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ED344174 AUTHOR TITLE REPORTNO PUBDATE NOTE AVAILABLEFROM PUBTYPE EDRSPRICE DESCRIPTORS IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT DOCUIEIf'l'RESUBE co024167 Duckworth,JaneC.;Anderson,WayneP. UPIInterpretationlfanualforCounselorsand Clinicians.ThiroEdition. ISSN-o-9l5202-57-3 86 404p. AcceleratedDevelopmentInc.,Publishers,3400 KilgoreAve.,Kuncie.IN47304-4896($24.95). StatisticalData(110)-- Guides- Han-ClassroomUse (055) MY01'PlusPostage.PCNotAvailablefromEDRS. HigherEducation;*PersonalityMeasures,*Test Content;*TestInterpretation;TestManualslTest Use M1nnesotaMult1phasicPersona11tyInventory ThiSmanualpresentsinformationontheMinnesota MultiphasicPersonalityInventory(MMPI),priDarilydirectedto counselorsandclinicianswhoworkWithuniverSitycounselingcenter clients,privatepracticeclients,andmentalhealthclinicclients whoarenotusuallypsychoticorneuroticbutarehavingdifficulties inoneortwoareas.Thisformatisusedinpresentingthechapters ontheValidity,Clinical,anrtResearchScales:anintroductionand generalinformationabouttnescaleispresented,thenhighscore interpretationsareqiven,usuallydividedintomOderateelevations (60through70T-scorepoints)andmarkedelevations(70T-score pointsorabove).Theseinterpretationsarefollowed'bythelowscore interpretations(usually45T-scorepointsorbelow).Combinationsof scalesarethennotedandtheinterpretationsforthemaregiven.All ClinicalandValidityscalesinthecombinationsareataof 70orabove,unlessotherwisenotedandarelistedinorderfromthe highesttothelowestpeaks.Researchscalecombinationsusescales at6T-scoreof60orabove.ChaptersarealsoinCludedon interpretingtheHMPIandtheofraceandcultureonKMPI profiles.SeparatediSCussionsbyeachofthetwoauthorsprOVide sampleIMPIinterpretationsWithsampleAppendicesinclude theNewScaleItemCompositionGroupBookletForm,theNewScaleItem CompositionRFormlandtheValidity,Clinical,andResearchScales IntercorrelationsforTwoNormalPopulations.CABL) ReprOductionssuppliedbyEDRSarethebestthatcanbemade fromtheoriginaldocument.

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....... ",j"\/v \ -. J ' ., \ \I \0 k .I '\ '"1\ ---\tL V "I \ FEMALE- - - - -MALEf; fi ?LFK.2345678Y0 11(I, s I "41)01)01.31 Jw 120 J 541261.35] Figure2.RandomResponseSet. 11 0 \1~ f', -_'\n! 'I \ ' ,, ~~ ' \V/ \~ \,,I ,I, , 100 '/0 , '{ \ I" \ ':s j , 110 I 1 / V 1 ~ \ FEMALE- - - - -MALE J~ Jt.'\v S r o ~~ o ~ ~__~ ~ ~ ~__~ ~ ~ ~___ ~ ~ ~ ~ ?AREsLbellDy~HePrSt~ G91 25IlLI,?135150\8I 61301,1129 ] 21 fFigure3.AlI-XResponseSet. fi S l\ I . ' \ ~ A If , 110 100 J "-'J:, 1"1',\ J/ " l (.,1 \ i \It"I 80 60? \ ~ , , , AI , f , ., \y/ V ~\, \, Ju ~ _1 FEMLE--_ .... -lJI ~ P\\LE \ I: \, II '\ 7U ?L.,I:12.3"S67890ABIeLbc.Prn;B5PrSttll ::.. [010IWill1,,1.., 1,) l>hffis I ""IMIlS1310I138101251sIOh11.9171S12.H'SI tFigure4.All-TrueResponseSet. 9.Maloney":1aI.(1980)havesuggestedputtingthebookletform answer sheet in amanila folder with holes punched in the folder and numberedfortheTR items.Bothsides canbeexaminedtod e t e r ~ mineif pairsof itemsare answeredconsistently. LOW SCORES (T= 4Sor Below) 1.Thesescoresmayindicatcnormalpersonswhoarerelativelyfree fromstress. 2.Adjectiveswhichhavebeensuggestedtodescribelowscorersare sincere.cairn,dependable.honest,simple.andconventional (Carson,1969;Hovey& Lewis.1967). 3.lowscoreslendtoindicatehonestlyreportedrecordsincollege samples. 4.Peopleinthisrangemayhaveahighdegreeof socialconformity (Caldwell.1985). 5.Thet' scale scorctendstoreachthisrangeaftertherapy. COMBINATIONS TheValidityscales.?,L.t,andK.inthesecombinations are ata T-score of 60 or above,whereas,the Clinical scales,Ithrough 0, arc ata T -score of 70 or above and arethe highestClinicalscalesonthe profile . . >2SRawScorePoints 1.If thet' scale elevationisnottheres'Jltof randommarkingor low reading level,the clientwho has this elevation usually appear:;to be confused.Theremayalsobeimpairedjudgmentanddelusionsof referenceandhallucinations(GyntheretaI.,1973). F 71 F-?See thefF combination,p.37. F-?-L-K Seethe?.. LFK combination,p.36. F -L SeealsotheLF combination.p.43; the L-FI\ profiles.pp.69-71. I,This combination suggests theresponse setpattern where the person selettsthemostdeviantanswers(Blazer,J9Mb).SeeFigure3,the AIt-XResponseSetProfile,p.53. F -L-K SeealsotheLFK combination,p. 43 theL-FK profiles,pp.69-71. 1.\\ henthel. andK aremoderatelyelevatedandthet' ismarkedly elevated, arandom marking of the testmaybe indicated (Dahlstrom et al..1972). See Figure 2, the RandomResponse SetProfile, p. 52. F -K SeetheL-F-Kprofiles,pp.6971 I.This combination involves a contradiction inthatthepersonreports self-enhancementandself-depreciationatthesametime.This con-tradiclion seems to bethe result oflack of insight. confusion. or dif-ficultiesingraspingthenature of thetest(DahlstrometaI.,1972). F-4-8Seethe 4-8 .... combination,p.)55. F-8-6 Seethe 8-6 combination.point8,p.210. 1.Apersonwiththe.'-8combinationmayhavetendenciestoward withdrawal(Marks,196 J). 2.B l a d ~inrural.isolatedareahadthisprofilepattern(Gynther, Fowler,&Erdberg,1971). F -8-6-4-9 Seethe8-6-4-9F combination,p.211. F -8-9-6 Seethe8-9 ....'combination.p.214 . '9 I.Thi!lcomhinationmayindicatemanicbehavior(Blaler,19Mh). 72 SUMMARYOFF SCALE INTERPRETATIONS Tscore SOorbelow 50 thru60 60 thru70 70 thru80 80 lhru90 90 thruI(X) Interpretations Scoresinthisrangemayindicateanormalperson relativelyfrccfromstress. Themajority of people scorewithinthisrange. Thepersonmayhavecom..ernsaboutone areaof life. suchasreligionor health.butisnottoo worriedabout it. Thepersonmaybeinvolvedinanatypicalpoliticalor sodal organizationor inanunusualreligiousgroup. Thispersonmaybeupsetandaskingforhelp. Apersonwithascoreinthisrangemayhavehaddif-ficultyinreadingorinlCrprelatingthetest. Thepersonmaythinksomewhatdifferentlythanthe general population. This isespecially true if the 8 scale is above70. Collegestudlmtswithidentityproblemsmayscorein thisrange. Atthislevel,beforeinterpretingtheMMPI. checkthat thepersonwasnotoulof contactwithreality,didnot have a lowreadinglevel,or didnothavereasonto mal-ing.er. If theelevationisnotbecauseof any of thesereasons, thentheperson'sproblems aresuchastogivehimor heralonglistofbizarre.peculiar.andatypical experiences. Thismaybe apersonwhois anxious (checkthe7 scale) andaskingforhelp. Thismaybearandommarkingof thelest.Itmayor maynOIbedelibcralc. If this isnot arandom marking of the test, then the per-son'sproblemsmayhaveproducedalonglistof bizarre,peculiar fand atypical experiences. 100 or aboveAscore in this range may indicate confusion in marking items. The confusionusuallyisnotdeliberate atthislevel. Thisscoremayindicatethattheperson'sdeliberately tryingtolookbad. Itmayreflecttheseverityofpsychopathologyof the person. With lowLand K (T= 4S and below), an F score in this rangemayindicatean ResponseSet.See Figure 4. WherearelisledinIwO(i.e.,50orbelowand30through60)anda score isobfainl"(ilhal IiSledforfWOcategories, whicheverinterpretation seems 10be mQslapproprialeforIheindividual . .-K SCALE (CorrectionScale) Thisscalemeasuresdefensivenessandguardedness.Therefore.it evaluatessomeofthesamebehaviorastheLscalebutmuchmore sUbtly. Inorderto evaluatetheK scaleproperly,thespecificpopulation. coUegeor mental health center,mustbe noted.Inaddition,theK scale interpretationmustbemodifiedforspecial groupsof people withinthe population.Inthisintroductionarediscussedtheusualinterpretations forthe twomajorpopulations withwhomthisbook isconcerned and, whenappropriate,modificationsarenoted. In a college population, aT-score on this scale between 55 and 70 js typical.PeoplescoringinthisrangeareindicatingthattheirJivesare satisfactory, that they are basically competent, and that they can manage their lives.Such scores are usual for people coming for counseling about anacademicmajororforstudentstakingtheMMPIaspartof some experiment.WhenT=70orabovefortheKscale,thesepeopleare indicating not only that they are competent people and can manage their ownlives,butalsothattheyarebeingabitcautiousaboutrevealing themselves.Such scores are usually attained when apersonis defensive, and/or when the testadministrator does not fullyexplain the reasonfor thetest,theusetowhichitwillbeput,ortheconfidentialityof the results. WhenK isbelow4SandtheFscaleiselevatedabove60T -score points.the college student may be experiencing some stress.TheK scale scoreusuallyelevatestothe5Sthrough65rangewhenthestressis alleviated. WhenK isbelow 45and the F scale isbelow 60 score points, the co)-lege student maybefeelingthat life hasbeen rough.that he/she has had feweradvantagesthanmostpeople. Inamentalhealth setting,if the clientishaving difficulties,he/she usuallyscoresbelow45ontheK scale.Theseverityof theproblemis usually indicated by howlow the K score is (the lower the score, the more severetheproblem).Below aT-score of 35, the prognosis for successful 59 .., ~ ) , .. therapy ispoor.Ascore inthjsrangedoesnotindicate that the person will or should be hospitalized for his/her problem, but more that the per-son is unable to improve at this time. Scores between 35 and 4Stypically reflect situational difficulties, such as marriage, family. or job problems. Elevations over55are unusual inthe mentalheaJthpopulation and forpeoplewhodonothave somecollege educationand/or are unsuc-cessfulinbusiness.Typicallysuchscoresareattainedbypersonswho blame others for their situation, e.g., the other mate in marriage counsel-ing.Apersoninthisrange alsomaybe bringing someone else intobe counseled, such as a parent who brings a child in with school difficulties. As theK goesabove 60,defensivenessisusuallypresent.Whenthe per-son has a T score over 70, the prognosis for the person recognizing prob-lemshe/shemayhaveispoor.Marks,Seeman,andHaller's(1974) UK + II profile should be studied forfurther information concerning this pattern.Seepoint7underthemarkedelevations. Collegecounselingandmentalhealthcenterspersonnelfrequently evaluatepersonsforother agencies.Intheseinstances,theaboverules for interpretation of the K scale do not always hold since the person may have anulteriormotivefortakingthetest,ratherthan just taking itto tell how he/she is at the moment.Persons applying for jobs and students beingscreenedforspecific programs (doctoral admissions,for example) mayhaveaT4scoreof approximately70.Converselypersons applying forsuchthingasdisabilitypensions(wherethepersonwishestolook bad) lendtohelveunusuallylowK scoresandelevatedFscores. Personsunderscrutinybythe courtsmayhaveeitherhighor low K scores, depending upon their situations. If the person is seeking parole or wishestowincustodyof his/herchild,ahighKscoremaybeob-tained.If thepersonisseekingto avoidasentencebyappearingtobe mentallyill,alowKscoremayresult.Therefore.inthesespecialin-stancestheexaminermustknowthepurposeof theexaminationand whatthepersonexpectstogainfromit. WhentheL scale (T:=;60 or above),lhe J scale (T=70 or above), and/or the R scale (T= 60 or above) are elevated with the K scale (T= 6S or above), the diagnosis of defensiveness is reinfon.:ed.The person not only doesnotwanttolookbadto others(L andK elevations),he/she doesnotwanttothinkbadlyof others(3scaleelevation),andhe/she alsodoesnotwanttolookor talkaboutcertainareasof life(R scale elevation). K60 76 ,,. GENERALINFORMATION 1.The K scale of 30 items was chosen as a correction factor to sharpen thediscriminatorypowerofcertainClinicalscales,specifically scales1.4,7.8, and9. 