MMPI Flashcards

1
Q

VRIN Scale

A

Variable Responding

  • Compares questions with similar content that should be answered the same way.
  • Useful for interpreting F scale
  • If low with a high F, probably really abnormal.
  • If high with a high F, probably administration/clerical error
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2
Q

TRIN Scale

A
True Responding
Checks a bias to respond true
-Useful for interpreting F scale
-If low with high F, really abnormal
-If high with a high, probably administration/clerical error
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3
Q

F Scale

A

Faking bad

  • Catches random responding, keyed off by a question, miscoring by the clinician
  • Truly high pathology
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4
Q

High F

A

Less than 3% of population over 12, most should be 3-5
6-10: Neurotics and character disorders, maybe in-tact psychotics, good sealed-over paranoid
11-15: Very severe neurotic, psychotic individual
16-20: Totes psychotic
21+: The most psychotic or random/deviant response set.

“High Normals”: Critical, sarcastic, doubtful, intentionally unconventional, Bohemian/Progressive
-Most high normals score by answering unusual parental numbers.

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5
Q

L Scale

A

Lie Scale
-Presenting in a positive light
-1 or 2 may show perfectionism, 6+ pretty much lying
Mode = 0, 4 is high

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6
Q

High L

A
Highly conventional
Strict moral code
Slow, tense, passive, and insecure
Lacking insight or intelligence
Possibly living in poverty
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7
Q

Low L

A
Sarcastic
Cynical
Intelligent
Comfortable admitting common faults
Possibly exhibitionist
Likely test-wise or knowledgeable with psychology
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8
Q

K Scale

A

Attitude of denying psychiatric symptoms
Denial of schizophrenia, cynicism, euphoria, hostility, tendencies to worry, and family problems.
Scales that are easy to fake don’t add K

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9
Q

High K

A

High ego strength
Not necessarily faking
Actually believing you are wonderful
Lying and denying pathology

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10
Q

Low K

A

Poor self-concept

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11
Q

F-K Ratio

A

F-K=+10 to -15 (Valid)
Admitting to F is admitting to pathology
F of 10 would be admitting large amounts of unusual experiences (drug history)
F of 0 would be a little odd to have

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12
Q

K+ Profile

A
No clinical scale outside of 40-65 range.
K is elevated (20+)
Fake good profile potentially
-Shy
-Defensive
-Inhibited
-Withdrawn
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13
Q

? Scale

A

Leaving out questions

  • Psychopaths (Fuck these questions)
  • Patterned blanks (Avoiding a topic)
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14
Q

Neurotic Triad

A

1: (Hs) Hypochondriasis
2: (D) Depression
3: (Hy) Hysteria

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15
Q

Scale 1 (Hs)

A

Hypochondriasis
25 hypochrondriacal questions, 8 suppressor questions
Lots of false negatives (low scores common)
Rarely find Pure Hypochondriac in-patients
Kind of an Optimism/Pessimism scale

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16
Q

High 1

A

High Hypochondriasis
Raw score of 6 is considered high

70+:
Unambitious
Unsmiling
Insecure
Worries
Over concerned about health
Egocentric
Narcissistic
Immature

Moderately High 65-70:
Wide range of interests, but tendency toward introversion
Insomnia, general unhappiness
Complaints of tension

Correlated with real physical illness

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17
Q

1-2

A

Elevated Hypochrondriasis and Depression
May indicate real illness
Hypochondriacs are not depressed about fake illnesses
If 2 is /low/ it may mean expressing depression in somatic terms

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18
Q

1-2-3

A

Always interpret 1, 2, and 3 together

Elevation of all three (or just 1 & 2) can be someone covering depression with physical symptoms

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19
Q

1-2-7 (College Female)

A

Hypochondriasis, Depression, and Pyschasthenia

Typical of home-sickness

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20
Q

Low 1

A

Low Hypochondriasis
Females: Education majors
Persuasive personalities

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21
Q

Scale 2 (D)

A

Depression
Least stable of MMPI scores
Depresion scale is easy to make, because depressives talk about being depressed.
Linear scale, average depression and mania at 50
Very common second number

Deals with discouragement, brooding, feelings of dullness

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22
Q

High D

A

High Depression
70+
Gets in the way of what you are trying to do
80+
Worried about rash actions, nothing can get done
90+
Psychotic depression (guilt-ridden, withdrawn)
Hard to treat because depressed about delusional thinking

