Psychological Assessment Flashcards
What is the MMPI-2 and what is it used for?
The MMPI-2 is a measure of personality and psychopathology for individuals 18 years of age and older and is used to assist with diagnosis, treatment planning, and selecting applicants for high-risk occupations:
-It consists of 567 true/false items and provides scores on the original MMPI clinical and validity scales as well as restructured clinical scales, additional validity scales, content scales, clinical subscales, and supplementary scales.
-Raw scores are converted to T-scores that have a mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10.
-T-scores of 65 and above are considered clinically significant, while scores near 50 are considered normal.
*The MMPI-2 is most commonly used to assist with the diagnosis of mental disorders and is ordinarily combined with other assessment techniques.
What is the best method for diagnosing a Personality Disorder when using the MMPI-2?
Widiger and Samuel (2005) propose that the best strategy for diagnosing personality disorders is to combine the MMPI-2 (or other self-report inventory) with a structured clinical interview and to begin with the self-report inventory to identify which personality disorders should be emphasized during the interview.
What are the 10 clinical scales measured in the MMPI-2?
- Hs – Hypochondriasis
-preoccupation with physical complaints - D – Depression
-depression and hopelessness - Hy – Hysteria
-stress and conflicts expressed as physical symptoms - Pd – Psychopathic Deviate
-social alienation and disinhibition - Mf – Masculinity/Femininity
-stereotyped gender roles and interests - Pa – Paranoia
-suspiciousness and interpersonal sensitivity - Pt – Psychasthenia
-anxiety and excessive fear and doubt - Sc – Schizophrenia
-psychosis and severe social and emotional alienation - Ma – Hypomania
-unstable mood and hyperarousal - Si – Social Introversion
-social withdrawal and avoidance
How are clinical scales on the MMPI-2 interpreted?
Clinical scale scores are interpreted in terms of single scale elevations (spikes) and code types (profiles):
1) Two-point codes indicate the two scales that received the highest scores with the first number in the code being the scale with the higher score.
-EX. a two-point code of 4-9 or 9-4 indicate that the examinee’s highest scores are on scales 4 and 9, which are Psychopathic Deviate and Hypomania. These two codes are interpreted in the same way and are associated with impulsive, narcissistic, and antisocial tendencies and substance abuse.
-EX. a two-point code of 2-7 or 7-2 indicates that the examinee’s highest scores are on scales 2 and 7, which are Depression and Psychasthenia. This profile is common in psychiatric populations and is associated with depression, excessive worry, agitation, and physical complaints.
2) 3-point codes: the conversion V, psychotic V, and neurotic triad
The three-point code known as the psychotic valley consists of which scoring pattern?
Elevated scores on scales 6 (Pa) and 8 (Sc) with a lower score on scale 7 (Pt).
The psychotic V code and is associated with delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, and disordered thought
The three-point code known as the conversion V consists of which scoring pattern?
Elevated scores on scales 1 (Hs) and 3 (Hy) with a lower score on scale 2 (D).
The conversion V code which is associated with the expression of psychological symptoms as somatic complaints.
The three-point code known as the neurotic triad consists of which scoring pattern?
Elevated scores on scales 1 (Hs), 2 (D), and 3 (Hy).
It has been linked to depression, somatic complaints, interpersonal and work-related problems, and general dissatisfaction.
What are the validity scales on the MMPI-2 and their interpretation of elevated scores?
L (Lie): detects underreporting of symptoms
-attempt to fake good, self-righteousness, denial, or poor insight
K (Defensiveness/Correction): detects underreporting of symptoms in more subtle way than the L scale does; used to correct scores on several clinical scales
-attempt to fake good, defensiveness, denial, or poor insight; may resist psychological evaluation and treatment
F (Infrequency): detects overreporting of symptoms (infrequent responses in general population)
-attempt to fake bad, excessive eccentricity, resistance to testing, significant pathology, or random responding
Fb (F Back): detects overreporting of symptoms on last 197 test items
-attempt to fake bad; random responding due to boredom, fatigue, or loss of interest
Fp (Infrequency/Psychopathology): detects overreporting of symptoms (infrequent responses in psychiatric population)
-exaggeration of symptoms or severe pathology or distress
S (Superlative Self-Presentation): detects tendency to present oneself in highly virtuous way while denying problems
-Interpretationdefensiveness in one or more of five areas: belief in human goodness, serenity, contentment with life, patience/denial of irritability, denial of moral flaws
VRIN (Variable Response Inconsistency): detects random responding
-invalid profile (responded inconsistently to pairs of items that have similar or opposite content)
TRIN (True Response Inconsistency): detects fixed pattern of responding (yea- or nay-saying)
-invalid profile (answered pairs of items that have opposite content in the same way)
? (Cannot Say): total number of unscorable (double-marked or unanswered) items
-reading problem, confusion, poor insight, or lack of cooperation
Besides the MMPI-2, what are 4 other structured personality tests?
- Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF): The 16 PF was
-developed by Cattell (1947) using the lexical strategy and factor analysis.
-the results of his analyses yielded 16 primary traits (e.g., warmth, dominance, sensitivity) and five broader global traits (extraversion, anxiety, tough-mindedness, independence, and self-control) that each include multiple primary traits. - Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS): The EPPS (Edwards, 1959)
-assesses 15 basic needs that were derived from Murray’s system of human needs (e.g., achievement, affiliation, dominance, autonomy).
-forced-choice format yields ipsative scores that indicate the relative strength of an examinee’s needs. These scores allow intra-individual comparisons but do not permit inter-individual comparisons because they don’t provide information on the absolute strengths of an examinee’s needs. - Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): The MBTI (Myers & Briggs, 1943/1962)
-based on Jung’s personality typology
-provides information on four bipolar personality dimensions: introversion-extraversion (I, E), sensing-intuition (S, N), thinking-feeling (T, F), and judging-perceiving (J, P). - NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3):
-assesses the “Big Five” personality traits: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
-identified by Costa and McCrae (1985) using a lexical approach and factor analysis.
