The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is the most extensively used and researched clinical assessment tool utilized by mental health professionals to help diagnose mental health disorders.
It was created by neuropsychiatrist J.C. McKinley and clinical psychologist Starke Hathaway, both professors at the University of Minnesota. It was developed as a tool to aid in the diagnosis of mental health issues by mental health practitioners.
This article will take a closer look at the MMPI test, what it’s used for, the types of the MMPI test, and common MMPI test questions.
Table of contents
What Is The MMPI Test?
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) exam investigates your personality’s psychopathology. Employers may use this test to confirm your mental capacity. This is particularly important in some professions where mental health problems may impede your ability to make decisions or perform your duties.
The MMPI exam differs from other psychometric tests or personality assessments since only a licensed psychologist can administer it and interpret the results.
This test, which has two previous iterations (the MMPI-2 and the MMPI-2-RF), is a lengthy true/false test that enables you to learn more about yourself.
The MMPI has also been used in other contexts, including professional evaluations and legal settings—most frequently to prove or disprove a client’s claims that they (or someone else) should not be held accountable for their actions. Doctors typically use psychological tests to test patients who are suspected of having mental health disorders.
Types Of The MMPI Test
There are three Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) tests:
1. MMPI-2
This type of MMPI test lasts between 60 and 90 minutes and consists of 567 true/false questions. It is most frequently utilized as a part of a recruiting screening procedure. It is applicable in a therapeutic context as well.
2. MMPI-2-RF
This type has 338 true/false questions and takes between 35 and 50 minutes to finish. MMPI-2-RF is an updated version of MMPI-2, first made available in 2008. As with MMPI-2, this test can be used in a clinical or recruitment setting.
3. MMPI-A
This type was created specifically for teens between the ages of 14 and 18 and is utilized in both clinical settings and custody-related legal conflicts. It’s doubtful that a recruitment screening procedure will need you to take this particular MMPI test. Through this test, psychiatrists can learn more about a child and develop a treatment strategy.
This test is done in concert with other techniques to make a precise and thorough diagnosis. This variation (MMPI-A) differs from the original test in that it administers only the first 350 questions of the test and concentrates primarily on the clinical scales and validity scales.
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20 Common MMPI Test Questions and Answers
Here’s an outline of sample MMPI test questions as stated on psychtest.net. These test questions usually require a true/false answer.
- I like baseball magazines.
- I have a good appetite.
- I wake up fresh and rested most mornings.
- I think I would enjoy the work of a librarian.
- I am easily awakened by the noise.
- My father is a good man (or if your father is dead) my father was a good man.
- I like to read newspaper articles on crime.
- My hands and feet are usually warm enough.
- My daily life is full of things that keep me interested.
- I am about as able to work as I ever was.
- There seems to be a lump in my throat much of the time.
- My sex life is satisfactory.
- People should try to understand their dreams and be guided by or take warning from them.
- I enjoy detective or mystery stories.
- I work under a great deal of tension.
- Once in a while, I think of things too bad to talk about.
- I am sure I get a raw deal from life.
- I am troubled by attacks of nausea and vomiting.
- When I take a new job, I like to find out to whom it is important to be nice to.
- I am very seldom bothered by constipation.
What Does The MMPI Test Involve?
The MMPI-2 comprises 567 test items and will take you between 60 and 90 minutes to finish. If you’re taking the MMPI2-RF, you should expect to spend between 35 and 50 minutes answering 338 questions.
The University of Minnesota copyrights the test. As such, your test must be administered and scored according to the stipulated guidelines.
To ensure that your test results are interpreted and explained to you rightly, it’s a good idea to work with a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist conversing with the testing.
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What Is The MMPI Used For?
Although many mental health experts do not rely solely on a single test to reach a diagnosis, MMPI tests aid in identifying mental health issues. They typically prefer to collect data from a variety of sources, including their personal contacts with the subject of the test.
Certified test givers should only give the MMPI, however, the test results are occasionally applied in other contexts.
Evaluations based on the MMPI are occasionally employed in child custody issues, drug rehabilitation centers, educational settings, and even employment screenings.
It’s significant to note that utilizing the MMPI as a component of a hiring procedure has generated some debate. Some advocates say the Americans with Disabilities Act’s rules are violated (ADA).
What Does The MMPI Test Measure?
The MMPI test is made to evaluate a candidate’s personality across various dimensions. Compared to a typical personality test, this assessment is far more clinical in nature and is based on 10 separate clinical scales.
These scales will each evaluate a candidate’s propensity for deviant behavior. Additionally, four validity scores assess how truthful and accurate the candidate’s responses were.
Some candidates will choose the response they believe the employer wants to hear when taking a personality test, but this test can reveal whether the applicant is being truthful.
What Are The MMPI Clinical Scales?
The MMPI-2, which is still the most extensively used version of the MMPI, has 10 clinical scales. Although several measures overlap, high-scale scores typically indicate a high likelihood of having a mental health issue, as stated by Psychcentral. Let’s take a look at each of them.
1. Hypochondriasis (Hs)
The hypochondriasis scale is designed to check bloated concern over one’s health that is unsupported by medical authorities. The concerns are usually unclear and persist despite not being validated.
2. Depression (D)
The depression scale shows aspects of clinical depression. The linked questions address low morale, general life discontent, and a lack of future optimism.
3. Hysteria (Hy)
The hysteria scale tracks these things in a person:
- poor physical health
- shyness
- cynicism
- headaches
- neuroticism
A high score on this scale posits a variety of mental health disorders, such as anxiety, paranoia, or dissociative disorders.
4. Psychopathic deviate (Pd)
This scale gauges how well you get along with your family and superiors. Additionally, it measures boredom and emotions of estrangement from oneself and society.