2.TheK scalewasdevelopedafterthe otherValidityscaleswhenit was noted that there was no correction for defensiveness on the test. 3.TheKscalewasdevelopedtomeasurehowmuchtheexaminee wished to "took good" on the test. The higher the K score the more the indicationwasthat the person desiredtolookgood andthus a portion of theK score wasaddedto fiveClinical scales (1, 4. 7, 8. and9)to correctforthis attitude.The fiveClinical scaleswerethe ontyonesseeminglyaffectedbythisUlookinggood"attitude; therefore,the isappliedontyto them. 4.Inspite of the K correction additionsto Clinicalscales,highscores onK areusuallyassociatedwithlowerprofile elevations,whereas lowscoresonkarcusuallyaccompaniedbyhigher profile eleva-tions(Dahlstrom et aJ..1972). 5.This is a subtle scale.The items are not as obvious as those on the I. scale.TheKscaleisthusintendedtodelectdefensivenessin psychologicalJy sophisticatedpeople. 6.Thisscalemaymeasuretheintactnessoftheindividual's psychologicaldefenses. 7.Caldwell(1977)hashypothesizedthattheK scalemaymeasurea fearof emotionalintensityandanavoidance of intimacywhenit goesover65Tpointsfornon-collegepopulations and above 70TpointsforHealsohashypothesized(J 985)thatelevationsonthisscaleare associatedwithamarkedconstriction of affectiveresponsiveness. 8.Some authors (Adams,J971;Dahlstrom et al.,19,2) have suggested thatK scores inthe 60 turough 70 range do not always mean iog up more sl!btle atypical psychological characteristics, but may at leastinpart,reflectatrueassertionofpsychologicalhealth, 61K 77 I especiallyforfemales,forcollegestudents,andforpeoplefrom higher socioeconomic levels.When the K scores go above a Tof 70, however, the authors feel the scores do seem to reflect defensiveness for these groups. 9.Generallyspeaking,therapyprognosistendstobepoorwithex-tremelyhigh(T=70 or above)Kscale scores (Carson,1969). 10.Thehighervaluesof Khave notbeenusedfor discarding aprofile asinvalidashasbeenthecasewithhighervaluesontheother Validityscales. 11.Test-retestreliabilitiesarefairtogood(between.60and.80) (Dahlstrom& Welsh,1960). 12.Hibbseta1.(1979)havefoundthatolderwomenscorehigheron thisscale. 13.Inone study of anormal population,the women'smeanscore was SSon thisscale(ColliganetaI.,1984). 14.A fairlyhighnegative correlation occurs between the K and F scales andbetweenthe 0andK scales. IS.Underideal self-instructions ("take thistesttryingto look as good aspc ssible"),theK scaletendstobecome elevatedto between60 and 65scorepoints. 16.Posttherapyprofileslendto showanincreaseinK (Cottle.1953). AVERAGE SCORES (T= 45through 60) 1.AnaveragescoreontheK scaleisanindicationof abalancebe-tweenself-disclosure andself-protection. 2.Adultswithelementaryschooleducationandlowersocioeconomic status generally will score in this range (Dahlstrom et a!..1972). 75 3.Occasionally,peoplewithhighersocioeconomicstatus(including college students) will score in the range between 4Sand SO.In such cases these people may be undergoing some stress andthus do not feelasgood about their lives asothers of their socioeconomic level usually do (Dahlstrom etal.,1972). HIGHSCORES Moderate Elevations (T=60 through70) 1.Scoresof moderateelevationaretypicalforpeopJeintheupper-middle class andlower-upper class,and forcollege students. 2.Thesepeopletendtohavegoodmentalhealth.Theyareindepen-dentandareeasilycapable of dealingwiththeir day-to-dayprob-lems.The generallyfavorable viewtheyshowof themselves on the Kscalriscorrectandthereforeappropriate(Dahlstrometat., 1972). Contrary to the conclusions of the response set studies, these peopJe seemingly are not merely describing themselves favorably to achieve sociaJacceptance.Theirlivesactuallyareundercontrolandwe-II managed. 3.If someone from the lower socioeconomic class hasthis elevation, it ismore likelytoreflectsome defensiveness or a settowardlooking sociallydesirable. 4.Jobapplicantsmayappearatthiselevationbecausetheywishto makeagoodimpression. Marked Elevations (T= 70 or Above) See also FigureI, the All-FalseResponseSetProfile.andFigure5,theAlI-OResponseSet Profiles . ].Theusualreasonforthis elevationisthatthe personisimpelledto prescntapsychologicallyhealthyappearancetoothers. Limitsdoexisttothisdefensivenesshoweversothatitdoesnot usuallyincludetheobviousitemsof theLscale.Thus,extremely 63K ,'. highelevations on the K scalearenotusually accompaniedbyhigh scores on the L scale(Dahlstrometai.,1972). 2.The persontendsto restricthis/her emotions and appears calm and even-tempered. 3.Elevationsonthisscalemayreflecttheuseof repressionandra-tionalizationasdefensemechanisms(Tromboli &Kilgore,1983). 4.Because women tend to judge themselves more harshly than do men on atest such astheMMPI. ahighK score by awoman is likely to reflectpsychologicaleffectivenessratherthandefensiveness (Dahlstrom et aI.,1972). 5.A highK score is associated with the low probability of delinquency, especiallywithfemales(Carson,1969). 6.A veryhighK score with accompanying Clinical scale elevations may indicateanunwillingnessorinabilitytolookatproblemareas.In fact,thepersonmaynotperceive self ashavingproblems atall. 7.Marks,Seeman.andHaller(1974)foundaK+pattern (only theK scaleelevatedabove70)intheiruniversityhospitalandclinic population.People withthis pattern tended to be shy. inhibited, and defensive.Theyalsotendedtobeuninvolvedinactivities.The Marks. Seeman, and Haller book should be consulted for further in-formationconcerning thispattern. 8.A highK score withlowLand F scores may indicate an .. All-O" (all normal)ResponseSet.SeeFigure5,theAlI-OProfile. LOWSCQRES LowRange (T=35through 45) I.Peoplemayha\'cscoresin(hisrangeforone of tworeasons. a.Theymayhaveproblemswhichtheyarequitewillingto admit. This interpretation islikelyto betrue if the F scale is M elevated above 60 T ~ 5 c o r epoints.If they do have problems, theyareoftensarcasticandcausticconcerningthemselves and the world(Carson,1972). 1)These people tend not to feelgood about themselves andoftenfeelthattheylackthe skillsto dealwith their problems (Hovey &.Lewis,1967).If this is so, theEsscaleusuallyisbelow45T -score points. b.Theybelieve life has been rough for them and that they have nothadsome of the advantagesthatothers havehad.This interpretationislikelytobetrueif theFscaleisbelow 60 scorepoints. I)Thisbelief maybeanaccurateperceptionbecause peoplescoringinthisrangefrequentlyhavehada deprivedfamilybackground andlor limitedincome (Dahlstrometal..1972). MarkedlyLowRange(T= 35or Below) 1.Apersonwithascoreinthisrangeistoowillingtosayun complimenrarythingsaboutselfandtendstoexaggeratehis/her faults(Carson,1972). 2.The person has answered items on the test so as to create the impres-sionthathe/sheisundergoingaseriousemotionalproblem (Dahlstrom etaI.,1972). 3.ScoresbelowaTof35mayarisefromanyofthefollowing (DahlstrometaI.,1972): a.Specialpleadingfothelporattention. b.Ageneralstateof panicinwhichthepersonbelievesthat his/herworldor the controloverhis/herdestinyisrapidly disintegrating. c.Deliberatemalingering. 4.WhentheK score is inthisrange,the F scale andtheClinicalscales usuallyarehigh(Dahlstrom e(aI.,1972). 51 I 110 JOO '}O 110 '(0-..l. 6u !/J J,O l(l 11'\f:::1 I, , 1 /11 I \/\ )

.. " ,. \ f !\/\ \I ... ,I ..I I '"v-I , V \ '.. .... ... - - ---MALE 82 8AREsLbCiiDrIbHePrSt [0115I$LI 8I, I 712012bI 2In12,I 83 FigureS.AlI-OResponseSet. I", ,I COMBINATIONS The Validityscales,1,L,F, andK,inthesecombinations are ata T -score of 6(1or above,whereastheClinical scales,Ithrough 0, are at T -score of 70 or above and are the highestClinical scaleson the profile. K-?See the 1-K combination, p.37. K?-LF Seethe? .. L-F-K combination,p.36. K-L SeetheL .. K combination,p.43. the L-FK profiles,pp. 6971. K-L-F Seethe L-FK combination,p.43 the LFK profiles,pp. 69-71. K-L-3 Seethe L-K-J combination,p.44. K-F Seethe Fk combination,p.56. K-I-3Seethe1-3-k combination.p.89. K-3-F-8 J.Persons withthis combination tend to be conventional persons who are joiners and overly concerned aboutbeing accepted and likedby others(Carson,1969). 2.Theyhavedifficultyexpressingandreceivinganger,andtheyalso havedifficultymakingdecisionsunpopularwiththeirgroup (Carson,1969). 3.Theytendtobeunrealisticallyoptimisticevenwhenthefactsin-dicateotherwise(Carson.1969). K-9 J.Thiscombinationindicatesapersonwhoishypomanicbutorga niledandefficient(Caldwell,J974). 67 SUMMARYOFK SCALEINTERPRETATIONS" T-score 35or below 35thru45 45thru60 60thru70 70 or above Interpretations The client may have deep emotional difficulties and feel quite bad about them.He or she also may be deliberate-lymalingering or pleadingforhelp. People with this range of scores feelthey are not as well off asmostpeople.This appraisalmay beaccurate. People inthis range may be having some situational dif-ficulties.If theyare,theFscale winbe above 60. The majorityof people scoreinthisrange. Apersonintherapywiththisscoretendstoblame othersforhis/her problemsor feelsthatitistheother personwhoneeds counseling. The clientmay be defensive (as the T -score increases the clientismore defensive).and does not wishto lookat difficulties.The likelihood of the clientrecognizingthe needforhim/her to change or forhis/her life to change ispoor. RelationtoResearchScales Es scale-If theK scaleisbelow45T-scorepoints aod theEs scale isalsobelow45T -scorepoints.the person maybefeelingbadaboutself aswellas his/herlife situation. WhcrcT-scorcsarelistedintwocategories(i.e.,35orbelowand35through45)anda score isobtainedthati ~listedfor two categories,usewhicheverinterpretation seemsto be mostappropriateforIheindividual. K 68 L.. F-KSCALE Inaddition to looking atthe Validity scales separately, the patterns produced by three of them (L, F, and K) also should be reviewed.The? scale is omitted from these patterns. because it is rarely high enough to be scored. Six validity patterns are presented inthis section. The last two are lesscommonthanthe others,butarestillseenoccasionally.usually in thementalhealthcentersetting. 1.Thesolidlinepattern(Figure6)istheoneusuallyobtainedwith clients who admit emotional difficuldes and request help. The Land K aretypicallybelowaTof SOand theF isabove aTof 60.The higher the F scale (dashed line),the more the person is saying he/she feelsbad.WhentheFscales getsabove 80 in thjs profile.possibly theclientisexaggeratinghis/hersymptoms.perhapstobehelped sooner.It isimpilnant in this profile thatL andK are belowSOand thatFisabove 60. 80 A , \ ,, 70 i----+-.....;'r---i SO 401..--------' LPK Figure6.L-F -KProfile (elevatedF scale). 80-------...., 701-----------1 80 .....--...--... SO

