Which of the given self report inventories can be used as a tool for psychiatric diagnoses as well as in identifying varieties of psychopathology?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → MMPI: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
Option (1) EPQ: Eysenck Personality Questionnaire — Incorrect. The EPQ is used for studying Eysenck’s dimensions of personality: emotional stability versus instability, introversion versus extraversion, and psychoticism versus sociability. It describes normal personality dimensions; it was not built for psychiatric diagnosis.
Option (2) MMPI: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory — Correct. Hathaway and McKinley developed this test as a helping tool for psychiatric diagnosis, and it has been found very effective in identifying varieties of psychopathology. Its ten subscales seek to diagnose hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, paranoia, schizophrenia and other conditions.
Option (3) 16PF : 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire — Incorrect. Cattell developed the 16PF to assess the 16 primary or source traits he found by factor analysis. It is widely used for describing personality, not for diagnosing disorders.
Option (4) Nominations — Incorrect. Nomination is not a self-report inventory at all but a method of peer assessment: each person of a group chooses the members with whom she or he would like to work, study or play.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) … This inventory is widely used as a test in personality assessment. Hathaway and McKinley developed this test as a helping tool for psychiatric diagnosis, but the test has been found very effective in identifying varieties of psychopathology. Its revised version is available as MMPI-2. It consists of 567 statements. The subject has to judge each statement as ‘true’ or ‘false’ for her/ him. The test is divided into 10 subscales, which seek to diagnose hypochondriasis, depression, hysteria, psychopathic deviate, masculinity-femininity, paranoia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, mania and social introversion.…” |