Assessment of Abnormal Behavior PSY 436 Instructor: Emily E. Bullock, Ph.D.

The MMPI-2 The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Standardized questionnaire that elicits a wide range of self-descriptions scored to give a quantitative measurement of an individual’s level of emotional adjustment and attitude toward test taking Most widely used clinical inventory and has over 10,000 published research references Original development of MMPI-1939 at the Univ. of Minnesota by Hathaway and McKinley MMPI revised to create MMPI-2 in 1989

The MMPI-2 The Basics 567 questions 13 Standard Scales (10 of which are clinical/personality scales) Other Scales: Content, Harris-Lingoes subscales, critical items, supplementary scales Requires about 90 minutes to complete MMPI-2: for individuals 18 and over; 8th grade reading level MMPI-A: for adolescents 14-18

MMPI-2 Limitations and Group Issues Provides more reliable information for “abnormal” rather than “normal” individuals Misleading labels for scales Higher reading level and psychological sophistication necessary No consistent patterns have been found across different populations for African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans Card version for those with concentration issues Audio version for issues of blindness, illiteracy, or aphasia

MMPI-2 The 3 Main/Original Validity Scales L (Lie) scale: attempt to which a person is attempting to describe himself or herself in an unrealistically positive manner F (Infrequency) scale: extent to which person answers in an atypical and deviant manner K (Correction) scale: detects persons describing themselves in overly positive terms; more subtle and effective than L scale

MMPI-2 Clinical Scales Scale 1 (Hs, Hypochondriasis) Scale 2 (D, Depression) Scale 3 (Hy, Hysteria) Scale 4 (Pd, Psychopathic Deviate) Scale 5 (Mf, Masculinity-Femininity)

MMPI-2 Clinical Scales Scale 6: (Pa, Paranoia) Scale 7: (Pt, Psychasthenia) Scale 8: (Sc, Schizophrenia) Scale 9: (Ma, Hypomania) Scale 0: (Si, Social Introversion)

MMPI-2 Interpretation Determine validity of the profile first Note scores above T65 Interpret highest elevations first, moderate interpretations on only slightly elevated scales

RBANS Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status Purpose of Development Requires Individual Administration Age: 20-89 20-30 administration time Difficulty level is appropriate for normal adult through moderately severe dementia

RBANS Normative Sample-540 healthy adults (nationally representative sample) Alternate forms for re-administration 12 subtests and five domains Immediate Memory Delayed Memory Visuospatial/Constructional Language Attention

MMSE Mini-Mental Status Examination Used to assess cognitive mental status as an initial evaluation tool or evaluation of treatment assesses orientation, attention, immediate and short-term recall, language, and the ability to follow simple verbal and written commands

MMSE Domains on the Folstein version Orientation to time Orientation to Place Immediate Recall Attention Delayed Recall Naming Repetition 3 Stage Command Reading Copying Writing

Projective Testing Rationale: Ambiguous stimuli will elicit projections of one’s personality Common Characteristics Relatively unstructured task Brief, general instructions that often can not be repeated Ambiguous stimuli Low Face Validity Results consist of a composite picture of personality Thought to reveal unconscious aspects

The Rorschach Projective test with the overall goal to assess the structure of personality Consists of 10 symmetrical inkblots on cards Administration time: 20-30 minutes Provides information on variables such as motivation, response tendencies, cognitive operations, affectivity, and personal and interpersonal perceptions Age 5 and up (Exner 5-69)

Rorschach Inkblot Test Not an actual card

Rorschach Administration Introduce respondent to technique Giving the Test Instructions “What might this be?”; “People see all sorts of things in the inkblots.” Response Phase Get at least 15 responses for Exner system Allow test-taker to free associate for each card Inquiry Test User attempts to see what the test taker saw in the inkblots

Rorschach Selected Assets and Limitations Bypasses a person’s conscious resistance and assesses a person's underlying unconscious structure of personality Limitations Variable reliability and validity estimates Time required for scoring and interpretation Extensive time required for training

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Other Projective Techniques Sentence completion tasks Rotter’s Incomplete Sentence Blank House-Tree-Person Roberts Apperception Test for Children Kinetic Family Drawing Test