LFK Figure7.L-F.. KProfiJe (elevatedK scale). 2.Figure7isatypicalValidityscaleprofileforajobapplicant,for those in counseling forvocational and/or education'llhelp,andfor those coming10counselingtohelpsomeone else.These interpreta-tionsholdtrue evenwhentheK scaleisabove70 andtheLand F scalesarelowerthanindicated. TheValidityscaleprofileinFigure7isaccompaniedby Clinical scales below 70 except perhaps for scales 5 and 9. For apro-filewiththisValidityscalepattern.seeFigure 5,AII-OResponse Set Profile,p.66. 69 ""t' v) 3.People with the vattern shown in Figure 8 are presenting themselves inthe best possible They feelvery good about themselves and tend to deny common human foibles.They also tend to be simplistic andtoseetheir worldinextremesof good and bad.Thisprofile is frequentfornaive job applicants,public officeholders,and strict. moralistic dergy.Important considerations for the Figure 8 profile are that the L is above SO,theK scale is above 60, and the F scale is thelowestpointinthe profile. 4.Peoplewiththeprofile showninFigure9(solidline)tendtohave longstandingproblemsto whichtheyhave become adjusted to the extentthat feelgoodaboutthemselves(elevatedK)while still admittingtosomebadfeelings,usuallyabouttheirsituations (elevatedFl.AstheF scaleberomeselevated(dashedline).these peopJestmfeelrather secureaboutthemselves.buttheyaremore worriedabouttheirproblems.Imponantconsiderationsinthe f'jgure8profileartthattheFscaleisabove60 andtheK scaleis aboveSOandtheL scaleis50 or below. 80r------..., 70r 80Io-...1or----J"---o-f

1-______' L IIK Figure8.LfKProfile (elevafedLand Kscales). 80 70 eo 10 40 / L , , , \ \ 'A \ (/ PK Figure 9.L,FK Profile (elevatedFandK scales). 5.Figure10 isanunusual?fofile,but stillfoundfrequentl)' enough to be included inLlllSsection.The solid line isusually associated witha naive,unsophisticatedpersonwhoisfeelingbad.The personwith thispatternissayingmanyof thesamethings as someone withthe 6 profile,buthe/she hasinaddition alackof sophistication. Evenwhenthe scaleisgreallyelevated(dashedline),theperson still shows the same behavior as long as the I ..scalenear 60 and the Kscaleisbelow50. 70 80 70 eo 10 40 ~ . \ ," \ .c.:: \ ,,\ '\\ LPJ( Figure10.L-F-KProfile (elevatedLand .' scales). 8 0 r - - - - - ~ . o ~ - - - - ..... 10....-.------1 40 "---------' LPJ( Figure11.LF-KProfile (all scales elevated). 6.ThetotalprofileaccompanyingthisValidityscalepattern(Figure 11)shouldbe comparedwiththeall-falseresponsesetprofile.The possibilityisthatthe person withthis validity patternhasanswered thetestfromaresponsesetof markingfalsetoquestions,rather thanfromhis/herownfeelings.TheAll-FalseResponse SetProfile isillustratedinFigure1,p. 45. 71I,.K 55 -NOTES-L-fK ." " ,. FMINUSK INDEX (Also calledtheDissimulationIndex.byGough(1956 The F minus kindex was developed to detectfakingbad and faking good profiles. The index number is obtained by subtracting the raw score of Kfromtherawscoreof F.Iftheresultantnumberispositiveand above11.the profile iscalled a"fake bad" profile. The person is trying tolookworsethanhe/she reallyis.If theresultantnumber isnegative. the profile iscalleda"fake good" profile.The personistrying to look better thanhe/she reallyis. We do not usethis index verymuch inour workwith university and mental health clients. The "fake good" part of the index is usually gross-lyinaccurateforthesepopulations.andthe "fake bad"pancanhave another verydissimilar interpretation.In additionto the person scoring positively on this index because he/she is faking bad, a second interpreta-tion can bemade that the personreallyisfeelingbad, and theare accuratelyreflectingthisfact. Wetend to suspectthatthe fakingbadinterpretationisthe- correct one whenthe clientisseeking some disabilitycompensation,iswanting to beinsane byacourtandthus escape some punishment,or if he/she isstanding to gainby seemingto be extremelymentally ill. GENERALINFORMATION 1.This index is foundby subtracting the rawon the K scale from therowscoreontheF scale.Positivescoresare inthesymptom-exaggerationdirection("fakebad"),andminus scoresareinthe defensivedirection(Hfakegood").However,theindexismuch more successful indetecting the former test-taking attitude than the latter. 2.Theprobk,nwithdetecting"fake good"profilesisthatcollege students and people with good mental healthtend 10get elevatedK scoresandlow..scoreswhich,whileaccuratelyreflectingtheir 73 "-K psychological health, are incorrectly read as "faking good" by this index. 3.Becauseof theseproblemsforthe 'fakegood"directionof the index,therecommendationisthat thisindexbeusedonlyforde-tecting"fakebad"profiles,andthenonlywhenthepersonis suspected of having something to gain by looking bad. If the person isnot trying to look bad. then an F - K raw score difference of 9 or moreusualJyisan indication of actuallyfeelingbad. 4.Inone studyof anormalpopulation,thefakebadindexworked best if F - K".7 or F> 15. The fake good index worked best if F -K 2..11,butthisindexwasnotasaccurate asthefakebadindex (GrowetaI.,1980). S.Inthesamestudy,forclinicalpopulations,fakingbadwasbest discovered with an F- K index>7 or F)!15. The fake good index workedbestwhenF- Kalsofoundan 8-2-4-(7) patternina VAhospitalmalepopulation.Scale7iselevated,butitisnot necessarily the next highest scale after 8, 2, and 4. They found that a person with this profile was immature and had confused and hostile thinking.Hetendedtobeirritable,tense,andrestless.The Oilberstadt andDuker book should beconsulted forfurther infor-mationconcerningthispattern. 8-2-4-7 Seethe8-2-4 combination,point 2,above. 8-2-7 See the 2-17 combination,p.J13. 8-3 Seealsothe 3-8combination,p.130. 1.Thispatterncombinesamoderateamountof distress.plussome somaticcomplaints,especiallyheadachesandinsomnia(Lachar. 1974). 2.Marks etat.(1974) found the 8-3/3-8 pattern in a university and out-patient clinic.The pattern usuaUy was for a woman who washaving difficultiesthinkingandconcentrating.Sheusuallywasseenby Olhers as apathetic. immature, and dependent. The Marks. Seeman, andHallerbookshouldbe consultedforfurtherinformationcon-cerningthisprofile. 8-4 Seealso(he4-8 combination.p.154. J.Thesepeopletendtobehighschooldropouts(Hathawayetal.. J969). 8-4-2Seethe 82-4 combination.pointI,p.208. 8-5 J.The inhibitionsuggt.'Stedby the 5 scaleandthe fragmentationsug-gestedbythe8 scalemayleadto an isolated.destructive actby an individualwhoistypicallyovercontrolled(Trimboli&Kilgore. 1983). 8-6Seealsothe6-8 combination,pp.184-185. 2098 2 ...].ti ""."" . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - . ~ - - ~._-I.Apersonwiththispatternisusuallyinapanicandhasdiffused thinking.The person tendsto breakdown whensupports are gone (Caldwell.1972). 2.Often these people do not marry,butif they do marry.theytendto showpoor judgment inmate selection(Caldwell,1972). 8 3.Women often have a little girl quality about them and lookyounger thantheyreallyare (Caldwell.1972). 4.Inapsychiatrichospital.thismaybetheprofileof anassaultive person (Caldwell.1972). S.Marks et a!. (1974) found this 8-6/6-8 pattern in auniversity hospital and outpatient clinic.Theyfound this pattern primarilyforfemales whowerehavingunconventional.delusionalthoughts.These women also were suspicious.The Marks.Seeman,andHaUerbook should be consultedforfurtherinformation concerning thisprofile. 6.GilberstadtandDuker(1965)foundthe8-6-(7-2)patternin aVA hosoitalmalepopulation.Scales7 and2 areelevatedbutarenot necessarily thenexthighestscalesafter scalesafter8 and 6.A man withthispatterntendedtohave thinking disturbances, such ascon-fusion and poor concentration.He tended to be shy and withdrawn. The Gilberstadt and Duker book should be consulted for furtherin-formationconcerning thisprofile. 7.MegargeeandBohn (1979)founda group of incarcerated criminals withthe6-8/8-6 profile(GroupCharlie).(Olhers in the groupshad an 84 profile.) Thesementendedtobeantisocial.bitter.hostile.aggressive,and sensitivetoperceivedinsults.Theyhadextensivecriminalrecords andrankedhighinsubstanceabuse.However,becausetheywere sociallyisolatedtheydidnothaveanumberof disciplinarywrite-ups. 8.Andrrsonetal.(1979)havefoundthis pattern asoneof threepro-filesinagroupof sexoffenders.(Theothertwoprofileswere4--9 and2-4.)Thesepeopleoftenhadsexoffensesthatblatantlyde-gradedthevictim.Theyshowedlongtermsociallymaladaptive behavior.Theytendedto actoutinself-defeatingwaysandshowed chronic bad judgmem. The F scale was also elevated for this profile. 210 2:27 .- - - - - - - - - ~ 9.In one study (Kurlychek & Jordan, 1980) of criminals judged respon-sible or notresponsiblefortheir crimes due to mental illness. those judged not responsible had the 1-6 code as the modal code type (30010 of the cases).However,this study hadasmallnumber of subjects. 8-6-4-'.. F J.In a Mexican prison, thirty womenwerefound with this profile pat-tern.Allwere convicted of homicide,nine of them were self-made widows(Palau,1972). 8-6-7F J.Anderson and Holcomb (1983)foundtwo of their fiveMMPI code types of murdererstohave this configuration. a.Murdererswiththemostelevated8-6-7-Fcodetypecame fromthemostdisturbedbackground.They were confused, immature,andperhapsmeniallydeficient.Theytendedto havekilledstrangers. b.Murdererswiththelower8-6-7-Fprofileweremorelikely (88%)tobe consideredtohaveno mental disorder despite theirprofileelevation.However.47"10hadhadprevious psychiatric evaluationsor treatment.Theyweremostlikely on drugsor drinking atthetimeof theircrimes.Theyalso tendedtokillstrangers.TheyfitMegargeeandBohn's ( 1979)GroupCharlie. 8-6-'.. 2 Seethe8-6combination,point6,p.2:0. 8-7Seethe7-8combination,p.195. I.Panic plus withdrawalmaybepresentfor a person withthe 87 pat-tern(Caldwell,1972). 2.The 8-7patternmayindicate long-standing feelingsof inadequacy. inferiority,andinsecurity(Halbower.J 9 ~ 5 ) .Veryfrequentlythe person feelshimself/herself tobe the inferiormember of the family (CaJdweIl.1972). 2118 ................ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ ~ ~ . - . - .-3.These people lendto be passive-dependcnt.If theyarethe Dy scale willbe above 50 T-score points. 4.Aclear cut psychosiswithgreatturmoilislikely (Lachar,1974). S.Prognosisfortherapyispoor,becausethesepeopledo notform stable. mature. or warm relationships easily. They usually do not in-tegratewhattheylearnorprofitfromtheirownexperiences (Halbower,1955). 6.This profile indicates more serious problems than a7-8 profile does. There may havebeenmental hospitalizationand/or therapy. 7.WithahighF scale and an8-7pattern,the person mayfeelunreal (Caldwell,1972). 8.With a high0 scale and an8-7 pattern, socialwithdrawal may exist (Caldwell,1972). 9.With alow 0 scale and an87 pattern, inappropriate behavior may exist(Caldwell,1972). to.Inonestudy(Kurlychek&Jordan,J98O)ofcriminalsjudged responsibleornon-responsiblefortheircrimesduetomentalill ness,those judgedresponsiblefortheircrimes hadthe8-7code as themodal codetype(20010of the cases).Howeverthisstudyhad asmallnumber of subjects. 8.. 7-2 1.Marksetal.(1974)foundthis2 7-B/8 72patterninauniversity hospitalandoutpatient clinic.Apersonwiththispattern typically was described as tense. anxious, and depressed with confused think-ingandmuchself-doubt.TheMarks,Seeman.andHallerbook shouldbeconsultedforfurtherinformationconcerningthis pallern. 8-7-6 8 J.Thispatternwasfoundinagroup of male alcoholics.Alsofound were'he213,2-4-7,and49 combinations(Conley,1981). 212 8-9 Seealso the 9-1 combination,p.m. I.Thisisusuallyaseriouspattern,indicatingseverepsychological disturbances (Carson,1969). 2.The person may beconfused,disoriented,overly verbal,and under tremendous pressure (Caldwell,1972). 