5. Masculinity/femininity (Mf)
According to Verywellmind, this scale was designed by the original authors to identify what they referred to as “homosexual tendencies,” for which it was largely ineffective. Today, it is used to evaluate how much or how little a person identifies and how rigidly an individual aligns with stereotypical male and female gender roles.
The questions deal with:
- activity interests
- aesthetic preferences
- personal sensitivities
6. Paranoia (Pa)
The paranoid scale reveals psychological traits like inflexible thinking, mistrust of other people, and grandiose thinking. It also includes items that might reflect delusions.
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7. Psychasthenia (Pt)
The symptoms listed on this scale indicate anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and this diagnostic term is no longer used today. The initial purpose of this scale was to assess excessive skepticism, compulsions, obsessions, and irrational phobias.
8. Schizophrenia (Sc)
This measure was first created to detect cases of schizophrenia. It reflects various factors, such as strange thought patterns and odd perceptions, social alienation, dysfunctional familial relationships, problems with focus and impulse control, a lack of intense interests, troubling self-worth and self-identity issues, and sexual difficulties.
In addition to probable substance misuse, the scale can reveal oddities, lack of interest in other people, emotional or social alienation, and potential peculiarities.
9. Hypomania (Ma)
This scale recognizes unhealthful overactivity as excitement, an elevated and erratic mood, and lengthy thought processes. Feelings of grandiosity and egotism are not left out.
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10. Social introversion (Si)
This scale was developed later than the other nine scales. It’s used to assess a person’s shyness and tendency to withdraw from social contacts and responsibilities.
These items point to an absence of social skills and a preference for being alone in small groups.
MMPI Validity Scales
The correctness of each person’s responses is evaluated using validity scales of various kinds, which are used on all MMPI examinations. People who take these tests may not be honest in their responses because they can be used in custody hearings and employment screenings.
Validity scales indicate how accurate the test is and to what degree answers may have been distorted. The MMPI-2 uses the following scales.
1. The L Scale
Also known as the lie scale, this “uncommon virtues” validity scale was designed to detect attempts by individuals to present themselves in a favorable light.
People who usually score high on this scale deliberately try to present themselves positively, rejecting shortcomings or negative characteristics.
2. The F Scale
This scale is used to check attempts at overreporting. People who score marvelously high on this scale are trying to appear worse than they really are. They may be in extreme psychological distress or just erratically answering questions without paying attention to the questions.
This scale asks questions created to determine if test-takers contradict themselves in their responses.
3. The K Scale
Sometimes known as the “defensiveness scale,” this scale is a more practical and less obvious way of uncovering attempts to present oneself in the best possible way by underreporting.
People may underreport because they’re anxious about being judged or they may be undervaluing their problems or denying that they have any problems at all.
4. The? Scale
Also known as the “cannot say” scale, this validity scale assesses the number of unanswered items. The MMPI manual recommends that any test with 30 or more unanswered questions be declared invalid.
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5. TRIN Scale
The True Response Inconsistency (TRIN) scale was designed to check people who use fixed responding, a method of taking the test without regard to the question, such as marking ten questions “true,” and the next ten as “false,” and so on.
Fixed responding could be used due to not being able to read or comprehend the test material well or being defiant about having to take the test. This section consists of 20 paired questions that are the opposite of each other.12
6. VRIN Scale
Another technique created to identify erratic, inconsistent replies is the Variable Response Inconsistency (VRIN) scale. This can be purposeful, like predetermined responses, or it can result from being unable to read or comprehend the information.
7. The Fb Scale
This scale uses questions that most typical test takers would not have supported to demonstrate differences in how a person reacted during the first and second halves of the test.
High scores on this scale can often indicate that the respondent lost interest and started answering questions haphazardly. Additionally, it could be brought on by over-or underreporting, predictable responses, growing weary, or extreme stress.
8. The Fp Scale
This scale helps detect intentional overreporting in people with a mental health disorder or who were using random or fixed responses.
9. The FBS Scale
For those who are taking the test because they are asserting a disability or personal damage, the “symptom validity” scale is employed. This scale can be used to determine a test’s credibility.
10. The S Scale
In 1995, a measure called “superlative self-presentation” was created to detect any additional underreporting. Additionally, it features subscales that evaluate the test-acceptance takers of moral defects, serenity, contentment with life, patience/denial of impatience, and belief in the goodness of people.
FAQs On MMPI Test
You can take the test for free on a number of websites. However, it must be administered and assessed by a licensed psychologist in order for the results to be regarded as genuine.
For the results to be valid the MMPI test needs to be administered and evaluated by a fully-qualified psychologist.
The MMPI-2 comprises of 567 test items and will take you between 60 and 90 minutes to finish.
Mental health professionals often use the MMPI to assess and diagnose mental illness, but it has also been utilized in other fields outside of clinical psychology.
There are no right or wrong answers like on an academic test, hence there is no such thing as a “good score.” Instead, the MMPI determines a candidate’s personality, aptitudes, and mental health levels.
Conclusion
As organizations look for more effective techniques to identify the best candidates for open positions, personality tests are expected to be utilized more frequently. When utilized by a competent psychologist, the MMPI offers additional insight into high-risk occupations that call for mental stability and emotional intelligence.
The MMPI can be difficult to prepare for. Still, it can be made simpler by practicing with sample MMPI test questions to get a feel for the format, developing emotional intelligence, and being honest when responding to the questions.
References
- healthline.com – What to Know About the MMPI Test
- psychometric-success.com – The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
- psychcentral.com – All About the MMPI Personality Test
- verywellmind.com – The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
- wikijob.co.uk – The MMPI Test Explained
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