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23
Q

Low D

A

Low Depression

Possibly manic

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24
Q

2-4

A

Depression and Psychopath

  • Common in prison populations
  • Could be a secondary psychopath
  • Reactive depression
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25
Q

Scale 1 (D) Harris Lingo

A

D1: Subjective Depression (Feeling down, feeling blue)
D2: Psychomotor Retardation (Feeling slow)
D3: Physical Malfunctioning (Aches and pains)
D4: Mental Dullness (poor memory, difficulty concentrating)
D5: Brooding or Rumination

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26
Q

High 1, Low 2, High 3

A

High Hypochrondriasis, Low Depression, High Hysteria
Converting depression into physical symptoms
Physical sensations allow them to escape

27
Q

1-2-3

A

Failed Somaticizing

Patient attempting to make it into physical symptoms, but still experiencing the depression

28
Q

Scale 3 (Hy)

A

Hysteria
One of the best scales on the MMPI
Divided into physical complaints and hysterical personality, getting 65+ requires endorsing both areas
Originally tested conversion reaction which is much rarer.
Also identifies hysterical personality (called Borderline these days)

29
Q

Discriminating Hysteria from Hypochondriasis & Psychosomatics

A

Hypochondriasis & Hysteria
Hysteria has more concrete symptoms
Example: Back pain, if just pain, hypochondriacal. If you can’t move, it’s hysterical.

Hysteria & Psychosomatics
Real physical problems that stem from psychological factors

30
Q

High Hy

A

High Hysteria
At 60:
Can be acquired by endorsing one or the other of the two scales
70+
Conversion hysterics and hysterical personality
Infantile
Self-centered
Complaining
Passive aggressive
Views self as mature, easy to get along with, and generous to a fault
Immature

31
Q

Low Hy

A
Low Hysteria
Demanding
Cold
Obsessively get stuff done
Roll over people
Lack of compassion
32
Q

Low 1, 2=50+, 3=60+

A

Virtue Claimer
Hysterical Personality
May have a high K

33
Q

1=70, 2=50, 3=58

A

Complainer

May have a high K

34
Q

Scale 3 (Hy) Harris Lingo

A

Hy1: Denial of Social Anxiety
Hy2: Need for affection and reinforcement from others
Hy3: Lassitude Malaise (can’t enjoy life despite things being great)
Hy4: Somatic complaints
Hy5: Inhibition of aggression

35
Q

Scale 4 (Pd)

A

Psychopathic Deviant

Good scale, except that standization group was young (almost a juvenile delinquency group)

36
Q

Low 4

A
Low Psychopathic Deviant
Passivity
Unable to take risks
Passive sexually
Conventional
37
Q

High 4

A

I Do What I Want Scale
Poor planners
Low frustration tolerance
Acting out

Primary Psychopaths: No anxiety
Secondary Psychopaths: Anxiety occurs too late for it to change their behavior

38
Q

4-Low 5-6 (Women)

A

Bitch Valley
Also called Pistol in the Petticoat which is approximately 250% more Noir and fucking awesome.
Uses femininity in a manipulative, controlling way
Ultrafeminine psychopath
Passive aggressive, not openly expressed
Please don’t hate me for this one, totally not my fault.

39
Q

4-5-6 (Men)

A
Male Bitch Valley
Feminine Passivity
Doesn't express aggression openly, expressive passively
Manipulative and passive aggressive
Again with the don't hate me for this.
40
Q

Hostility Indicators

A

4 (Psychopathic Deviant) and 6 (Paranoia)

4: More aggressive when people are in the way
6: Disliking or fearing specific people

41
Q

4-7

A

Secondary Psychopath

Shows grief and remorse over their psychopathic urges

42
Q

4-8

A

Psychopathy & Schizophrenia
Very dangerous and acting out
Quiet, not acting out, blargrable stab! Suddenly kills someone
Inability to relate to other people (due to schizophrenia)
Think Lee Harvey Oswald

43
Q

7-2

A

Depressed, in-prison psychopath
Can’t do what I want to do
Wants to do horrible stuff, but guards

44
Q

3-4

A

Wants to be involved in craziness and fun, but is too afraid to DO the awful stuff
Often seen in social workers (4 in the 70s)

45
Q

Low 3-High 4

A

Low 3s are organized and effective, good haters
Could be dangerous psychopaths that want to get back at you
Vicious and organized

