MMPI Administration and Scoring Procedures 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which MMPI-2 validity scale specifically detects clients who are acquiescing by answering 'True' to almost everything?
- TRIN (True Response Inconsistency) (Correct answer)
- VRIN (Variable Response Inconsistency)
- F scale
- Fb scale
Correct answer: TRIN (True Response Inconsistency)
TRIN measures acquiescence by flagging respondents who answer True to semantically opposite item pairs.
Question 2: When administering the MMPI-2 in a group setting, what is the recommended minimum physical spacing between respondents?
- Sufficient space so respondents cannot read each other's answer sheets (Correct answer)
- Exactly 3 feet between chairs
- Respondents must be in individual carrels
- No specific spacing is required
Correct answer: Sufficient space so respondents cannot read each other's answer sheets
Standard group administration requires enough physical distance to ensure privacy and prevent respondents from viewing neighbors' answer sheets.
Question 3: On the MMPI-2, raw scores are converted to T-scores using which type of transformation?
- Uniform T-score transformation (Correct answer)
- Linear T-score transformation
- Normalized T-score transformation
- Z-score transformation
Correct answer: Uniform T-score transformation
Most MMPI-2 clinical scales use Uniform T-scores (UT) to ensure percentile equivalence across scales, except scales that retain linear T-scores.
Question 4: A client completes only 300 of the 567 MMPI-2 items before stopping. What is the most appropriate clinical decision?
- The protocol is likely invalid; encourage the client to complete all items before scoring (Correct answer)
- Score the completed items using prorated norms
- Administer only the basic validity and clinical scales using the first 370 items
- Discard the protocol entirely
Correct answer: The protocol is likely invalid; encourage the client to complete all items before scoring
Incomplete protocols are generally considered invalid, and the clinician should encourage full completion; however, the first 370 items cover all basic validity and clinical scales.
Question 5: What is the approximate age range for which the MMPI-A was specifically developed?
- 14 to 18 years
- 12 to 17 years (Correct answer)
- 13 to 19 years
- 10 to 16 years
Correct answer: 12 to 17 years
The MMPI-A was normed and designed for adolescents aged 14 to 18, but the normative sample and clinical cutoffs apply specifically to ages 14–18.
Question 6: Which statement best describes the 'Cannot Say' (?) score on the MMPI-2?
- It is the count of items left unanswered or marked both True and False (Correct answer)
- It is a scale measuring defensiveness
- It reflects a T-score above 65 on item omissions
- It counts only items answered False
Correct answer: It is the count of items left unanswered or marked both True and False
The Cannot Say score is simply the raw count of omitted or double-marked items and is not a T-score scale.
Question 7: In MMPI-2 hand scoring, what must a scorer do after overlaying the scoring template on the answer sheet?
- Count only the marked responses that align with holes in the template (Correct answer)
- Subtract False responses from True responses
- Record the highest raw score across all windows
- Average the scores from two separate scoring passes
Correct answer: Count only the marked responses that align with holes in the template
Each template has cut-out holes aligned to scorable responses; the scorer counts marks visible through the holes to obtain the raw scale score.
MMPI Administration and Scoring Procedures 2
Which MMPI-2 validity scale specifically detects clients who are acquiescing by answering 'True' to almost everything?