Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Factitious disorders; Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory; Academic theses;

Abstract

Early analyses performed by the authors of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) and others (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008; Sellbom & Bagby, 2008) have shown promise in detecting faking good profiles. Two validity scales designed to detect underreporting and defensiveness on the MMPI-2-RF are the L-r (a measure of underreporting by claiming unlikely moral virtues) and the K-r (a measure of underreporting by claiming good psychological adjustment) scales (Wygant, Ben-Porath, & Tellegen, 2007). These early studies have found very similar results and patterns as observed in studies of underreporting with the MMPI-2. This study attempts to add to the research with the MMPI-2-RF by examining the effects of coaching on the ability to underreport on both the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF. This investigation utilized participants from undergraduate psychology courses at a medium-sized Midwestern university. The participants completed the MMPI-2 under standard instructions during one session, and then returned one week later to complete the MMPI-2 under coached underreporting instructions. Results indicate that the original L and K scales from the MMPI-2, as well as the L-r and K-r scales from the MMPI-2-RF, differentiate the participants told to complete the measure under standard instructions from those coached to underreport while completing the measure. The L and K scales from both the MMPI-2 and MMPI-2-RF also show good incremental predictive validity to one another in differentiating underreported and standard instruction profiles. The effects of coaching participants about the validity scales versus asking participants to simply underreport, along with utilizing various cutting scores, are discussed.

Year of Submission

2009

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Psychology

First Advisor

John E. Williams

Second Advisor

Seth Brown

Third Advisor

Mary Losch

Comments

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Date Original

2009

Object Description

1 PDF file (79 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Included in

Psychology Commons

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