The Clinical Application of MMPI Special Scales

Abstract

This second edition continues to present the following special features of its highly successful predecessor: * an analysis of the major partitionings of the MMPI into special scales in terms of their clinical usefulness, resulting in the selection of those scales that most discriminatingly and non-redundantly represent the core psychological traits and qualities captured by the MMPI; * a number of individually developed scales that tap into additional aspects of validity, psychopathology, and adjustment and personality; * the Indiana Special Scales which sample additional areas that were not as well identified or delineated by prior scale development; * a critique of the foregoing selections in light of the extant MMPI literature (which this second edition further expands up to the current time) and of a major investigation at the Indiana University Medical School of the conjoint use of special scales; * a critique of the shortcomings of high-point codes; * a detailed, categorized listing of the most useful scales in empirical clusters based on their established intercorrelations such that not only scale elevations but also interrelations (and the departures from the expected) of scales become clinically interpretable; * an exploration of the interrelationships between Rorschach and MMPI variables, leading to complementary use of these two instruments. This second edition also takes into account the development of MMPI-2 and the status of its new special scales vis-a-vis the established scales derived from the original MMPI. In so doing, it indicates why the original scales continue to offer substantial advantages over the MMPI-2 scales. It further examines changes in the nosology of personality disorders and proposes special scale markers for these disorders as they have been clarified progressively through DSM-IV. This volume offers the MMPI user a library of psychological report statements based on special scale interpretation, with recommended score ranges and cutting points for particular inferences. These latter features appear together as an appendix styled as "The Human Computer." Unlike the typical computer-generated report, this appendix makes all decision rules explicit, thereby permitting the user to use the library of statements with full knowledge of their applicability. By retaining the element of clinical judgment -- the human dimension of inference -- the user is enabled to better integrate MMPI special scale findings with data from other sources while in the process of crafting the report. All of these new features are accompanied by applicable literature citations.

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