Re: Big Mother can't protect our privacy

[cfrye@ciis.mitre.org (Curtis D. Frye)]

Tim writes:
>
>(* MMPI is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Index test, which
>sounds like the test described here. It has a couple of thousand of
>these questions. Without defending the analytical powers of this test,
>let me say that the intent is psychological, not political. The
>famoous questions about believing in God, having homosexual
>experiences, washing one's hands, and so on, are devised by shrinks,
>not designed to ferret out atheists and homos. The MMPI has been in
>wide use since the 1950s, though it's use is declining as people file
>lawsuits over it.)
>

It should also be noted that the MMPI is designed to diagnose abnormal
personalities, while the California Personality Inventory (CPI) is designed
to diagnose more or less normal personality traits.  It seems that
companies indiscriminately giving the MMPI to individuals without suspision
of neurotic/ psychotic tendencies would open themselves up for a solid
thumping in court.

P.S. - I noticed a book on the statistical basis of the MMPI in the
psychology section of Border's Bookstore in Tysons Corner, VA, a few months
ago.  If there's interest, I could look for a citation on my next trip
there.


Curtis D. Frye
cfrye@ciis.mitre.org
"If you think I speak for MITRE, I'll tell you how much they
 pay me and make you feel foolish."