Question

Explain MMPI as a tool to assess personality.

Answer 1

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) was developed in 1930. Current version MMPI – 2 (567 items).

1. It contains 10 clinical scales and several validity scales.
2. Clinical scales relate to various psychological disorders and their associated personality validity scales determine whether the respondent is faking the answer.

Depending on the scores it can be identified as relatively high or low on a particular personality trait.

MMPI-2 is designed to measure many aspects of personality related to psychological disorders:

Clinical Scales	Description of Disorder
Hypochondriasis	Excessive concern with bodily functions
Depression	Possimism, hopelessness, slowing of actions and thoughts
Hysteria	Development of physical disorders such as blindness, paralysis, and vomiting as an escape from emotional problems
Psychopathic Deviance	Disregard for social customs, shallow emotions.
Masculinity- Femininity	Possession of traits and interests typically associated with the opposite sex.
Paranoia	Suspiciousness, delusions of grandeur or persecution
Psychasthenia	Obsession, compulsions, fears, guilt, indecisiveness
Schizophrenia	Bizarre, unusual thoughts or behaviour, withdrawal, hallucinations, and delusions
Hypomania	Emotional excitement, a fight of ideas, overactivity.
Social introversion	Shyness, lack of interest in others, insecurity.

A set of statements is true or false about themselves in the extent to whether they agree or disagree with various sentences which of a pair of activities they prefer. The subject has to classify these questions into three categories true, False, and Can’t say.

This inventory is used with adults who are 18 and above. The current inventory has 567 items, all in a true or false format, and takes one or two hours to complete depending on their reading level. The chief criterion of validity was the prediction of clinical cases against the diagnosis of hospital staff. There are four unusual scores obtained in addition to the diagnostic classification. These four are ‘validity scores’ (F), a Tie score’ (L), a ‘questions score’, and a K-score.