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Content and Comprehensiveness in the MMPI. An Item Factor Analysis in a Normal Adult Sample

Publication ,  Journal Article
Costa, PT; Zonderman, AB; McCrae, RR; Williams, RB
Published in: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
April 1, 1985

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) has become the most widely used instrument for personality measurement, although it was designed primarily to aid in the diagnosis of psychopathology. Several hundred research scales have been derived from the MMPI, despite the fact that until recently the size of the item pool precluded an adequate empirical analysis of its item content. To define its psychological content dimensions and evaluate the comprehensiveness of its items, we performed a principal components analysis of the 550 MMPI items on a sample of 1,576 male and female patients referred for coronary angiography. After an attempt to replicate Johnson, Butcher, Null, and Johnson's (1984)21-factor solution failed, nine orthogonally rotated components were interpreted. Agreement was found between a number of studies on several factors, including neuroticism, somatic complaints, cynicism, and religious orthodoxy. However, only one of the five personality dimensions identified by Norman (1963)was adequately represented. The nine factor scales identified in this analysis may be useful as an alternative way of scoring the test, especially for longitudinal studies with archival MMPI data sets. In the future, it would be advisable to supplement the MMPI with instruments that measure a broader range of normal personality characteristics. © 1985 American Psychological Association.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

DOI

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

April 1, 1985

Volume

48

Issue

4

Start / End Page

925 / 933

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1505 Marketing
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Costa, P. T., Zonderman, A. B., McCrae, R. R., & Williams, R. B. (1985). Content and Comprehensiveness in the MMPI. An Item Factor Analysis in a Normal Adult Sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(4), 925–933. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.48.4.925
Costa, P. T., A. B. Zonderman, R. R. McCrae, and R. B. Williams. “Content and Comprehensiveness in the MMPI. An Item Factor Analysis in a Normal Adult Sample.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48, no. 4 (April 1, 1985): 925–33. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.48.4.925.
Costa PT, Zonderman AB, McCrae RR, Williams RB. Content and Comprehensiveness in the MMPI. An Item Factor Analysis in a Normal Adult Sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1985 Apr 1;48(4):925–33.
Costa, P. T., et al. “Content and Comprehensiveness in the MMPI. An Item Factor Analysis in a Normal Adult Sample.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 48, no. 4, Apr. 1985, pp. 925–33. Scopus, doi:10.1037/0022-3514.48.4.925.
Costa PT, Zonderman AB, McCrae RR, Williams RB. Content and Comprehensiveness in the MMPI. An Item Factor Analysis in a Normal Adult Sample. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1985 Apr 1;48(4):925–933.

Published In

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

DOI

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

April 1, 1985

Volume

48

Issue

4

Start / End Page

925 / 933

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 1702 Cognitive Sciences
  • 1701 Psychology
  • 1505 Marketing