3.People with this pattern are hyperactive and emotionally labile. They may have a high need to achieve but perform poorly. They tend to be uncomfortable inheterosexual relationships and poor sexual adjust-mentis common(Graham,J971). 4.Thesepeople's problems may center around lack of achievementor impendingfailure(Caldwell,1972). S.Thispattern may indicate anidentity crisis inwhichthe person does notknowwhoor whathe/she is(Caldwell,J972). a.Onsetof thecrisisisusuallysudden. b.The crisis does not usually lastlong when the person receives counseling. 6.Otherscalesusuallyare elevatedwiththispattern. 7.Therapy isdifficultwiththese people,because they have ahard time settling down to anything long enough to deal with it(Carson,1969). 8.Psychiatricinpatientswith8-9/9-8patternaremorelikelytohave hostile-paranoid excitementthan patients in general. They also have frequentratingsforflightof ideas,loudvoice.labilemood.and unrealistic hostility. They may be quite erratic and have considerable confusion and perplexity.Onset of this behavior frequently is rapid, however theremayhave been behaviorproblems in school.For the 89 profileincreasedspeechandactivitytypicallyarefound.With the 9-1 profile, the patient may notknowwhyhe/she ishospitalized (Altman etal.,1973). 9.Marks etal. (1974) found this 8.919-8 pattern in auniversity hospital andoutpatientclinic.TheyfoundthepatternusualJyforfemales who were characterizedbydelusional thinking,rumination, anxiety, 2138 ,2JU and agitation. The Marks, Seeman, andHaller book should be con-I\ultedforfurtherinformation concerning this profile. 10.Gilberstadt and Duker (1965) found this 89 pattern in aVA hospital male population. A person witb this profile tended to be hyperactive andtohaveconfusedthinking.Healsotendedtobetenseand suspicious. The Gilberstadt and Duker book should be consulted for furtherinformationconcerning this profile. 11.V Ahospitalmaleswiththisprofilearehyperactiveandover-ideational.Theyarelikelytohavepersecutoryhallucinationsand delusionsandreactto themaggressively (Hovey &Lewis,1967). 12.AdolescentsintreatmentwiththeJ.9/9.8pattern(Marksetal., 1974) tended to act out and resent authorityfigures.Those with the 89 pattern wer'! tearful and cried openly. Those with the 941 pattern weremoredemanding.Bothgroupshadrapidtalkingandmove-ment. The Marks, Seeman. and Haller book should be consulted for furtherinformationconcerningthispattern. 13.MegargecandBohn(1979)foundarelativelysmallgroup(Group Jupiter) of incarcerated criminals withthe 8-9/98 profile comb!i1a-lion.Thesementendedtodobetterthanonewouldexpec:from theirbackgroundswhichwerepoor.Alargerpercentage of Blacks were in this group (60070)than in the other groups and perhaps ;;l)me ofthescaleelevationscamefromthatfact.Theyhadahighin cidenceof drugabusebutlowviolenceandgenerallydidwell~ n prison.However,whentheydid getinto trouble.theyhad ahigher percentageof assaultsthantheothergroups.Theyhadoneof the lowestrecidivismrates. 14.Collegemalecounseteeswiththispatternareunhappy.confused. and worrying.Females were restless. depressed, confused,lacking in skills withthe opposite sex,and inconflictwithparents and siblings (Drake &Oetting,1959). 8-9-6-F 1.Thispatternwasfoundinagroupofrural.isolated.Blackmales (Gynther,Fowler,&Erdberg,1971). 8"() See alsothe 0-8combination.p.232. 8 211 1.Markedwithdrawalandpeopleavoidanceismostlikelywiththis pattern(Lachar,1974). 2.VAhospital males with this combination ~ eworried, confused, and indecisive (Hovey" Lewis,1967). 3.College counseleeswith thispatterntendto be nervous and nonver-balaswellasintrovertedandshy.Theytendtobepoorcom-murucatorsincounselingsessions(Drake & Oetting,1959), 215 ., 2 ') J ... 8 SUMMARYOF 8 SCALEINTERPRETATIONS T-score 4Sor below 45thru60 60 thru70 70thru80 80 thru90 90or above Interpretations Thesepeopletendtoseethemselvesasrealistsand usualJyare notinterestedincontemplation,theory, or philosophy.Theymaybe unimaginative and like ture androutine intheir lives. Themajorityof people :;coreinthisrange. Personswithscoresinthisrangemay thinksomewhat differently than other people. These may be avant-garde or highlycreativeindividuals. Atthislevel,difficultiesjnlogicalthinkingmay develop.To followthe person's trainof thought over a periodof timemaybedifficult. Peoplestartseemingveryconfused.Communication usuallybecomesquitedifficult.Thepersonalsomay have trouble perceivingpeople and situations accurately andthusmayhavepoor judgment. People at this levelusuaUy are suffering from some kind of identitycrisis,nolknowingwhoorwhattheyare. This elevationisusuallytheresultof situational stress. WhereTSl:ore1>areintwo categoriL'S(i.e.,4Sorbelowand45throughflO)anda ..core isobtllinedthaIislistedfortwo usewhicheverinlerpretation !>eemsto be mostappropriatefortheindividual. " 21(, 2:la SCALE 9 (Ma,HypomaniaStale) Scale 9 measures psychic energy; that is, the higher the elevation, the more energetic aperson is, and the more he/she feels compelled to act us-ing that energy.Another element which seems to occur with an elevation on thisscaleisan increaseindiversityandmultiplicity of thoughts. As withsome of the other scales,elevations mustbe interpretedin light of the populationinvolved. Incollegepopulations,particularlywithgraduate schoolstudents. elevations of 60 thru 70 are typical and indicate mental activity. probably with accompanyingphysicalenergy.As the scale increases toover70,a concomitantincreaseinpsychicenergyoftenpresentsdifficulties.The personmaybegin to"spin his wheels,"become overinvolvedandover committed,andgetfewerthings completed. A good phrase for aperson with a score over 80is"running around like achickenwithits head cut off." Scale9isoneofthemostcommonelevationsontheMMPI, especially with college populations. This scale and scale 5 for men are the mostfrequentpeaksoncollegeprofiles. KunceandAnderson(1976,1984)positzestastheunderlying dimensionforscale9.In thecaseswhereapersoniswelladjusted,the appropriate descriptorsforthe individualwithamoderately higheleva-tion wouldbe:enthusiastic, eager, talkative. and versatile.He/she has a drivetob1!involvedandto getothersinvolvedinactivities.Hovey and Lewis(J 967) findthat while these people may be expansive and hyperac-tive,theyalsomaybequitefriendlyand -"appy. Themembersof alargenumberof occupationshavemoderately high scores on scale 9. For example, social scientists, physicians, writers, and radio announcers have characteristics consistentwiththose outlined above.Whenplacedunder stress,themaladaptive behavior of these in-dividualswillbesuperficiality,unreliability,andnoncompletionof tasks. 217 2 ~ J l .' , , If" , 9 low scale 9 scores withacollege population are unusual, especially with graduate students.When thisoccurs.several interpretationsmight be made. J.If thesepeople are succeeding in collegewithlittle difficulty andscale2isnotelevated.theymaybedirectingalltheir available energy into academic pursuits.In other words, they aresucceedingincollege evenwithlowenergy because they have directedwhat energytheyhave into academic activities. 2.If thesepeople are succeedingin collegewithlittle difficulty andscale2 isnear 60,they couldhavebeentiredwhenthey took the inventory, or they could be at the bottom of amood swing(suchas apost-examletdown).Inthisinstance,these people'susualscale scoresare a9 scale near 60 and a2 scale near 45. 3.If thesepeoplearenotsucceedingin college.theyprobably havelimitedenergyavailable whichtheyare either channel-ingintoasinglenon-academicpursuitsuchasajob,emo-tionalconcerns,orsodalactivities,ortheyaredissipating their limitedenergyinto too manyareas. The typicallevelonscale 9 fornon-college educatedpeopleisnear SO,whichisadequateforusualoccupationalandrecreationalpursuits. As the scale increases to 60,aneedfor activity ismanifested.If this need for activity isnotfulfilled(Particularly onthe job),an agitationmayset inwithamilddissatisfaction about life ingeneral.Where opportunities for the releaseof this energyoccur,no difficultyusuallyis noted.Asthe elevationincreasesover70.usuallynotenoughopportunityexiststo releaseallof theenergy.Asaresult,fantasymaybecome apartof the person'slife,whiletheactivityalsoincreases(usuallynotdirectedtoo wisely).Ifpeoplewithscale9scoresover70alsohavescale1scores below45,theymayreportbecomingdepressedif theycannotbehighly active. A low scale 9 score (45or below) in a non-college population usually evidences itself inlethargy. The persontends to feel chronically t ~ r e d .has difficultygettingout of bed,andmayhavepoor job performance. For bothcollege and non-college populations.an elevation on the 9 scale tends to energize the behavior or problems seeninelevations on the 911H 2.1;; other Clinical scales.For example,jf scale 4 alsois elevated with scale 9. thefightingoutof scale4usuallyisaccentuatedandtendsto become ovenbehaviorratherthan covertthinkingaboutfightingout. GENERALINFORMATION 1.The 49itemsonthisscalemeasure self-centeredness,grandiosity, and irritability(Carson,1969). 2.Scale 9 also seems to measure sensation seeking,highactivity level, self-confidence,competitiveness,impdtience,personalin-vulnerability,andacontemptuousnessoftimidityandweakness (Lachar,1974). 3.Harris andLingoes (1955) have subjectively dividedthe 9 scale into four subscales. These are amorality, psycho-motor acceleration, im-perturbability,andegoinflation. 4.This isapsychic energyscale.Whenotherscalesare elevated.they tell the direction in which the energy will be expended. For example, ahigh4-9combinationmaymeanthepersonisovertlyfighting someone or something,whereas ahigh2' combinationmaymean the personisanagitateddepressive. 5.UptoT-scoreof 70,thepersonisprobablyactive,energetic,and exuberant. 6.AboveaTof 70,thepersonmaybeoveractive,havemaladaptive hyperactivity,beirritable.and/orhaveinsufficientrestraintson his/herbehavior. 7.Highscoresonscale9probablydonotindicateclassictextbook hypomaniacs,becauseclassichypomaniacswillnotsitstilllong enoughtolakeMMPI(Carson,1972). 8.TrimboliandKilgore(1983)intheirresearchconsiderthisa characterscale. 9.Caldwell (1985) has hypothesized that this scale whenit is one of the highest,measures a fearof future frustration of wants.PeopJe with 2192 . ~fj 9 thisscaleelevatedcannotrelaxbecausetheybelievetheirfuture dependsupontheir activitylevel. 10.Hovanitz and Gynther (1980) have foundthat the 9 scale subtle and obvious items (Weiner.1948) are equally useful inpredicting manic behavior.howeverthesubtle itemspredict certain criteriathatare nolpredictedbythe obvious scales. Snyder and Graham (1984)have alsofoundthisto betrue. 11.Scoresonscale9arelowerforolderpeopleinanonpsychiatric population,perhapsasanindicationoflowerenergylevels (ColliganelaI.,1984). 12.Schenkenberg etal. (1984) also have found thai younger psychiatric patients scorehigheron this scale than olderpsychiatricpatients. 13.Hibbs elal.(J979)havefoundthat menhave significantly higher 9 scores thanwomen(aswellashigher1 scalescores).Theysuggest thaithismaybeduetoasex-rolesanctioningofacting-out behavior. 14.Inastudy of anormalpopulation, the average men's score onthis scalewas55(Colliganelal..1984). 15.Education ispositivelycorrelatedwithscale9. 16.For aprisonpopulation. Blacks tendto score higher than whites on thisscale(aswellas scalesF and8)(Holland.1979). 