emotional or interpersonal problems
• Lack of insight
• Physical symptoms as an excuse
• Need for acceptance and affection
• Seek simplistic, naïve, concrete solutions to
  problems

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Scale 3 Items

• I am troubled by attacks of nausea and vomiting
  (T)
• I am almost never bothered by pains over my heart
  or in my chest (F)
• I think a great many people exaggerate their
  misfortunes in order to gain sympathy and help of
  others. (F)

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Scale 4 Psychopathic Deviate

• Difficulty incorporating the values of society
• Alienation and relationship problems
• Authority problems
• Poor tolerance for boredom
• Rebellious and blaming

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Scale 4 Items

• I wish I could be as happy as others seem t be
  (T)
• I have not lived the right kind of life (T)
• I am easily downed in an argument (F)

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Scale 5 Masculinity-Femininity

• Highs scoring males aesthetic interests, wide
  range of interests, passivity
• Low Scoring males, often domineering and
  impersonal. Narrow interests lack originality

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Scale 5 Items

• Female
• I have never engaged in any unusual sex practices
  (T)
• I like to talk about sex (F)
• Both
• I enjoy reading love stories (T)
• I like poetry (T)
• My feelings are not easily hurt (F)
• Male
• I have never engaged in any unusual sex practices
  (F)
• I like to talk about sex (T)

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Scale 5 Masculinity-Femininity

• High scoring females rejection of traditional
  female role
• Low Scoring females stereotypically feminine
  interests and roles. May adopt passive, modest,
  constricted emotions.

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Scale 6 Paranoia

• Suspicious, vengeful, angry
• Feels mistreated
• High scores may indicate psychotic thinking

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Scale 6 Items

• I believe I am a condemned person (T)
• I am sure I am being talked about (T)
• I do not often notice my ears ringing or buzzing
  (F)

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Scale 7 Psychastenia

• Anxiety ruminative self-doubt
• Psychological turmoil and discomfort
• Anxious, tense, agitated

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Scale 7 Items

• Once a week or oftener I become very excited (T)
• Life is a strain for me much of the time (T)
• I like to study and read about things that I am
  working at. (F)
• My memory seems to be all right (F)

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Scale 8 Schizophrenia

• Confusion, disorganization
• Unusual thoughts
• Alienated, misunderstood
• In psychological turmoil

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Scale 8 Items

• I am afraid of losing my mind (T)
• I am worried about sex (T)
• My hands have not become clumsy or awkward. (F)
• I have had no difficulty in keeping my balance in
  walking (F)

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Scale 9 Hypomania

• Manic, excessive purposeless activity
• Overactive
• Energetic and talkative
• Risk taking, impulsive
• Low scores
• Low energy and activity levels

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Scale 9 Items

• When I get bored I like to stir up some
  excitement (T)
• It wouldnt make me nervous if any members of my
  family got into trouble with the law (T)
• I am afraid when I look down from a high place (F)

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Scale 0 Social Introversion

• Socially introverted
• Uncomfortable in group interactions
• Possible Poor social skills
• She, insecure
• Low scores sociable and extroverted

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Scale 0 Items

• I frequently have to fight against showing that I
  am bashful (T)
• I wish I were not shy. (T)
• I do not have spells of hay fever or asthma (F)
• I like to flirt (F)

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Code-type interpretation

• Often more accurate and useful than individual
  scales.
• Most appropriate when scales are above T65

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Supplementary Scales

• Over 450 supplementary scales developed using
  factor analysis and intuitive procedures.

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A (Anxiety)

• High scores
• reflect distress, anxiety, discomfort and general
  emotional upset.
• Indecisive, conforming, easily upset in social
  situations
• Low scores
• Energetic, competitive, socially outgoing

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A (Anxiety) Items

• When in a group of people I have trouble thinking
  of the right things to talk about. (T)
• I have often felt that strangers were looking at
  me critically (T)
• I very seldom have spells of the blues (F)

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R (Repression)

• High Scores
• Conventional, submissive people
• Low scores
• Expressive, uninhibited

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Es (Ego Strength)

• To assess ability to benefit from therapy
• High Scores
• Adaptability, resiliency, effective functioning
• Low Scores
• Inhibition, physical aliments, poor self-concept

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MAC-R (MacAndrew Alcoholism)

• 49 items no obvious content relating to alcohol .
  Over 28 strong suggestion
• High scores
• General addiction proneness,
• Extroverted, exhibitionistic, risk taking
• Low scores
• Shy, lacking in self-confidence

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Content Scales

• Analysis of content
• More face validity
• Single dimension
• Use to refine interpretations of clinical scales

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Harris Lingoes subscales

• Homogeneous content
• Help clarify clinical scale observations
• Constructed rationally by grouping items that
  seemed similar.

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Harris Lingoes subscales

• Small number of items
• Should only be used for scales above 65
• Should be used to explain elevations in elevated
  clinical scales

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Critical Items

• Face validity
• Low reliability

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The End