MMPI
Different cultural groups score differently on your test. (MMPI Pre 2008)
What is an indication of bad cross-cultural validity?
The PAI was normed in the 1990s, and the average amount of self reported depression and anxiety symptoms has increased since then. (Uttl, Sikma, & Tat, 2025)
What is a potential risk for inflated test scores caused by a non-representative sample?
Most of the research done on the MBTI has been done by people who sell the tool or regularly use it
What is conflict of interest?
It increases the chance of false positives and over-diagnosis of psychopathology
What is the problem with doing a "full panel" to test for every kind of psychopathology?
It can be helpful for catching symptoms or diagnostic specifics that a psychologist might not think to ask about (eg. OCD).
What is a good clinical reason to use the PAI?
Your test is normed on a small group of white men living in the rural midwest US. (MMPI 1)
What is non representative sampling?
People tend to get different scores over time when they take the MBTI
What is bad test-retest reliability?
Personality tests are frequently used in high stakes forensic, custody, and employment settings.
What are the potential ethical problems with personality tests being unreliable or painting an incomplete picture of a client?
Questions on the PAI ask clients directly about symptoms of disorders and if they're bothered by them.
What is an example of good face validity?
Your test has scales measuring similar traits and sharing common items. (MMPI Pre 2008)
What is poor discriminate validity?
Introversion and extroversion exists on a continuum with the most people falling in the middle of the continuum.
What is the problem with a personality test having binary categories?
No one acts consistently 100% of the time and in all contexts.
What is the problem with trying to predict how people will behave based on traits?
It can provide quantitative measures of symptom severity.
What is something the PAI can offer to supplement clinical interviews?
Assessments including the MMPI-3 contain sections measuring how much respondents are concerned about being the object of criticism from others, being the object of malicious actions from others, being unjustly punished, being in trouble with the law, and not having confidence in law enforcement… (Dixon et al., 2023)
What is a risk factor for over-diagnosis of paranoia in marginalized populations?
Psychological research and theory in the 1930s was primarily rooted in single practitioners observations while working, and did not have structured methods for testing validity like we do today.
What is the problem with basing a test on personality categories identified by Carl Jung?
Questions on the MMPI-2 do not obviously link to symptoms or diagnostic categories. Example of an MMPI-2 "type" question: "I think I would enjoy the work of a Librarian"
What is an example of poor face validity?
There does not appear to be any evidence that "thinkers" and "feelers" represent differences we can consistently measure between people.
What is bad construct validity?