46
Q

4-9

A
Typical prison repeaters
Delinquent pattern
Manics, psychotics
Higher 4: More destructive and vicious
Higher 9: More charming and psychopathic
You're a psych person, so this is probably you.
47
Q

Scale 4 (Pd) Harris Lingo

A
Pd1: Family Discord
Pd2: Authority Conflict
Pd3: Social Imperturbability
Pt4a: Alienation from Everyone Else
Pt4b: Alienation from Self
48
Q

Scale 5 (M/F)

A

Masculinity/Femininity
“Abnormal” to score feminine for male, masculine for female
Small sample size of only people who fully wanted to change sex and had no “other” psychopathology
Identification with traditional male and female norms/actions

49
Q

4-5 (into 85 range on 5)

A

Correlated with homosexual acting out

4 says they’ll act out with whatever they do, so apparently they bang against social morays?

50
Q

Scale 6 (Pa)

A

Paranoia
Gives very few false positives, but some false negatives
Paranoia begins with realistic persecution
Higher in minority groups
High scores more frequent in females than in males
Women in the 20s (especially Orthodox Jews and other conservative religious groups) often show high 6s.
Curvilinear: Optimal score 40-60

51
Q

High 6

A

High Paranoia
Demonstrates black and white thinking: Good guys, Bad guys, and Too Stupid to get it
Tend to have friends (2-3 people)
60-70: Soft Paranoid
Oversensitive, wears feelings on sleeve, touchy, self-critical. Lacks viciousness or hostility, more vulnerable
70-85: Righteous paranoid- Persecutory feelings, people out to get them. Claim excessive moral virtue, overly rational.
Mr. Spock Syndrome, intellectualize and can be dangerous.
85+ Not just believing people out to get them, pt will get them first.
Truly dangerous.

52
Q

Low 6

A

Low 40s
Paranoid in a stupid way
Think people don’t like them, they’re right
Poor social skills, turn people off.
Often close-talkers
Less interesting, cohesive or sophisticated delusional systems

53
Q

2-4-6-8

A

Most dangerous profile
4 tells people to act out
6 & 8 are big hostility indicators

54
Q

2-6

A

Anger turned inward
Negative judgments toward the self
Often prone to alcoholism

55
Q

4-6

A

Delinquency
Psychopaths not really vicious, they just see you as an obstacle, it isn’t personal.
Paranoids… THOSE are personal

56
Q

Scale 6 (Pa) Harris Lingo

A

Pa1: Ideas of External Influence
Pa2: Poignancy (feelings of being special, unique, different)
Pa3: Moral Virtue (“I’m smarter, more rational, excessively generous” Yeah, bullshit. You’re hostile and pissy.)

57
Q

Scale 7 (Pt)

A

Psychasthenia
Anxiety/Obsessive-Compulsiveness
Sometimes grouped with the neurotic triad
Doesn’t necessarily pick up PTSD or specific phobia the way that it is supposed to
O-Dawg doesn’t like it, calls it the worst scale on the MMPI
-Face valid
-Easily faked
-Sometimes misses people who are highly severe
-Overlaps with scale 8 also

58
Q

Scale 8 (Sc)

A

Schizophrenia
Kind of surprised there isn’t more information here
It would be kind of nice if there was.
Umm… Schizophrenic or creative? Let’s move on to the High/Lows

59
Q

High 8

A
Slight increase:
Creativity
75-90
Schizophrenic
90+:
People who think they are going fucking crazy and are scared to death about it.
60
Q

Low 8

A

Dull
Overcontrolled
Unimaginative

61
Q

Scale 8 (Sc) Harris Lingo

A
Sc1: Social Alienation
Sc2: Emotional Alienation
Sc3: Lack of Ego Mastery, Cognitive
Sc4: Lack of Ego Mastery, Conative
Sc5: Lack of Ego Mastery, Defective Inhibition
Sc6: Bizarre Sensory Experiences
62
Q

Scale 9 (Ma)

A

Mania
Energy thermometer
High scores more common with youth
Often moves down with aging

63
Q

High 9

A
50-60
Normal
60-70
Still pretty normal, especially with college kids
70-80
Distracted by how much energy
80
Really having an effect on people around you as well
64
Q

Scale 0 (Si)

A

Social Introversion
Not Pathology
Added later and may not belong on MMPI
High 0 indicates more socially introverted