The MMPI-2 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Report Example

Psychology al Affiliation) An overview of the MMPI-2 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is a mental health assessment tool. The MMPI-2 was developed late in the 1930’s and has since been used by many professionals. It was a project developed at the University of Minnesota by Starke Hathaway, a psychologist and McKinley, a psychiatrist. In the modern world, the MMPI is an instrument for performing most psychological clinical tests. It is helpful in diagnosing and treating mental illness, though it is not the perfect test (Butcher, 2005). The MMPI analyzes traits exhibited by people and psychopathology. The major intention of this tool is to assess persons suspected to be having issues with their mental stability, or other mentally related clinical issues. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory is an instrument that is protected. This means that only trained psychologists administer it. The test is not administered online. The administration of the MMPI does not call for direct professional participation, but the clinical interview taken before a psychological testing requires the proficiency of a qualified psychologist. The psychologist also interprets the report after the test results are released. Psychologists combine the results of the test with other tools and assess the diagnosis. The administration of the MMPI is in two forms. People take the test either individually or in groups. The scores of the test are recorded manually or by a computer (Butcher & Perry, 2008). The older MMPI-2 has 567 questions that have true/false choices. The other is the newer MMPI-2-RF, which has 338 items with true /false choices too. The newer MMPI-2-RF is more efficient as it saves half the time that that the MMPI-2 uses. Despite its inefficiency compared to the MMPI-2-RF, the MMPI-2 is still the most used test. This is because of many psychologists are familiar with it and its wide research base. The MMPI-2 relies on 10 clinical scales to specify various anomalous psychological conditions. It has four scales, which assess an individual’s attitude towards taking the test, and authenticate the accuracy and honesty of the answers. Psychologists mostly refer to each clinical and validity scale by number. This is because the names given to these scales are not exact measures of the overlapping symptoms. The Hypochondriasis (Hs) scale deals with unclear complaints about the performance of a body. The (Hs) has 32 items that review poor physical concerns and somatic symptoms such as gastrointestinal difficulties. The complaints focus on the back and abdomen, and frequently endure when medical tests are negative (Butcher, 2005). Depression (D) is the second scale on the MMPI-2. It originally identifies depression that is characterized by loss of hope, dissatisfaction with life situations and poor morale. Depression (D) has 57 items. Scale 3 is the Hysteria (Hy) which is made up of five components. The 60 items on this scale use such symptoms as cynicism, neuroticism, shyness, headaches and poor physical wellness to ascertain hysteria. On this scale, women normally score higher than men do. Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) is the fourth scale. (Pd) has 50items. It measures the deficiency of pleasant past and present experiences. It evaluates the social deviations and maladjustment, amorality and reject to the authorities (Butcher & Perry, 2008). Many researchers argue that it is a measure of disobedience. People who are more rebellious score more on this scale, and complain more about authority, self and social alienation, family, and boredom. People who are extremely high scorers are diagnosed with personality rather than psychotic disorder. Masculinity/Femininity (Mf) measures the tendencies of homosexuality. It is very ineffective. It focuses on aesthetic preferences, personal sensitivity, hobbies, and vocations to determine how a character relates with their gender roles (Noland, 2004). It has 56 items of which people who score highest are intelligent, have advanced education and have stable socioeconomic status. On this scale, a majority of women score low. Paranoia (Pa) is the sixth scale and it uses paranoid symptoms to identify patients. These symptoms include inflexible attitudes, extraordinary suspiciousness, moral self-righteousness, and sense of persecution. High scorers have paranoid symptoms stated above. The (Pa) has 40 items. The seventh scale is the Psych asthenia (Pt). The projected purpose of this scale is to verify the ability of an individual to resist certain thoughts and actions. The modern term used in psychological fields is Obsessive-compulsive disorder. The Psych asthenia examines abnormal thoughts and fears, poor attentiveness, feelings of guilt and individuals’ self-criticism. The (Pt) has 48 items. Schizophrenia (Sc) is a scale that identifies schizophrenic people. It explores a wider range of bizarre thoughts, social isolation, peculiar perceptions, poor concentration, broken or weak family relations, and low self-esteem. This scale has the highest number of items at 78, and professionals consider it as the most difficult to interpret (Butcher & Perry, 2008). Hypomania (Ma) scale is the ninth clinical scale of the MMPI-2. This scale measures mild excitement degrees. Symptoms of a hypomania patient are an unstable mood, faster speech, bad temper and a persistent string of ideas. This scale examines individuals who react excessively and are egocentric. The scale constitutes 46 items. The last scale is Social Introversion. It is designed to look into the tendency of a person to withdraw from social life. A person who is a social introvert preferably withdraws from social interactions each instance they get the chance to do so (Schinka, 2013). This scale has 69items. The mind-set and behavior of a person who takes a psychological test determine the validity of the MMPI-2 measure. An individual can amplify or underreport. The validity scales measure the attitude of an individual or a group that is taking the test. The Lie (L) Scale identifies people who elude giving honest answers, and establishes whether the individuals are frank (Noland, 2004). In most circumstances, a person who makes false sentiments often try to make themselves appear to be a better person than they are. Lie scale has 15 items. Well-educated people and those from stable socioeconomic backgrounds score higher on the lie scale. The (F) Scale refers to the frequency or faking scale. It intends to detect unusual styles of answering the items. It unravels possibilities of weird thoughts, existence of contrary beliefs, problems with self-esteem and distancing. It aims to point out any contradictions by the test takers. A person who incorrectly answers questions on the F scale makes the entire test invalid. The (F) scale contains 60 items (Schinka, 2013). The (K) scale is the defensiveness scale. It is more efficient in detecting test takers who endeavor to present themselves in the most pleasing way possible. It identifies people who are psychopathological. It studies self-control and family relationships. The (K) scale consists 30 items. The MMPI recommendations state that any test that has 30 or more questions left unanswered is not valid. The TRIN Scale (True Response Inconsistency) is a scale that points out patients with incoherent responses. It has 23 items. The VRIN Scale (Variance inconsistency Scale) also is a scale for determining inconsistency (Noland, 2004). The Fb scale has 40 items and a maximum 10% of normal respondents are usually support the items on this scale. High scores in the Fb scale are an indication of loss of concentration by respondents. Psychologists interpret the scores of the MMPI-2. The results are converted to normalized “T Scores” that has a scale ranging between 30 and 120. A normal range is between 50 and 65. Psychologists use readings above 65 and below 30 to conclude the existence of significant mental conditions (Schinka, 2013). Researches show emergences of “code types” whereby two scales exhibit high “T scores”. One score is higher than the other is. A 2-3 code type is a strong indication of depression, poor physical conditions, and inactiveness. No particular code type is generated for test takers who have no psychopathological concerns. Individuals with mental instability issues have just a single code type (Butcher2005). Psychologists make interpretations depending on the analysis of the scores of the person who is tested. In teenagers, the Hypomania measurements are higher than in adults. In conclusion, the MMPI-2 is used as a psychological test but its accuracy is dependent on other tests. References Butcher, J. (2005). A beginners guide to the MMPI-2 (2nd Ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Butcher, J., & Perry, J. (2008). Personality assessment in treatment planning use of the MMPI-2 and BTPI. Oxford: Oxford University Press.   Noland, K. (2004). Aggregate relative validity of subtle and obvious Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory -2 scales. Schinka, J., & Greene, R. (2013). Emerging Issues and Methods in Personality Assessment. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. Read More