Minnesota Muliphasic Personality Inventory

Minnesota Muliphasic Personality Inventory

  • Submitted By: darrylj
  • Date Submitted: 03/11/2009 4:19 AM
  • Category: Psychology
  • Words: 777
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 460

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 1

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Psychology 525 Measurements and Statistics

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The original authors of the MMPI were Starke R. Hathaway, PhD, and J.C. McKinley, MD. The MMPI is copyrighted by the University of Minnesota. Today, it is the frequently used clinical testing instrument and is one of the most researched psychological tests in existence. The MMPI is not a perfect test, but it remains a valuable tool in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.
The standardized answer sheets can be hand scored with templates that fit over the answer sheets, but most test are computer scored. Computer scoring programs for the current standardized version, the MMPI-2, are licensed by the University of Minnesota Press to Pearson Assessments and other companies located in different countries. The computer scoring programs offer a range of scoring profile choices including the extended score report, which includes data on the newest and most psychometrically advanced scales- the Restructured Clinical Scales (RC scales). The extended score report also provides scores on the more traditionally used Clinical Scales as well as Content, Supplementary, and other subscales of potential interest to clinicians. Use of the MMPI is tightly controlled for financial as well as ethical reasons. The clinician using the MMPI has to pay for materials and for scoring and report services, as well as a charge to install the computerized program.
The original MMPI was developed in the late 1930’s using an empirical keying approach, which means that the clinical scales derived by selecting items that were endorsed by patients known to have been diagnosed with certain pathologies. The difference between this approach and other test development strategies used around that time was that it was atheoretical (not based on any particular theory) and thus the initial test was not aligned with the prevailing...

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