Shareware Supreme Volume 6 #1/swsii.zip/swsii/220/MMPI.ZIP/MARBLE.TXT

Text File | 1992-03-19 | 13KB | 370 lines

.topic Nocontext=0
       The Minnesota Marble Counter▄
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The program source and most of its resources
are 'Public Domain'.  Certain portions of
the compiled code and library references are
Copyright (c) 1991 Borland International,
Inc.  The test its self is copyrighted by
'The Psychological Corporation', a company
that supplies psychologists and other such
people with lots of nifty paraphenalia such
as $4.00 Radio Shack multimeters with a a
stick-on template for measuring the
electrical resistance of a subject's tongue
for $190.00.  Needless to say, various state
and federal government agencies buy stuff
from them and pay through the nose.

.topic MMPI
          The Minnesota Multiphasic
        Personality Inventory (MMPI)

This text is meant to simply provide an
overview of the different scales and their
meaning. It is by no means a clinical
treatment of the MMPI nor should anyone
treat this as a clinical tool in any serious
sense.  The programmer has no psychological
background or training. The program is
simply based on a copy of the MMPI (form R),
the instructions, the grading templates and
an answer key. The abridged information in
this text was taken from 'Configural
Interpretations of the MMPI and CPI', by
James T.  Webb, Ph.D. and Kathleen M.
McNamara, Ph.D., 1981 Edition. Some text is
paraphrazed, some is verbatim. If you are
interested in this sort of thing, I highly
recommend you find a book about the MMPI
yourself.


The MMPI appears to have remained nearly
unchanged since its initial publication in
1940. Some of the questions use phrases that
have become relatively out-moded.  'Cutting
up', for example, after long hours of
thought and reflection could either mean
fighting or making jokes. It has been used
in both senses since 1940. 'Drop the
Handkerchief' probably refers to something
some people may only have seen in a Warner
Bros.  cartoon or very old movies. The
Psychological Corporation owns the copyright
to the test I used, and they regularly
scramble around the questions so that
whomever subscribes to it must buy new
answer sheets, booklets and keys every few
years. This is the main update that has
probably been made to the test since the
cost involved in validating a new test may
be prohibitive. Making a profit is always
the most important thing for any business.

The MMPI is based on research by the
University of Minnesota. Many thousands of
hours of research by bored Minnesotan
college students have gone into making the
MMPI almost 60% accurate (over 40%
inaccurate).

The simplest (thus, most wide-spread) method
of grading the MMPI is to look outside of
the lines at 70 and  30 then note any field
that meets or crosses these lines.  If you
have a lot of areas that are close or over,
you're crazy.  If all of the areas are near
the middle of the lines, you're sane and
reliable.

This program can be used a bit like 'Cliff
Notes' for studying to keep your scores near
the center.

An even better application is entertainment.
It's usually a hit at most user group
meetings. The data files and program most
likely slipped onto the public domain at one
of these meetings so I'll have to plead the
fifth.

* References to the T scale are to the
  scale at the sides of the graph.
  References to the raw score are to
  the list of scores given before the
  graph.

.topic ParanoidPeople
              To The Paranoid ▄
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When each test is completed, it is
automatically written out to a file, called
'BACKUP.ANS'. This file can be deleted at
the DOS prompt and utterly purged from your
disk with a disk wiping security program.
Full source code is provided. (In case you
can read C++).  The last I saw it, there
were no viruses attached. The program won't
send cosmic radio signals to secret spy
satelites to let the government know where
you are.  It doesn't read your mind, and
won't know when you're lying.  It's totally
harmless and it won't possess your mind with
demons.

Guaranteed.

.topic WhatIs_Q
                ? 'Question'▄
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This is not a scale, and is not included in
the program.  In the test, this number
represents the number of unanswered
questions. Since all questions must be
answered in the program, this scale is
rendered meaningless. Large numbers of
unanswered questions either invalidates the
test or indicates error, obstinance or very
confused (even pathological) thinking on the
part of the testee. This is normally
interpreted as the testee being an ass-hole
and not being particularly cooperative.

.topic WhatIs_F
               F 'Frequency'▄
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(64 items) The F scale is made up items that
were answered the same way by 90% of the
people polled. Very high F scales indicate
error, failure of the examinee to understand
questions, or deliberately selecting random
answers. T scores above 80 usually indicate
an invalid test.  It may also indicate
someone who is faking and trying to look
like he's insane.  T scores 65-80 indicate
markedly unconventional thinking, and
appears in sullen rebellious or antisocial
personalities.  T scores <55 indicate the
person is sincere, calm, dependant, honest,
conventional, simple, etc.

.topic WhatIs_K
               K 'Correction'▄
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(30 items)- The K scale is essentially
another, more  complex scale designed to
measure what the Lie scale measures.  High K
scores (T>65) are people who resist
psychological evaluation. It shows a fairly
narcisitic personality.  (T 50-65) Is the
ideal area. These people are independant,
enterprising, ingenious, resourceful,
sociable, reasonable, etc.  A low K score
(T<45) shows a really bummed out person with
a very poor self image.

The F-K index- This is not a scale and is
not included in the program directly. When
raw K is subtracted from raw F, the result
is interpreted as another validating tool.
When (F-K)>+11, the examinee is deliberately
trying to look really bad and fake symptoms.
When (F-K)<-11, the examinee is deliberately
trying to look really good and cover up
symptoms.