17.Test-retestreliabilitiesareratherlow(Dahlstrom&Welsh,J960). HIGH SCORES Moderate Elevations (T=60through70) 1.A personwitha moderate elevation tends to be gregarious (Carson, 1969). no 237 2.Kunce and Anderson (1976)have hypothesized that whenthis scale isinthe moderate range(andno other Clinical scales are above 70 T -score points exceptperhapsthe5 scalefor men).itmay measure zestfulnessand enthusiasm. 3.If the person with a 9 scale at this level is on aboring job (such as an assemblyline),he/she mayfantasizealot. 4.Scale 9 tends to be one of the two mostfrequenthighpoints for col-legestudents.The otherisscale5forcollegemales. 5.Amoderate elevation onthe 9scale (T=60 through70)usuallyis desirableforcollegestudents,particularlygraduatestudents.in-dicating energyenoughto carryprojects through. 6.Under ideallf instruction (Htake this test trying to look as good as possible"),scale 9 tendsto be the highpoint on the MMPI clinical profileandtobe atamoderate elevation(Gloye&Zimmerman, J967;Hiner e1aI.,1969;Lanyon,1967). MarkedElevations (T==70or Above) Thebehaviorsmentionedforthiselevationaremostclearlyseen whenthe scaleisone of the highestof the Clinical scalesintheprofile. 1.Asscale9 goesup,people tendtobecomeincreasingly involvedin activitiesbutlessefficientinwhattheyaredoing.Theymaystart "spinning theirwheels." 2.Three features characterize a high scorer on this scale-over-activity, emotionalexcitement,and flightof ideas. 3.The mood of the person with a marked elevation on this scale may be good-humoredeuphoria.butonoccasionhe/shecanbecomeir-ritablewithoutbursts of temper(DahlstrometaI.,1972). 4.Elevationsonthisscalemayreflecttheuseofthedefense mechanisms of denial and acting-out.The latter defense mechanism isespeciallyseenwhenthe4scaleisalsoelevated(Trimboli& Kilgore,1983). 2.21 9 ", .. S.Thefollowinggroups of people tendtohavemarked elevations on scale9: a.Juvenile delinquents(inconjunctionwithahigh4 scale). b.Highlyaggressiveboys(notnecessarilylabeledasdelin-quent). c.Collegeunderachievers. 6.Ahigh9andlow0(45orbelow)combinationiscalledthe 'socializer"pattern,whereasahigh0andlow9combinationis calledthe"nonsocializer" patlern (Good &Brantner,1974). 7.Gilberstadt and Duker (1965)foundthis pattern, aspike 9, ina VA hospitalmalepopulation.The menwithonlyscale9 elevatedwere hyperactiveandtalkativepeoplewhowereinvolvedinmanypro-jects.Theymayhavehadpreviousattacksofdepression.The GilbersladtandDukerbook shouldbe consultedfor furtherinfor-mation concerning thisprofile. 8.VA hospitalmaleswiththisscale elevatedwereexpansive,hyperac-tive.grandiose.andtalkative(Hovey &Lewis.1967). 9.When scale 9 isthe peak score incollege counselees.other traitsthe person has are expressed in amore energetic fashion than when the 9 scaleislow(Drake,1956). 10.Inacollegepopulation,somefemaleswiththe spike 9profilewere considerednormalbuto t h ~ rwomenwiththeprofilehadapast historyof criminalactivityandbarbituateabuse.Theywerealso anti-social.Maleswerealsoanti-social,impulsive.irritable,and tendedtouscdrugs(Kelley&King.1979a). LOWSCORES (T=45or Below) 1.People with low scale 9 score!; tend to have low energy a IJa lowac-tivitylevel.They canbe difficulttomotivale and may be apathetic. 2.This level of 9 may indicate a severe mood disturbance that includes apathy and feelings of emptiness. This can be true even if the 2 scale is not elevated(Tromboli &Kilgore,1983). 3.Some individualshavelearnedto channeltheir limitedenergy into their most important projects and therefore get them done without unduly taxingthemselves. 4.Whenthis scale isnear a T of 45,itmay indicate thatthe person is tiredor temporarily ill (for example,hasacold). S.Atthe lowestlevels of this scale,people maybedepressed, evenif the scale2isnotelevated(Carson.1969). 6.Male college counseleeswithscale 9at alowlevelare perceivedas dependentandwantingreassurance.Womencounseleesareper ceived asshy especiallyif the 0 scale is elevatedabove 55(Drake & Ocuing,J959). COMBINATIONS All scalesinthese combinations are at a T-score of 70 or above and are listedinorder fromthehighestto thelowest peaks. The scale inthe combinationsmustbethe highestClinicalscalesonthe profile. 1-3-9 Seep.91. 24-8-9 Seep.lOS. 4-5-7 -9Seep.I SO. 4-5-9 Seep.150. 4--6-9Seep.J 53. 4-8-9 Seep.156. 4-8-9-2Seethe 4-89 combination,point4,p.156. 4-9-6 Seep.159. 2232 1{J r' f' l' I-'. , 9 5-8-9 See p.172. 6-7-8-9 Seep.184. 6-8-9 Seep.185. 8 ~ - 4 - 9 - FSee p.211. 8-9-6-F Seep. 214. 9-F SeetheF-9 combination,p.56. 9)(. SeetheK9 combination,p. 67. 9 .. 1 Seealsothe1-9 combination,p.93. 1.Medical patients withthe 9-1 combination who were seen bya physi-cianwereallinacutedistress.TheyseldomwerehY"XJmaniac;but theyweretense,restless,andambitious.Theywerefrustratedby theirfailureto reachtheirhighlevelsof aspiration.Physicalcom-plaintsformencenteredaroundthegastrointestinaltractand headaches(Guthrie,1949). 9.. 2 Seealsothe29 combination,p.114. 1.The 9-2 combinationtendsto typifypeopletor whomactivityisno longer effective inwarding off their depression. These people may be seenas agitateddepressives(Dahlstrometa1..) 972). 2.Activitymayalternatewithfatigue(Caldwell.1972). 3.Thesepeople may setitupsotheywillfailwhentheyfeeltheycan-notsucceed(Caldwell,1972). ' ..3 Seethe 3-9 combination,p.130. 94 Seealsothe4--9combination,pp.]57-159. 1.Peoplewiththiscombinationmayuseactingoutasadefense mechanism(Tromboli & Kilgore,1983). 224 211 2.Patients seenbyaphysician with the 9-4 pattern showed the general effectsof tensionandfatigue.Theseeffectsfonowedperiodsof great overactivity (Guthrie,1949). a.Thesepatientsshowedpoorfamilyadjustmentandhad problems centering aroundtheirsexual adjustments. b.Theydidnotstayintreatmentlong;therefore,theycould onlybetreatedsuperficially. 3.The 9-4 combination is the most common one found in entering col-legefreshmen(9percent of the men's profiles and 8percentof the women's) (Fowler &.Coyle,J969). 95 Seethe5-9 combination,p.173. 9-6 Seethe6-9combination,p.186. 1.Marks et al.(1974) foundthe 9-6/6-9 pattern in auniversityhospital andoutpatientclinic.Theprofile primarilywasfoundforfemales whowereagitated,tense,excitable,suspicious,andhostile.The Marks, Seeman. and Haller ~ o o kshould be consulted for further in-formationconcerningthisprl"fiJe. 97 Seethe7-9 combination,p.197. 9-8 Seealsothe8.9 combination,p.213. I.The 9-8pattern ismore likelyfoundinmentalhospitalpopulations than in non-hospitalized populations. It indicates more serious prob-lemsthanthe 9-4 combination(Dahlstrom etaI.,1972). The F scale elevation tends to vary with the severity of these people's condition.ThehighertheFscalewiththe9-8patternthemore seriousthe conditiontends tobe. 2.Marks et al.(J 974) foundthe 8-9/9-8 pattern in auniversity hospitaJ andoutpatientclinic.Thepatternoccurredmostlywithwomen characterizedbydelusionalthinking,ruminations,anxiety,and agitation. The Marks, Seeman, and HaUer book should be consulted forfurtherinformation concerningthisprofile. 9 . . 9-0 J Incollegecounselee5,whenthe 9-0 pattern occurredthebehavior shownbythe0scaleseemedto dominateinthatthe peoplewere socially shy and withdrawn even though agitated (Drake & Oetting, 1959). SUMMARYOF 9SCALE INTERPRETATIONS T-score 45or below 45thru60 60 thTU70 70 orabove Interpretations Personsmayhave scores inthis range of scale 9 for two reasons.One,theymayhave been tiredwhentheytook thetest;ortwo.theymayhavealimitedamountof energy. Thisrange of scoresistypicalandindicates an average amountof energy.College students tendto score in the upperrangeof thesescoresfrom55to 60. Personswiththesescorestendtobequiteactiveand havemanyprojectswhichtheyusuallycomplete.This rangeistypicalforgraduate students. Peopleinthisrangeseemto haveanexcessof energy. Theymaytakeonmoreprojectsthantheycancom-plete. They may fantasize a lotif they cannot keep busy. Withalow2scale.peoplemayreponthatif theycan-nOIkeepbusy.Iheytend(0becomedepressed. afeintwo (i.e ..45orbel,,"and45Ihrough60)anda j, ohtuinl.'dthaIj, Ii!olt>dfur 1"0 categuric!>,uw \\Interpretation10rn: appropriult'fllrIhl.'indi\idual. 12b SCALE 0 (Sior Sie,SocialIntroversion Scale) Scale 0 measures aperson'spreferenceforbeing alone (high0)or beingwithothers (low0).The difrlCUltyinworking withthisscale isin avoiding the value judgments implied in the scale's title (soda! introver-sion).We have found it best not to use the scale name when interpreting the MMPIto clientsbecause the tendency in our culture is to thinkthat extroversionisgood,whereasintroversionisbad.Thisisnottrue,of course.Each type of social adjustment has its advantages and disadvan-tages,dependinguponthe contextinwhichitisoperating. Personswithscale0elevatedbetween60and70prefertobeby themselvesor with afewselectfriends.Thisfactusually doesnot mean that they cannot interactwithothers; it only means ihatthis isnot their preference.One advantage of thispreference in college isthat these peo-ple are able to isolate themselves from others so that assignments. study-ing, and reading canbedone.One disadvantage of 0 scoresbetween 60 and 70forcollege students isthatpeoplewiththesescoresmaynotbe socially adept.Because theyprefer to be bythemselves,they tendnot to be atease withmanypeople and maynotknow currentmusic or slang. One p r ~ e d u r eI have foundhelpful inworking withpeople having scale o inthis range istohavethemjoin one activity of their choice,sothey cankeepsocialties.whilenotoverwhelmingthemwithpeople.The0 scalemayelevatetobetween60and 70 asapersonbecomesolder. Personswithscale0scoresabove70tendtobepeoplewhoare withdrawingfromothers,notbecauseofaninherentlyintroverted nature.butbecause they either havebeenhurt insome way or the prob-lemsindicated by other Clinical scale elevations are overwhelming them and consequently they are isolating themselves.Inthese situations, the 0 scaleaccentuatestheproblems seeninother Clinical elevations because the personwithdrawsfrompeople whomightbehelpful.People with0 scalescoresabove70usuallydonotentercounselingbecauseof their aversiontoheingwithothers.If theydobecome clients,thereasonis because theirproblems are overwhelmingthem. Arealdifficultywithanelevatedscale0inconjunctionwithan elevated scale 8 isthat these two scales tendto accentuate eachother.As peoplebecomeconfused(high8),theyalsotendtoisolatethemselves. 217 o 2J 1 , , . .' And, as theybecome more isolated, they tend to become more confused becausetheylack contactwithothers. People with low scale 0 scores (45or below) prefer to be with people asopposed to being alone.They tendto besotially adept and involved with people. An advantage of the low 0 score for these people is that they remainintouchwiththeworldwhenthereispsychologicaldifficulty. Thislevelof the0scaleparticularlyishelpfulwhenpeoplehavean elevated scale 8 and are confused.The primary disadvantage for person with thislevelof the 0 scale isthat theymay have difficulty being alone. Thus,incollege,theyusuallywouldrather go to apanythan study by themselves.Thesepeoplealsotendtohavedifficultyinoccupations wherethey are notinvolvedwithpeople. Kunce and Anderson (1976,1984) posit autonomy as the underlying dimensionofthisscale.Wellfunctioningindividualswithmoderate elevationswillbe independentandresourceful.Whenstressedthismay turn into awithdrawalfromsocialinteractions. Wefindmost college students (non-clients) scoring inthelowrange onthe 0 scale,withthe averageforthisgroupbeingnear 45. An inleresling use of the 0 scale is to note its location for each of the persons inmarital counseling. Good and Brantner (1974) have suggested thatthebehaviorshownon the 0scalecanbeanimponamfactorin marital conflict if thecouple are 20 or more T-scores apart onthe scale. When the 0 scale scores are that much apan, one of the couple is more of a socializerthantheother;andthismaybeonecauseof theirmarital difficulty. o GENERAL INFORMATION I.Scale0consistsof 70itemsconcerninguneasinessinsocialsitua-tions,insecurities,worries.andlackofsocialparticipation (Dahlstrometal..J972). 