Psy 8612 MMPI-2 1

Psy 8612 Assessment II: Objective Personality Assessment

William M. Grove (612) 625-1599 (651) 578-8004

Version 3 03/31/14

Spring 2014

N423 Elliott Hall 12 noon-3 p.m.

Purpose. The purpose of this part of Assessment II is to teach the student about personality and psychopathology inventories, using the MMPI-2 as the main example but also giving limited coverage to the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI).

Specific Learning Objectives.

  1. To learn basic content and psychometric facts about the MMPI-R and, to a more limited degree, the MCMI.
  2. To learn how to choose a personality inventory for use with a particular client, how to administer it, how to score it (both as MMPI-2 and MMPI-RF, to be explained in class, how to profile it, and how to code it.
  3. To learn about the concepts behind, development of, and how it fits into the whole MMPI-2 profile.
  4. To learn about the concepts behind, and use of scales in, the MCMI. The use of Base Rate scores
  5. To learn to judge the validity of an inventory protocol.
  6. To interpret an inventory scale by scale.
  7. To interpret an MMPI-2 profile by the whole profile, i.e., configurally.
  8. Acquire basic factual knowledge about the Millon Multiaxial Clinical Inventory.

Warning: The above is not meant to imply that the class will focus on writing out MMPI-2 interpretations of profiles. That skill is taught in the laboratory section. Instead, this part of the class is devoted to the scientific underpinnings of MMPI-2 (and –RF) interpretation.

Class Format. Lecture with integrated discussion from all class members.

Evaluation and Grading: Based on performance in in-class discussions (55%), plus a 50-item multiple-choice final examination (50%). This grade will then be integrated with evaluation information from the first half of the course, plus lab performance.

The multiple-choice final exam will be given during finals week, Wednesday May 14, 1:30-3:30 p.m. in N423 Elliott Hall.

Text: There are four assigned texts, i.e., buy, rent, beg or steal the first2, get the third and fourth ones for free from me (in your mailbox, #3 put in box before this part of course starts, #4 will be put in box significantly before Tellegen’s lecture), and find a copy of the fourth to borrow:

  1. Butcher, J.N., & Williams, C.L. (2000). Essentials of MMPI-2 and MMPI-A interpretation, 2nd ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. This can be obtained at they have reduced-price used copies.
  2. Butcher, J.N. (Ed.) (2000). Basic Sources on the MMPI-2. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  3. Butcher, J.N., Graham, J.R., Ben-Porath, Y.S., Tellegen, A., Dahlstrom, W.G., & Kaemmer, B. (2001). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2: Manual. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. I will get you a copy of this free and put it in your mailbox significantly before this part of the course starts. There’s also a copy of a previous edition, almost word-for-word identical to the current versi0n, scanned and put on your readings CV/DVD.)
  4. Tellegen, A., Ben-Porath, Y.S., McNulty, J., Arbisi, P.A., Graham, J.R., & Kaemmer, B. (2003). The MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical Scales: Development, validation, and interpretation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. (Hereafter referred to as Restructured.) I have to obtain these yet, but when I do (and significantly before Prof. Tellegen’s class session on the RC scales, I’ll put a free copy of this manual in your second floor Elliott Hall mailboxe in the not too distant futures. (It’s also scanned in and put on your readings CD/DVD.)

Readings:

The readings assigned for each class session need to be read before that class, so we can have a productive and interesting discussion about them. I have put the readings into two categories, following the concensus opinion of the class: 1/3 of them, approximately, are in an “Optional Reading” category which will reward you if you read it, and contain useful information, but are not critically important for acquiring a basic, working understanding of the MMPI-2 and its interpretation. The other 2/3 of the readings are not specially marked (i.e., do not say “Optional” on them), and these are mandatory readings.

Dates, Topics, and Assigned Readings

3/24MMPI-2 introduction, developmentGrove

Readings:

Basic Sources on the MMPI-2 book (hereafter referred to as Sources), chap. 1-8

Butcher & Williams book, chapters 1-2

MMPI-2Manual (hereafter referred to as Manual.) “Introduction, and Basic qualifications for use; administering, scoring, and profiling the MMPI-2.”

Optional Reading: Butcher, J.N., Graham, J.R., Williams, C.L., & Ben-Porath, Y.S. (1990). Development and use of the MMPI-2 content scales. (Hereafter referred to as Content Scales book). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Chapter 1.

Optional Reading: Manual, Appendix G: Itemmetric data (just scan the leftmost column, as it gives the verbatim content of each of the 567 items)

Optional Reading: “Restandardization project” chapter from Content Scales book

3/31MMPI/MMPI-2 Psychometrics, special scalesGrove

Optional Reading: Manual, Appendix E-4, E-5, E-1, E-2 (tables of reliability coefficients (skim only)

Optional Reading: Manual, Appendix F-1 Intercorrelations of the validity and clinical scales, skim only)

Sources book, chapter 10

Optional Reading: Leonelli, B.T., Chang, C.-H., Bock, R.D., & Schilling, S.G.

Interpretation of a full-information item-level factor analysis of the MMPI-2:

Normative sampling and nonpathognomonic descriptors. Journal of Personality

Assessment, 74, 400-422.

Dahlstrom, W.G. (1992). Comparability of 2-point high-point code patterns from original MMPI norms to MMPI-2 norms for the restandardization sample. Journal of Personality Assessment, 59, 153-164.

Sources book, chapter 15

Optional Reading: Content scales book, chapter 3

Content scales book, chapter 4

Optional Reading: Block, J. (1965). The challenge of response sets: Unconfounding meaning, acquiescence, and social desirability in the MMPI. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts. Chapters 4, 7. (Read for gist)

Sources book, chapter 22

4/7MMPI-2 Validity ScalesGrove

Sources book, chapters 25, 27

Butcher & Williams book, chapter 3

Optional Reading: Manual, “Determining protocol acceptability”

4/14MMPI-2 Clinical scalesGrove

Manual, “Standard clinical scales” pp. 25-30

Butcher & Williams book, chapter 4

4/21Restructured Clinical Scales, MMPI-RF Prof. Tellegen)

Optional Reading: Tellegen et al.: Entire Restructured Scales monograph (“Tellegen et al.” folder on CD/DVD)

JPA Special Issue on RC Scales (entire, folder on CD/DVD)

4/28Configural interpretation of MMPI-2 profilesGrove

Butcher & Williams book, Chapter 5.

Optional Reading: Gynther, Altman, & Sletten article (on CD/DVD)

Lachar book (folder on CD/DVD; skim this don’t try to memorize it)

5/5Millon Clinical Multiaxial InventoryGrove

Manual for the MCMI-II p. 19 table, pp. 93- 100, 18-20 (skip 21-27) & 28-35

Millon, T. (Ed.). (1997). The Millon inventories: Clinical and personality

assessment. New York: Guilford Press. Chapters 2-3.

Optional Reading: Grove & Vrieze article (in root directory of CD/DVD)

Rogers, Salekin, & Sewell article (on CD/DVD)

Repko & Cooper article (on CD/DVD)