MMPI Test History and Development 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What was the primary methodological approach used to select items for the original MMPI?
- Rational item construction based on clinical theory
- Empirical criterion keying comparing normals to psychiatric patients (Correct answer)
- Factor analysis of personality trait dimensions
- Content validity ratings by expert clinicians
Correct answer: Empirical criterion keying comparing normals to psychiatric patients
Hathaway and McKinley used empirical criterion keying, selecting items that statistically differentiated clinical groups from normal controls regardless of face validity.
Question 2: The MMPI-2 normative sample collected in the late 1980s consisted of approximately how many adults?
- 850 adults from three Midwestern states
- 1,138 men and 1,462 women from seven states (Correct answer)
- 2,600 subjects from a single metropolitan area
- 500 randomly selected psychiatric outpatients
Correct answer: 1,138 men and 1,462 women from seven states
The MMPI-2 restandardization project collected data from 2,600 adults (1,138 men and 1,462 women) across seven states to create a more representative normative sample.
Question 3: Which feature distinguished the MMPI-A from the MMPI-2 in terms of its normative base?
- It used adult norms scaled down for age
- It established separate norms for adolescents aged 14–18 (Correct answer)
- It relied on school-based convenience samples only
- It adopted T-score conversions from the original 1943 norms
Correct answer: It established separate norms for adolescents aged 14–18
The MMPI-A (1992) established distinct normative data based on adolescents aged 14–18, recognizing that adult norms were inappropriate for this population.
Question 4: What term describes the MMPI's original item-selection strategy, where items were retained solely because they separated groups, not because of their content meaning?
- Content-rational selection
- Empirical keying (Correct answer)
- Internal consistency filtering
- Construct-based derivation
Correct answer: Empirical keying
Empirical keying means items are selected purely on the basis of statistical group differentiation, without regard to their apparent or theoretical content meaning.
Question 5: Starke Hathaway's professional background before developing the MMPI was primarily in which field?
- Psychiatry and neurology
- Clinical neuropsychology
- Social work and counseling
- Physiological and clinical psychology (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Physiological and clinical psychology
Hathaway was a psychologist with training in physiological psychology and clinical assessment, which shaped his empirical, data-driven approach to personality measurement.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the 'cannot say' (?) score on the MMPI?
- A clinical scale measuring indecisiveness as a personality trait
- The count of items left unanswered or marked both true and false (Correct answer)
- A validity index derived from response inconsistency patterns
- A subscale identifying malingering through item omission
Correct answer: The count of items left unanswered or marked both true and false
The Cannot Say score is simply the raw count of items omitted or answered both True and False, and high scores can attenuate clinical scale elevations.
Question 7: The term 'profile code type' in MMPI interpretation refers to which of the following?
- The sequence of validity scale abbreviations in score order
- A notation recording the two or three highest elevated clinical scales (Correct answer)
- The alphanumeric code assigned by the test publisher for billing
- A classification of item response patterns by the test-taker's age
Correct answer: A notation recording the two or three highest elevated clinical scales
A profile code type identifies the one, two, or three most elevated clinical scales (e.g., 2-7 or 4-9), allowing clinicians to reference research on those configurations.
MMPI Test History and Development 2
What was the primary methodological approach used to select items for the original MMPI?