.topic WhatIs_Hs
            Hs 'Hypochondriasis'▄
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Scale 1 (Hs- 33 items) High scores (T>=65)
are pessimistic, immature, stubborn, whiny,
complaining pain in the asses.  Relatively
low scorers tend to be alert, capable and
responsible, conscientious and maybe a bit
moralistic. Very low scale (T<=40) indicate
people who don't tend to care about
themselves or who feel inferior to others.

.topic WhatIs_D
               D 'Depression'▄
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Scale 2 (D- 60 items) This scale tends to
reflect the examinees mood. High T tend to
be anxious, depressed, retiring, silent, low
morale, pessimistic, dejected, inability to
concentrate and lack of self confidence. Low
(T= 40-50) are active, alert, cheerful,
enthusiastic, etc.

.topic WhatIs_Hy
               Hy 'Hysteria.'▄
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Scale 3 (Hy- 60 items) High 3 people are
typically conforming, immature, religeous,
naive, and childishly self centered in
outlook. Low scorers tend to be socially
isolated, tough minded, cynical and
generally dislike people in general.

.topic WhatIs_Pd
         Pd 'Psychopathic Deviant'▄
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Scale 4 (Pd- 50 items) High 4 (T>70) people
tend to be angry, rebellious, show disregard
for the consequences of their actions,
impulsiveness, poor social judgement and
inability to plan ahead or see themselves as
others see them. Often heavy drinking, poor
work and marital adjustment is seen.
Moderate elevations (T= 60-70) are common
among teen-agers. Low scores (T<50) tend to
be passive, dependant, and over- identify
with social status.  Frequently not very
sexually aggresive, but affectionate and
serious.

.topic WhatIs_Mf
        Mf 'Masculinity-Femininity'▄
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Scale 5 (Mf- 60 items)  An elevation on
scale 5 is NEVER in its self a strong
indication of homosexuality.  Moreover,
homosexuals who wish to conceal their
inversions are able to do so with relative
ease as far is this scale is concerned. This
scale is approximately the same between
males and females, the female scale simply
being inverse of the male scale. (ie A high
male score should reflect as a low female
score). -High 5 males generally tend to
reflect sophistication and aesthetic
interests.  -High 5 females tend to be
vigorous, aggressive, dominating and
competitive.  -Low 5 males tend to be
easygoing, adventurous, independant and
aggressive.  -Low 5 females tend to be
passive, submissive, modest, yielding and
demure.

.topic WhatIs_Pa
               Pa 'Paranoia'▄
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Scale 6 (Pa- 40 items) High scorers in this
area (T>80) almost always indicates paranoid
people who are suspicious and brooding,
harboring grudges, and feeling in some way
that they're not getting what's coming to
them.  Elevated scorers (T=60-75) tend to be
overly sensitive to others and take
criticism more seriously than others.  Low
scores (T<40) tend to be stubborn, evasive,
and wary. They may feel that dire
consequences will fall should they reveal
themselves in any way.

.topic WhatIs_Pt
             Pt 'Psychastenia'▄
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Scale 7 (Pt- 48 items) High scorers tend to
be obsessionally worried, tense, indecisive,
and unable to concentrate. Low scorers tend
to be independant, relaxed, self confident
and secure.


.topic WhatIs_Sc
             Sc 'Schizophrenia'▄
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Scale 8 (Sc- 78 items)  Caution should be
used in interpreting this scale- its
elevation does not necessarily show that
someone is schizophrenic. It deals more with
alienation, isolation, bizarre feelings and
general dissatisfaction.  High 8 people
almost always feel alienated, misunderstood
and not a part of the general social
environment.  They have fundamental and
disturbing questions about their own place
in this world and are confused as to how go
about being a part of it. Many feel they
lack something basic that is the key to
successful relations with others.  Low 8
people tend to be compliant and overly
accepting of authority. They tend to have a
very practicle orientation, and are usually
controlled and restrained, but friendly and
adaptable.

.topic WhatIs_Ma
               Ma 'Hypomania'▄
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Scale 9 (Ma- 46 items) High scorers in this
area tend to be energetic, expansive,
generally outgoing and uninhibited. They
tend to be easily offended and may seem to
be hyperactive.  T>70 suggests maladaptive
hyperactivity, grandiosity, verbosity and
irritablility. Low scorers (T<45) show a low
energy level, listlessness and apathy.
Typically, they find it hard to get out of
bed in the morning.

.topic WhatIs_Si
          Si 'Social introversion'▄
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Scale 0 (Si- 70 items) High scorers (T>65)
tend to be withdrawn, aloof, and anxious in
contact with people. Elevated scores shows a
lack of social support for a person. Low
scorers (T<45) tend to be warm, active
people who are active, assertive and
involved in groups. A low score in this area
indicates a social competence and
adaptiveness.

.topic WhatIs_L
                  L 'Lie'▄
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(15 items)- The L scale is composed of
questions that someone who may attempt to
give an overly perfect view of themselves
may answer. One is, 'I do not always tell
the truth'. A false answer to this would
increase the score in this area since almost
everyone lies some time.

.topic TheMenace
            The Psychotic Menace▄
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Not that I had anything better to do.  This
program was originally written as a personal
exercise to learn C. The original version
came out for the Atari ST some time in 1990.
Now it's some time in 1992, I have a new PC
Clone, with a new C++ compiler, and a whole
new pile of C libraries to sort out.
Naturally, this ended up getting translated.
Watch for a 'Windows' version some time in
the near-term.

   My appreciation to the man who loaned me
his copy of the MMPI.