2.Thehigherthescale,themorethepersonprefersbeingby himself/herself; the lowerthe scale themore the person seeks social contacts. 228 215 3.Thenormalrangeforthisscaleis30through70T -scorepoints (Carson,1972);however,collegestudents areinthe 40 through45 range. 4.Tromboli and Kilgore (1983) in their research see this as acharacter scale. S.Asahighpoint,scale0 ismostfrequentlypairedwithscalesZ,7. and8. 6.In one study done on a normal population, the women's mean score was56forthisscale (Colliganet aL.1984). 7.Thisscaleisnegativelycorrelatedtoeducation(ColliganetaI., 1984). 8.Reliability studies show stability over lime 10i' this scale (Dahlstrom et aI.,1972). 9.Inastudycomparingmaleswho had committedincestwithmales whowerenon-incestuouschildsexualmolesters,the profileswere relatively similar except that the 0 scale was muchhigher for the in-cestuousmales(67vs.53) (Panton,1979). 10.Husband and wifeprofile pairsinwhichat least1ST-score points difference on thisscaleexistsare foundmore oftenfor couplesin marriage counselingthanforcouplesfromthe generalpopulation (Arnold,1970;Ollendicket a1..1983). HIGHSCORES ModerateElevations (T=60through70) 1.A moderate elevationon this scale indicates that anindividualfeels more comfortable alone or in a small group whose members are well known(Cottle.1953). 2.Kunce and Anderson (1976)have hypothesiZedthat whenthis scale isinthemoderaterange(andtherearenootherClinicalscales above 70 T -score po:nts exceptthe 5 scaJe formen), itmay measure personalautonomy,self-direction.andperhaps self-actualization. 229 o 2J t; 3.Itindicateslessparticipation in activities(Gough,19498). 4.College people with this elevation tend to be more inrrovened than thetypicalcollegestudent,becausethemedianscoreforcollege students isnear aTof 45. MarkedElevations(T= 70or Above) Thebehaviorsmentionedforthiselevationaremostclearlyseen whenthe scale isone of the highestof the Clinical scales onthe profiJe. o 1.Peoplewithmarkedelevationstendtobewithdrawnandanxious aroundpeople(Carson,1969).Theyarealsoshyandsociallyin-secure.Aperson with a0 scale atthis levelmay have an attachment deficit(cannotconnectwithothers). 2.Elevationsonthisscalemayreflecttheuseofavoidanceand withdrawal whichmay be ;',I.:companied by suspiciousness (Tromboli &Kilgore,1983). 3.Kelleyand King (1979a)havefoundaspike 0 profile (the only scale above70)inacollegecounselingcenterpopulation.Theseclients typically came inforreligiousproblems andlor maritaldifficulties. Theywerenotwithdrawnbutdiddateinfrequently.Theywere typicallydiagnosedasadjustmentreaction(mostoftenmarital adjustment). 4.Other scaleswhencombinedwithscale 0 often give anindication of thetypeandseriousnessof thesocialadjustmentproblems. An elevationonthis scale tendstosuppressthe acting outbehavior typicallyseenwithhigh4and9scaleelevations;however,itmay enhance theruminatingbehavior seenwiththehigh2 and7 scales, andespeciallymayenhancetheruminatingbehaviorseenwiththe highB scale. 5.Ahigh0 and low9scale combinationiscalledthepattern,whilethehigh9andlow0combinationiscalledthe "socializer"pattern (Good& Brantner,1974). 230 7 LOW SCORES (T=4Sor Below) I.Low scores indicate socially extroverted persons who are poised and confidentinsocialandgroupsituations(Carkhuffetat.,1965; Drasgow &Barnette.1957). 2.Caldwell (1977) has hypothesized that alow score on this scale may show aliking to be infrontof people or a certain amount of exhibi-tionism. 3.Carson (1985)believespeople withverylow0scoresmayhavean excessivedependencyuponbeing attractive to others. 4.Scores of 45 or below seem to be indicative of an adequate social ad-justmentevenwhenotherClinicalscalesarehigh,particularly scales2.7, and8, whichusually are associatedwithseriousprob-lems(Graham. Schroeder,&Lilly,1971). 5.Withwomen,10wscale0scoresseemtobe associatedwithgood socialadjustmentincludingparentalrelationships.Withmen howeverthesocialadjustmentdoesnotnecessarilymeanfreedom fromparentalconflicts(Drake &Oetting,J 959). 6.This elevationseemstoberelated to socialaggressivenessinsome men(Drake &Oetting,1959). 7.Thesescorestendtobetypicalof college students. Gulas(1974)foundthe0 scaletobethemostfrequent(39070)low pointforagroupof collegemales,N= 60. 8.Low scale 0 scores typify col1ege students who underachieve because of theirtendencytobeinvolvedinmanysocialactivities(Conle, 1953), 9.Below aTof 30,persons may showacertainflightinessand super-ficialityintheirrelationships.Theseindividualshavewell-developedsocialtechniquesandmany socialcontacts,buttheydo nottendto establishrelationshipsof realintimacy. 231o .1 2 ~ S r-COMBINATIONS AUscales in these combinations are at aT-score of 70 or above and arelistedinorder fromthehighestto the lowestpeaks.These scalesin the combinations mustbe the highestClinicalscales on theprofile. %-7-1-0 Seep.Ill. 0-2Seealsothe l-O combination,p.115. J.Incollegecounselees.menwitha0.2 combinationtypically appear unhappyandtense,worryagreatdeal,andlackeffectivesocial skills.particularlywithmembersoftheoppositesex(Drake& Oetting.1959). 2.CollegewomenalsoshowthesamepresentL'lgpictureascollege men,withthe additionof depression.lackof self-confidence.and (when scale 1 is the lowpoint) feelingsof physical inferiority (Drake &Oetting.1959). 0-4 Seethe 4-0 combination,p.159. 0-5Seethe 5.() combination, p.173. 0-6 Seethe 6-0 combination.p.186. 0-7Seethe 7-0 combination.p.197. 0-1Seealsothe 8-0 combination,p.214. o 1.Counseleeswithahigh()..8combinationtendtobe shyandhave problemscommunicatingwiththecounselor(Drake&Oetting, 1959). 2.Womencounseleeswithahigh0-8combinationmayvacillatebe-tweenconflictswithmotherandconflictswithfather(Drake& Oetting,1959). 3.Womencounseleestendtobenonrelatersandhaveseriousprob-lems,especially when scale 5 isthe low point of the patlern (Drake & Oetting,1959). 232 0-9 Seethe 9..Qcombination,p.226. SUMMARYOF 0SCALE INTERPRETATIONS T-scoreInterpretations 45or belowApersonwithascoreinthisrangepreferstobewith others and not by himself/herself. The typical range for college studentsforthis scaleisbetween40 and 45. 45thru60Themajorityof people score in thisrange. 60 thru70Atthislevel,the person prefersto be alone or withone or twogoodfriends. 70 or aboveAscoreinthisrangemayindicatethattheperson's problems are causingactive withdrawalfromothers. WhereTS4."Oresateintwo(i.e.45orbelowand45through60)anda !K:oreisobtained thaIislisledfortwo usc interpretalion 10be mostappropriatefor theindividual. 2JJo -NOTES-o 234 CHAPTERVI RESEARCHSCALES The MMPI originally was developed to include only the Validity and Clinicalscales.However.overaperiodoftime,morethanSSOe x ~ perimentaJ scales have been constructed by researchers. Of the more than 550 experimental scales,11were selectedbyNationalComputer System tobescoredaspartof theirregularprofileprintouts.Whileusingthis computer scoring system, webecame acquainted withtheI J scales which wehave usedinthis sectionfor the firstand second editions.Currently. however,onlyA.R, andEsare scoredbyNationalComputer System. Therestofthescalesmustbescoredeitherbyusingscoringkeys availablefromPsychologicalAssessmentResourcesormakingscoring keysfromtheitemslistedfor eachscaleinAppendicesAandB.The Research scaleswhich wehave used inthe previous editions and are c o n ~ linuingtouseinthis editionare asfollows: AFirstFactor or ConsciousAnxiety RSecondFactoror ConsciousRepression EsEgo Strength 235 LbLowBackPain CaCaudality DyDependency DoDominance RtSocialResponsibility PrPrejudice StSocial Status CoControl Inadditionto these11scales,inthis Lhirdedition we areincluding the MacAndrew Addiction Scale,Mae9 which has proven to be extremely usefulindiagnosingalcoholismanddrugaddiction.Wefindthese Researchscalesto betremendouslyhelpfulininterpretingtheMMPI; however,littleinfonnationaboutthemhasappearedintheresearch literature.Consequently,this chapter isbased primarilyupon our work invariouscounselingandclinicalsettings(fouruniversitycounseling centers,acommunitymentalhealthcenter tapsychiatricclinic,anda drug treatmentcenter), In contrast to the Clinical scales, elevations on these Research scales do notnecessarilyhavenegativeconnotations.Insomeinstances,they have positiveinterpretations.Tointerpretmost accuratelythese scales, each one must be dealt with individually, then in combination with other scales.andfinally inlight of the context in which it occurs. This last fac-tor especially isimportant.For example, an elevation on scaleA (which indicates conscious anxiety) mayor may nothavenegative implications. Such an elevation isappropriate if the person is awaiting sentencing for a crimeorif his/hermatehasjustdied.Suchanelevationmayhavea negative connotation if thepersondoesnothaveanoutsidereasonfor worry,butinsteadhasmuchfree-floatinganxiety.Conversely,aiow scale Amay be positive if the person is well balanced psychologically and istaking the MMPIas part of an experiment; but such ascore generally wouldnotbe consideredappropriateforapersonindifficultywiththe law.Ingeneral,then,thesescalesaremostaccurately interpretedwhen allthefactorsnoted abovearetakeninto consideration. We usesome of these scaleincombination witheachother suchas scalesA and R,Dyand Do, He and Pr, and00, and St. These combina-tionswillbe dealtwithspecificallyinthe various scale sections. We are now beginning to work on developing profile configurations for the New scales.The firstprofile configurations were easy to develop. 