Research Skills

M4A2GraboskiWalter PSY415 1

Walter L Graboski

02/2/2011

Psychological Assessment | PSY415

Instructor: Dr. Sencil

Research Skills


The overview and history of the MMPI-2 starts with the following: The MMPI-2

psychological test is composed of several hundred “yes or no” questions,

( guidetopsychology.com) 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 scale,

(wapedia.mobi). The author, publisher, versions including corresponding copyright years

and appropriate ages was developed in the late 1930’s by psychologist Starke R.

Hathaway and psychiatrist J.C. McKinley at the University of Minnesota. It is

appropriate for use with adults 18 and over, (wapedia.mobi).

The current MMPI-2 has 567 items, all true-or-false format, and usually takes

between 1 and 2 hours to complete depending on reading level, (wapedia.mobi).

Like many standardized tests, scores on the various scales of the MMPI-2 and the

MMPI-2-RF are not representative of either percentile rank or how "well" or "poorly"

someone has done on the test. Rather, analysis looks at relative elevation of factors

compared to the various norm groups studied. Raw scores on the scales are transformed

into a standardized metric known as T-scores (Mean or Average equals 50, Standard

Deviation equals 10, (wapedia.mobi).

The accuracy, or usefulness, of a test is known as its validity. Construct

Validity refers to the ability of a test to measure the psychological construct, such as

depression, that it was designed to measure. One way this can be assessed is through the

test’s convergent or divergent validity, which refers to whether a test can give results

similar to other tests of the same construct and different from tests of different constructs.


The ability of a test to give consistent results is known as its reliability. Internal

Consistency Reliability refers to how well all the test items relate to each other. Note that

without reliability, there can be no validity, (www.guidetopsychology.com).

A classic problem with validity arises when someone uses a test for a purpose

for which it was not designed. MMPI-2 is often used as a screening tool for law

enforcement, seminary students, firefighters/paramedics, airline pilots,

medical/psychology students, and nuclear power facility workers. Your rights to any

psychological test are the following: to know the purpose of the testing; to know the

names of, and rationales for, the tests being used; to know the results of the testing (you

even have the right to read the psychological report itself); to determine, through your

sign release information who will have access to the testing information (interview

information, raw scores, test reports) in your chart, (www.guidetopsychology.com).

Content validity is related toface validity, but they should not be confused. The

latter is not validity in the technical sense; it refers, not to what the test actually measures,

but to what it appears superficially to measure. Face validity pertains to whether the test

"looks valid" to the examinees who take it, the administrative personnel who decide on its

use, and other technically untrained observers. Content validity requires more rigorous

statistical tests than face validity, which only requires an intuitive judgement. Content

validity is most often addressed in academic and vocational testing, where test items need

to reflect the knowledge actually required for a given topic area (e.g., history) or job skill,

(http://e.wikipedia.org).

The advantages and disadvantages of face validity include the following: Face validity is

based solely on the judgment of the researcher. Each question is scrutinized and modified


until the researcher is satisfied that it is an accurate measure of the desired construct. The

determination of face validity is based on the subjective opinion of the researcher. (http://

www.statpac.com). Therefore, a disadvantage would be that no test is given to explain

the results of the test it is up to the researcher if it looks good than its good where an

advantage is the time consuming on a client when diagnosing the illness there is no test to

be given which basically relief’s stress and anxiety from the client.

When it comes to the clinical scales which has ten numbers ranging from one to

zero where that are used to indicate different psychotic conditions. Scale 1 –

Hypochondriasis: This scale was designed to asses a neurotic concern over bodily

functioning. The 32-items on this scale concern somatic symptoms and physical well

being. The scale was originally developed to identify patients displaying the symptoms of

hypochondria. Scale 2 – Depression: This scale was originally designed to identify

depression, characterized by poor morale, lack of hope in the future, and a general

dissatisfaction with one's own life situation. Very high scores may indicate depression,

while moderate scores tend to reveal a general dissatisfaction with one’s life. Scale 3 –

Hysteria: The third scale was originally designed to identify those who display hysteria in

stressful situations. Those who are well educated and of a high social class tend to score

higher on this scale. Women also tend to score higher than men on this scale. Scale 4 -

Psychopathic Deviate: Originally developed to identify psychopathic patients, this scale

measures social deviation, lack of acceptance of authority, and amorality. This scale can

be thought of as a measure of disobedience. High scorers tend to be more rebellious,

while low scorers are more accepting of authority. Despite the name of this scale, high

scorers are usually diagnosed with a personality disorder rather than a psychotic disorder.


Scale 5 – Masculinity/Femininity: This scale was designed by the original author’s to

identify homosexual tendencies, but was found to be largely ineffective. High scores on

this scale are related to factors such as intelligence, socioeconomic status, and education.

Women tend to score low on this scale. Scale 6 – Paranoia: This scale was originally

developed to identify patients with paranoid symptoms such as suspiciousness, feelings

of persecution, grandiose self-concepts, excessive sensitivity, and rigid attitudes. Those

who score high on this scale tend to have paranoid symptoms. Scale 7 – Psychasthenia:

This diagnostic label is no longer used today and the symptoms described on this scale

are more reflective of obsessive-compulsive disorder. This scale was originally used to

measure excessive doubts, compulsions, obsessions, and unreasonable fears. Scale 8 –

Schizophrenia: This scale was originally developed to identify schizophrenic patients and

reflects a wide variety of areas including bizarre thought processes and peculiar

perceptions, social alienation, poor familial relationships, difficulties in concentration and

impulse control, lack of deep interests, disturbing questions of self-worth and self-

identity, and sexual difficulties. This scale is considered difficult to interpret. Scale 9 –

Hypomania: This scale was developed to identify characteristics of hypomania such as

elevated mood, accelerated speech and motor activity, irritability, flight of ideas, and

brief periods of depression. Scale 0 – Social Introversion: This scale was developed later

than the other nine scales as is designed to assess a person’s tendency to withdraw from

social contacts and responsibilities, (psychology.about.com).

When it comes to the validity includes three basic types of validity measures:

those that were designed to detect non-responding or inconsistent responding those

designed to detect when clients are over reporting or exaggerating the prevalence or


severity of psychological symptoms, and those designed to detect when test-takers are

under-reporting or downplaying psychological symptoms, (wikipedia.org).

When it comes to the content scales which is used more frequently on the

substance abuse scales designed to assess the extent to which a client admits to or is

prone to abusing substances. (wikipedia.org).

The four types of validity scales include the following: First, Cannot Say Scale

(?): A scale used to measure the number of items on the assessment that were left

unanswered. Secondly, Infrequency Scale (F): A high score on the "F" scale generally

suggests that deviant responses were given. The "F" scale hints at "extra test

characteristics or behaviors" Meaning, if a person has a tendency toward exaggeration of

their symptoms, the "F" scale will pick it up and make this assessment tendency and

inaccuracy known to the tester. Thirdly, Lie Scale (L): This scale is fairly self

explanatory. The Lie Scale is the set of questions in the MMPI used to detect whether an

individual is making themselves seem more well adjusted than they actually are. Finally,

Defensiveness Scale (K): A very subtle scale used to pick out respondent's tendency to

fake on the test in order to make themselves look better, (www.associatedcontent.com)


References:

http:www.associatedcontent.com

http://www.guidetopsychology.com/testing.htm

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologicaltesting/a/mmpi_2.htm

http://www.statpac.com/research-papers/research-process.htm

http://wapedia.mobi/en/Minnesota_Multiphasic_Personality_Inventory

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