Measures of Personality Research

Essay by tineenjUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, May 2008

download word file, 3 pages 4.3

�PAGE � �PAGE �4� Personality

Measures of Personality Research

The two personality test that were chosen for this paper are Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Millon Index of Personality Styles Revised (MIPS Revised). You will read about how certain circumstances are indicated by the test, stated reliability and validity of the instruments, factors that users of such tests should consider and the overall opinion of the usefulness of the test.

"The MMPI was developed in the 1930s at Minnesota University as a serious and comprehensive personality test that can be used to detect psychiatric problems. It was revised in 1989 as MMPI-2 and a version for adolescents developed (MMPI-A). There is also an abbreviated version (MMPI-3)." (ChangingMinds.org) The MMPI measures individuals of different levels of personality. Personality test usually measure extroversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. The MMPI usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half and can be administered via paper and pencil, audiocassette or thru a computer.

This test has ten different scales that tests different psychiatric conditions such as hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, masculinity-femininity, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, hypomania and social introversion. Many are concerned over the results of the test due to its use. For this reason, there are three validity scales in order to ensure the results are accurate.

The reliability scales of the MMPI were not in question as much as the validity scales. These scales were re-ordered and plotted again to enable test users to filter their evaluations. By increasing the number of items on the test, this can easily increase the test's reliability as well as item analysis. "In item analysis, the scores for each item on the test are correlated with the scores for the test as a whole. If the correlation is...