236 r (, :... Thesewereextensionsof thetraditionalaU-false, all-O andrandomresponsesetprofilesfoundintheMMPIHandbook (Dahlstrom et aI.,1972). These profiles,includingboth the Clinical and Researchscales (but excluding the Mac scale),arefoundinthe Validity scale section. Webelievewenaveisolatedtwoadditionalprofilesforthe Researdlindicatinggoodmentalhealthandtheother dicalingpoor mentalhealth.Goodmental healthseems tobe indicated primarilybyelevations (T= 5Sor above) onEs,Do, andSt, andlow scores (T==4S or below) on A, Dy, and Pr. The poor mental health fileis indicated primarily by low scores (T= 45 or below) on Es and Do, andhighscores(T=SSor above) on A,R,Dy,andPro InAppendix Care shown the intercorrelations among the Validity. Clinical, and Research scales, excluding the Mac scale.for two groups of non.psychiatric subjects.The figuresreportedin the light type are scale intercorreJations for over 50,000 medical out-patients at the Mayo Clinic (Swenson,Pearson,&Osborne,1973).Psychiatricpatientswereex-cludedfromthis sample. Thesecondsetof figures,reportedinboldtype,areintercorrela-tions for 847profiles from people inthe Muncie, Indiana, area. Many of these profiles came from students in graduate level courses in Counseling Psychology at Ball State University and their friends who took the test to helpthesestudentsfulfillrequirementsforatestingcourse.Asfaras couldbedetermined,noneofthepeopleinthissamplewasbeing counseledforpsychologicalproblems. PertinentintercorrelationsforeachoftheResearchscalesis reportedin the chapters on theindividual scales.Our hope isthat these correlationswillhelpclarifytherelationshipsbetweenthevarious Researchscales andthemorefamiliarValidity andClinicalscales. Asafinalnote,theseResearchscalesarenotalwaysconsidered moderately elevated at60or markedly elevatedat70 as are the Clinical scales.What is called highfor each scale differs from these conventional classifications.Each scale sectionmustbe consultedtofindoutwhatis consideredelevatedforthatscale. Weare hoping that our presentations inthis chapter willencourage otherstostartusingthesescalesintheirwork,particularlywithnon-hospitalizedpopulations.Wefeelmuchmoreresearchneedsto be done 237 2;; -1 withthembefore atrulycomprehensiveunderstandingof themcanbe achieved. 238 '", 255 ASCALE (First Factor or ConsciousAnxietySalle) TheAscale seemsto measure the amount of overtanxietypresent whenthe testwas taken.SrLlre5on this scale frequentlyare elevated on profiles of clients seeking help for personalproblems in college counsel-ing centersandinmentalhealthagencies.ThehighertheAscore,the more anxiety the person is reporting. Alow scale score (T =4Sor tJelow) indicates relative freedom from conscious anxiety. The A scllle correlates highly withmeasures of anxiety for medicaloutpatients, (.90 with scale 7 .85withtheCa,scaleAppendixC) (SwensonetaI.,1973). AnindividualwithahighAscoreislikelytohavethe characteristics: 1.seJf.(Joubt, 2.difficultyinconcentrating, 3.atendency to worry and brood, 4.lackof energy,and 5.anegative outlookonlifegenerally. The high A scale score with high Clinical scale scores is an indication thatthe personishurtingenoughtobeagoodtherapyrisk,unlessthe situationthatprovokedthehighAhas changeddramaticallysincethe test taking,thereby lesseningthe pressure on the client.Clients with low Ascale scores (45or below),butwithmanyproblems indicatedonthe Clinical scales, are usually poor therapy risks because they are not highly anxious about their problems andlor have learned to live withthem even thoughtheseproblemshavenotbeensolved. PeoplewithhighAscoresandhighClinicalscoresmaybegood therapy risks.First, highA scorers tend to be very ready to admit to hav-ingpsychologkalproblems,andtherefore,theClinicalscalesmaybe elevatedbecauseofthistendencyandnotbecauseofhaving$erious problems.Second,becausehighAscorershavemuchself.doubt,they may be more aware of a need to change their behavior and may be willing towork atdoing so.Third, highAscorers may be cautious about show-ingunusualfeelingandbehavior.Suchindividualsdonotwanttobe viewedasabnormal.andtheymaybeinlesstroublebecauseof their cautiousbehavior. 239 A 2;) f; . In summation, a client who is highly anxious (high Scale A) and who generallyfeelsmaladjusted(highClinicalscales)ismorelikelyto seek help and workon changingthanaclient whose answerson the testin-dicatepathology(highClinicais)butwhodoesnotseemtobeovertly anxious about his/her psychologicaladjustment (lowA scale). ScaleA seemsto represent short-term,situational anxiety,whereas scale7 (theother anxietyscale on theMMPI)seemstorepresentlong-term characterological anxiety, awayof dealing withlife byruminating and worrying a great deal. This rumination and worryingmay go on all or most of the time. evenwhen a specific: situation about whichto worry isnotpresent.Highscale7 people.in generalthen,tendtobe chronic worriers,evenwhentheworryisnotimmediatelynecessary. ScaleAusuallyshowsanxietyinresponseto aparticularsituation andmay hehighwhenscale7 isinthe typicalrange (45through60),A personwiththiscombination(highAscale,average7 scale)isusually worrying about a specific problem but doesnot have the chronic worry-i ngshownbyahighscale7.Wehavefoundthat atypicalreasonfora person having this combination is because he/she is anxious about taking the testbutisnot an anxious person or worriedabout a large number of things. Insome cases,the 7 scale maybe elevated without the A scale being above 60.In this instance,the persontendsto be a chronic worrier, but atthetimeof takingthetesthe/shewasnotovertlyworriedabouta specificsituation. An examination of the items that make up the A scale in comparison with those w h i ~ hmake up the 7 scale is useful inpointing out some ofthc differences between the two scales. One group of items on both scales has to do withself-doubt.The 7 scaJeself-doubts seemtoinvolvethetotal personmorethanthoseontheAscale.For example,". certainlyfeel uselessat times," is an itemon scale7. The self-doubt of theindividual withahighAscalescoreismoreinregardtointeractionswithpeople suchas,HIfeelunableto tellanyoneallaboutmyself. It A second group of items that sets the A scale apartfromthe 7 scale isthose that have to do withphobias which are on the 7 scale butnoton the A scale.A third set of items indicates that ahigh 7 scale individual is likeJy to have fits of excitement and anxiety; whereas, the highA scale in-dividualismorelikelyto reportthepresence of steadyanxiety. 240 257 Despitethesedifferences.scales7 andAhavemuchoverlapand usuallyareseenaselevatedtogetherratherthanone elevatedandthe other nOloWhen these two scales are elevated. the anxiety is both chronic andsituational. Scales A and R have a unique relationship to each other. In addition to luoking at them separately tthey also should be looked at together and interpreted in light of each other. In your work with the A scale as well as the individual A scale interpretations. we would suggest that youlook at theA and Rcombinations,pp.251-2S2. GENERALINFORMATION t.The39itemsoftheAscalereflectgeneral,consciousemotional upsetbyaskingquestionsconcerningthinkingandthoughtpro-cesses.negative emotional tone,lack of energy, pessimism, and per-sonal sensitivity. 2.Welsh(1956)factoranalyzedtheMMPIitems,andfromthis analysishe derived theA scale as ameasure of one of the two main MMPI factors. (Scale R measures the other factor.) This firstfactor hashighpositiveloadingsonscales7 (.90) and 8(.79)andahigh negativeloading onscalek(-.71)(SwensonetaI.,1973). 3.The A scale is strongly related to indices of overt anxiety and seems to measuretension,nervousness.anddistress. 4.TheAscalemeasuresgeneralconsciousanxietyofasifuational nature,ascontrastedtoscale7,whichmeasuresamore characterological,long-termanxiety. 5.Welsh'sAscale(1956)appears[0bethemostsatisfactorysingle measureof conscious anxietyontheMMPI. 6.High and low scores can be "good" or "bad," appropriate or inap-propriate,helpfulorahindrance,dependinguponthespecific situationof the person. 241 ~ ." "" For example, if aperson is facing a situational trauma and he/she is not very anxious about it (low to average A score), this lack of anx-iety couldbe ahindrance to workins through the trauma. 7.Heppner and Anderson (1985) have found that ineffective problem-solverstendtobe significantlyhigheron thisscale thaneffective probJemsolvers. 8.In addition to interpreting the A scale alone, in certain instances the A scale should be considered in relationship to the R scale.Seethe A andR combination table,pp. 251-252. 9.Inone test-reteststudy,over aperiod of 11days,theA scalewas unstable(Jurjevich,1966).This factimpliesthatthescaleisquite mobile,hopefuUy inresponseto differing levelsof anxiety. 10.Items of theA scale tend to be of uniformly lowsocial desirability (Wiggins &Rumrill,J959). 11.Under ideal-self instructions (' 'Take this testtrying tolook as good as possible") the one scale withthe largest shift wastheAscale;it became significantlylower(Parsons etat, 1968). 12.An excellentreference for the A scale isUFactor Dimensions A and RUbyWelshinBasicReadings ontheMMPI inPsych%gya"d Medicine (Welsh& DahJstrom,1956). HIGH SCORES (T=60or Above) SeealsotheAandRcombinations,pp.251-252. I.HighA scores indicate that the person is overtly anxious. The higher the score.themore anxiousthe personis. 2.Menwithhigh A s c o r ~have been described as lacking confidence in their own abilities and unable to make decisions withouthesitation, vacillation,or delay(Block&Bailey,1955). a.They tend to be suggestible and respond more to evaluations madeof thembyothersthantheydototheirownself-evaluations.However.theymay not actonothers' evalua-tionsbut just worry about them. b.Thesementendto lacksocialpoiseandareupset easily in social situations. c.Theyusuallyarepessimisticabouttheirownprofessional future and advancement. 3.Gough(Welsh&Dahlstrom,1956)reportedpeoplewithhighA scoreshaveslowpersonal tempoandare pessimistic,hesitant,and inhibited. LOW SCORES (T= 45 or Below) See alsotheA andRcombinations.pp.251-252. J."lientswithlowscorestendnotto be consciously anxious . .i..Tninon-anxiety may be "good" (whennothing exists about which t(1Je anxious) or "bad" (when the Clinical scales indicate problems existwhichshot. '1 concernthe person). COMBINATIONS A-R 1.Ninecombinations of A andR are discussedbyWelsh(1965)and arefoundinthe1972Dahlstrom.Welsh,andDahlstromMMPI Handbook.Theseinterpretationshavenotbeenveryaccuratefor our populations,exceptforthe highAandhighR interpretation. whichfollows: 243 2 fj (.J A High A (55 or above) and high R (5Sor above): Depression often is encounteredwithactOmpanying tenseness and nervousness aswell ascomplaintsofanxiety,insomnia,andunduesensitivity. GeneralizedNurastbenicfeatures of fatigue,chronictiredness.or exhaustionmaybeseen.Thesesubjectsareperceivedasrigidby others and are chronic worriers. They suffer from feelings of inade-quacy and a brooding preoccupation with their personal difficulties (Welsh,1965). 2.Fora summaryof selectedAandRscalecombinations,seethe chart on pp.251-252. SUMMARYOF ASCALE INTERPRETATIONS* TInterpretations 4Sor belowThispersonisnotconsciouslyanxious.Theaverage scoreforwellfunctioningindividualsis45. 4Sthru60This person has minimal (T= to SO)to mild(T=50 to 60) conscious The majority of peoplescore belowSOT -scorepoints. 60 or aboveThis person has a highlevel of conscious anxiety.which maycause debilitation as the scale is elevated.The per-son may lack poise, be easily upset,pessimistic, and not trusting of himself/herself. Such a person tends to be in-fluencedbyothers'evaluationsofhim/her,although he/she may not always act overtly on these evaluations. tWhereT-scoresarelistedintwo categories(i.e .45or belowand45through60)anda score isobtainetfthat islisted fortwocategories.use whichever interpretation seems to be most appropriate fortheindividupl. 244 2Gl RSCALE (SecondFador or Consc:iousRepressionSeale) WefeeltheRscaleisaconscious repression scale (or suppression scale to be more accurate). A person with a high score on this scale seems to be saying,"Some areas of mylife are none of your business." mining what areas are off limits is impossible until the client is For example,inonerecentsituation,aclientwithahighH,butwithan otherwise average profile, stated that did not want to talk about his re-centdeparturefromtheministryof hischurch.Hefeltfairlycomfor-tableabouthisdecision,aswasindicatedbytheMMPJprofilein general,butwasstillnotreadyto talkwithothersabouthis changein vocation. Whilethe highAscaleseemstohave some relationship to seeking help at auniversity counseling center,theR scale does not. Clients com-ing for help with personal problems tend to score above 5S T -score points on the Ascalewhereas theyaverage around SOfor the H scale.Normal collegestudentstendtoscorebelow4ST -scorepointsontheAscale whereas they average around SOfor the R scale (Anderson & Duckwonh. 1969).ThustheRscaleseemstoaveragearoundSOT -scorepoints regardlessof personal adjustment. AnotherI1nusualfeature of theRscaleisthatitdoesnotcorrelate above .SO with any of the other scales on the MMPI.(SeeAppendix C.) This is in spite of the factthat itissupposed to be ascale that accounts forthesecondlargestamountof V8J ianceintheMMPI.[TheAscale measuresthe largestamount(Welsh,19S6).] Theitemsinthe scale are quite varied.Ahighscore on the R scale suggeststhatthe person 1.hashealth concerns, 2.deniesfeelingsof anger, 3.is sociallyintroverted, 4.deniesbeingstimulatedbypeople,and 5.isnot aggressiveandlacks socialdominance. R '". Ashasbeenmentionedpreviously,theRscaleisnotfrequently elevatedinclientsseekinghelpatacollegecounselingcenter.Some clinicalimpressionshoweverbasedon asampleof 32MMPI'sfroma college counseling center populationare asfollows. R 1.When the R scale is elevated 60 T -score points or higher and the A scale is S T -score points or more lower than the R scale, theclientislikelytobeseenasshy and guardedinhis/her behavior or inhis/her reactionsto theinterviewer.In some cases,theseclients may evenbe resistivetobeing intherapy ortohavingapsychologicalevaluation.Inspiteofthe client'sresistancetothisparticularsituation,ahistoryof dependencyislikely.Physicalcomplaintsare commonand areof anunshakablenature.Nocommentsareinthecase notesof thesepeopleto indicatethattheyhaveanyinsight intotheirproblems.Peopleworkingwiththemfindthem quiteunresponsivetopsychologicalexplanationsfortheir problems. 2.Ontheotherhand,whentheRscaleiselevatedabove60 T -scorepoints and theA scaleisat leastS T -score points or more higher.a much more pathological picture of the client is represented.The person not only is shy and guarded, but also istypicallycomplainingofbeingisolated,depressed.and havingsuicidalthoughts.Inadisproportionatenumberof these cases,some attempt at suicide has been made, although someoftheseattemptswillhavebeenattentionseeking. Thesepeoplecomplainofdifficultyinconcentratingand haveperiodsof confusion.Usuallyalsoanegativefamily historyispresent,butthiscouldbetheresultofa phenomenonwhichChance (1957) reported inher investiga-tion of individuals who had pleasant memories as opposed to those whohadunpleasantmemories.Those individualswith pleasantmemorieshadRscoreshigherthantheirAscores. ThosewithunpleasantmemorieshadAscoreshigherthan theirR scores. 3.When both the R and the A scales are above 60 T -score points andapproximatelyequaltooneanother(withinST -score points),the person tends to be shy and guarded withfeelings ofisolation,depression,andsomehistoryofdependency uponothersforsupport. 246 2fj3 This analysi.; of college student profiles would suggest that the inter-pretation of an elevated R scale is highly dependent upon its relationship withtheA scale.A summationof therelationshipbetweenthesetwo scalesisfoundon pp. 2S1-2S2. The low R score indicates a lack of conscious repression and perhaps awillingness to beopen and self-distiosing to others.The Rscale,as a conscious repression scale, contrasts with the 3 scale, whichwe see as an unconsciousreprasioDscale.In general.when apersonhas anRscale scoreaboveSS,scale3alsoiselevated.Onescalemaybeelevated however without the other one being so.In the previous example of the ex-minister'snon-willingnesstotalkabouthisdeparturefromhis church. the R scale was elevated(above 60) whereas the 3 scale was not. He recognizedthe problem area (average level3 scale) but did not want to talkaboutit (highR).Wehaveseenmanysituationswherethe op-posite also wastrue: the clients used unconscious repression and denial a greae deal (scale 3 high), but they were not consciously saying some areas wereoff limits(R scaleaverageor below).Thesepeople are willingto talkabouttheirproblemsif theyrecognizethem.whichtheymaynot (high3). ScaleRalsohaspointsincommonwiththeK andCn scales.An elevatedK scale indicates that the person feels everything is aUright with his/her life. A person with this scale elevation may not be able to look at things that are not going well. An elevated Co scale indicates that the per-son controls to whom his/her behavior isshown.Some profiles have all fourof thesepoints (1(,J, R, and CD)above 65.Whenthispattern oc-curs, these people may be sayinginmany ways and on many scabs that theytendto restrictthemselvesto talkingabout some subjects (R) that usually are positive (I( and 3), and that they willnot expose themselves or theirbehaviortoallpeople(Cn).Theoverallimpressionisthatofa highly constrictedperson. GENERAL INFORMATION 1.TheRscaleconsistsof 40itemsmeasuringhealthandphysical symptoms;emotionality,violence,and activity;reactions to other people insocialsituations;socialdominance,feelingsof personal adequacyandpersonalappearance;andpersonalandvocational interests. 247R . ~2fil l 2.From his factor analyses of the MMPI, Welsh (1956) developed the Rscale as ameasure of the second factorin the MMPI.(The first factor ismeasuredbyscale A.) 3.This scale appearsto measure the use of denial and rationalization as coping behaviors and ISlackof effective self-insight. 4.The R scale measures conscious repression and denial, as contrasted withscale3. whichtendsto measureunconscious denial. 5.Highor lowscores can be"good" or "bad," appropriate or inap propriate,helpfulorahindrance,dependinguponthespecific situationof the person. For example. if a person has lost a loved one, a high R score may in-dicate asituationthatistherapeuticforawhile.thushelpingthe persontokeepgoingin dailylife without collapsing. 6.Scale R items are more heterogenous and neutral in social desirabili-ty value as compared to scaleA items. which are homogeneous and of lowsocialdesirability (Wiggins & Rumrill,1959). 7.Because allthe items on the Rscale arekeyedfalse.one studyhas proposedthattheR scaleseemsto bea measureof acquiescence, withlowR scoresindicating more acquiescence than highR scores (Edwards & Abbott,1969). 8.In additionto interpretingtheR scale alone,theRscale should be considered inrelationship to the A scale. in certain instances shown intheAandR combinationtable.pp.251252. 9.An excellentreferencefor the R scale isHFactor Dimensions A and R" byWelshinBasicReadingsontheMMPI inPsychologyand Medicine(Welsh&Dahlstrom,1956). HIGHSCORES (T=60or Above) See alsotheAandR combinations,pp.251252. R24S '2 - t,;, 1.Clients scoring high on R seem to besaying that some areas of their livesexistwhichthey do notwant totalkabout withothers. 2.Graham(1977)reportedthathighRscalescorersmaybe plodders and unimaginative people. 3.Inone study,highRmaleswereseenaspeoplewhoreadilymade concessions and sidestepped trouble or disagreeable situations rather thanfaceunpleasantness of anysort(Block&Bailey,1955). a.They appearedhighly civi1ized,formal,and conventional. b.Theyseemedclear-thinking,buttheywereratedslow, painstaking,and thorough. LOW SCORES (T= 4Sor Below) SeealsotheA andR combinations,pp.1.People withJowRscores are nottryingto repressconsciously any topics coveredon theMMPI. 2.Theyprobablyarewillingtodiscusswithsomeoneproblemareas coveredby the MMPIinsofar astheyrecognizetheseproblems. 3.Their willingness to discuss these areas witha counselor may depend uponwhethertheyseethe counselor as one inwhom they can fideand whether theyfeelthe subjectmatter isappropriate to their counseling goals. COMBINATIONS AR 1.For a summary of selected A and R scale combinations, see the sum-maryonpp.251M252. 249 R SUMMARYOFR SCALE INTERPRETATIONS 45or below 4Sthru60 60 or above Interpretations Apersonwithascoreinthisrangeisnotconsciously repressingfeelingsorattitudes.Thepersonisusually willingtodiscussrecognizedproblemsthatareper-ceivedasrelatingto his/her counselinggoals. This person has minimal (T=45to SO)to mild (T=SO to 60) conscious repression of feelings.The person may feelreluctant to discuss some topics with the counselor. A person with ascore inthis range has astrong need to consciously repress feelings.The higher the T-score, the greatertheneedtorepress.ThispersonusuaJlyprefers to avoidunpleasanttopicsand situations.He/she may beseenasfonnal,logical,and cautious. -Where Tsc:oresare listedintwo (i.e .4Sorbelowand4SthroughtiO)anda scoreis obtainedthat i! fortwousewhichever interpretation seems to be mostappropriatefortheindividual. R250 ?Ji7 ......... ,'N SUMMARYOFA ANDR COMBINATION INTERPRETATIONS If lheIf the A ~ a l eR Scale ScoreIsScoreIs Interpretations 45or45orThis person is neither consciously anxious or conscious-belowbelowIyrepressingfeelings.Three types of persons are inthis category: 60 or45or abovebelow 4Sor60 or belowabove I.PersonstakingtheMMPIaspartof anex-periment or class assignment. 2.Personsseekingcounselingforvocational guidance. 3.Clientswhoareunconcernedabouttheir behavior,suchasalcoholics.hoboes, sociopathic persons, and so forth. These people mayhaveapoorprognosisforchangein the!'apy. This personappears tobeboth anxious and open. This score combinationusuallyishelpfulforthe counseling situation;theanxietyservesasmotivationto workon problems,andtheopennessallowsflexibilityinboth depth and breadth of subject areas. This combination is more common for people voluntarily seeking .:ounseling forproblems. Thispersonisnotconsciouslyanxious,buthe/sheis consciouslyrepressinginformation.Thispersonisdif-ficult to work with in therapy, because he/she is limiting the areas of discussion andisnot sufficiently anxious to workonhis/herproblems.Thiscombinationiscom-monfortwo groups of people: I.PersonsseekingvocationalcounseUng.The personfeelsthatexploringcertainareasof his/her lifeisnotrelevantto thetask. 251AR 60 or60 or aboveabove A-R 2.Jobapplicantswhoholdbackcertaindata from the prospective employer and who wishto present themselvesin agood light. This person is both consciously anxious and consciously repressingtalk insabout areason thetest;however,if the R scale ishigherthan the A scale,the person could bedenyinghe/sheisanxious.Thiscombinationfre-quentlyoccurswithanelevated3 scale.This personis very difficult to work with in therapy. The prognosis for successful therapy isindicated by the relative heights of the two scales. If the A scale isS or more T -score points higherthanR,thepersonmayovercomehis/her repressivetendenciesbecauseof tbegreateranxiety.If theR scale isS or moreT -scorepoints higher thanA, the personmight terminate counseling rather than look at his/her problemsrealistically. Foranadditionalinterpretationof thiscombination. seeWelsh's(I96S)interpretationonp.243. 252 EsSCALE (Ego-StrenglbSeale) Thee