Is the MMPI Unbeatable? | Review of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 

I'm a retired police officer - the .gov agency I worked for [one whose entire existence is healthcare - including extensive PTSD treatment] - and the agency *weaponized* the MMPI to remove officers who were labor-relations (Union) problems. This included officers who had previously passed the MMPI at other duty locations in the same agency. Because the MMPI is so *subjective* to the interpretations of the psych doc, and the psych doc had the power of "Go/No Go" - the officers could be terminated without further cause, with very, *very* little recourse. Officers trying to fight these actions, ran solidly against the wall of illusion known as, "Trademarked and Industrial Secrets" regarding obtaining the test data. I'm running into the same trouble now, with the VA as a Veteran patient. This is 2021 - nothing is secret. The MMPI is a 70 year old test, with 70 year old info-sec... Which, in my mind - severely undercuts the MMPI as a diagnostic tool. If the information and questions on the test are so fallible that prior knowledge of those questions can skew the results - which requires Psych to maintain this laughable level of "Secrets of Magicians and Wizardry" devotion [and haughtiness if you ask about it]. It borders on... cultish. "Behold! Only I am the possessor and facilitator of secret knowledge! Through me alone, can you find your way to meaning! Through this secret test, I will determine your ills! To fix them, I will give you magic beans!" Patient: "Um, doc - what does this measure mean - and where does it come from? What makes it what it is? Are there known causes? How do they develop? Can they change?" Psych: "GAH! Heretic! How dare you question the sanctity of the great and powerful! Such knowledge is forbidden to the uneducated! Or you will harm yourself!" Patient: "Right... okay doc." - RU-vid Search "8,000,000 results" [Including this video.] *THOSE* are the problems with the MMPI. It is fallible, way too easily affected by current circumstance in a patient's life, spoiled of it's information (if it ever was pristine to begin with), has lost it's integrity to those who would weaponize it (often to the detriment of patients). And while still useful currently - it is bordering on obsolete, as more precise diagnostic tools are developed. Which, is the way science is supposed to work...

Dr. Todd is razor-sharp as always

The MMPI scares me. In the 90's my psychiatrist couldn't figure out what was going on with me, and gave me an MMPI... and it came back as factitious disorder...basically that I was lying-- which was shocking as I was totally honest on the test. My psychiatrist threw it out because I had been seeing him for many years and he knew I wasn't faking. Some years later he did the SCID-D, and he diagnosed me with DID, and I later found out that "factitious disorder" is an extremely common result for people with DID. So the results being taken as definitive is terrifying.

Dr Todd is the absolute man!

I'm a 22yo future psychology student (I decided I wanted to "give back" after pending 5 years on psichotherapy and personal growth. I am not very keen on the way that CBT treats patients, I like a more humistic approach. I must admit, however, that I enjoy your videos since they provide me with a way to keep my own biases in check. They help me accept and comptehend the benefits of the scientific method on psychology. I think I cannot every be a good therapist if I'm not well informed. So for that, thank you.

Wow,....already a video of Dr. Grande. I'm wondering if he also sleeps sometimes? So many links in the description. I'm going to be busy tomorrow. Excellent video doc. Dr. Grande is the TopDude of RU-vid 😃🇳🇱

I've seen a clinician with a license beat the test. She was VERY very BPD and had 9 out of 9 DSM criteria. This is a SELF-REPORTED subjective assessment. She knew which questions dealt with the threshold for personality disorders and answered those in the negative. (She had Quiet/Disorganized BPD and was able to conceal it from the clinician entirely.)

Thank you for your assessment, Dr. Grande! I just want to add that I hope the newer versions of the MMPI have been adjusted to reflect difficulties people with ASD may exhibit when completing tests like these.

I took this test for a LE job yrs ago and it was scarily accurate. More so than many psych tests I’ve taken , or the polygraph (which is NOT anything more than a fishing device ) . Even though you KNOW the MMPI test is repeatedly asking the same questions, 3-4 hrs later you find they have your personality type, and behaviors 80-90 % accurately. The most impressive test I ran into …….

Informative and interesting. Good background on the meaning of the MMPI and how it can be misused and abused. I remember the Target case and I was glad Target got in trouble at the time. I don't always like lawyers but they save the day sometimes.

As entering freshmen at U of MN, I had to take the MMPI. Results were given in a small office by dr. in "white lab coat". I don't recall getting handed anything just the brief conversation. It brought me to tears. So test results delivery was a little traumatizing!

I was administered the MMPI, or another test like it, after graduating college. I walked away feeling very frustrated and a little angry. I felt like many of the questions were bad. I could interpret 10 different ways to truthfully answer true or false for almost every question if I felt like applying the effort to do so. It was exhausting. Eventually i came to the opinion the test wasn’t worth the effort because the questions were so bad; junk in, junk out. Maybe that reaction in itself says something about me? Anyway now with more info how the answers are interpreted and analyzed - I hope I invalidated my test! Haha

One of the sharpest sporks in the drawer ;) Keep up the good work mr brainy, always a good watch =)

Doc, I know its not the case now, but I would like, if possible, you'd talk about Lance Armstrong. Love your channel! 🇧🇷

Yay!! I'd love to see more presentations about psychological tests and instruments!

I was seeing a therapist for about six months when she decided to administer the MMPI. When the results came back, she said something along the line of "I didn't know you were so depressed." I still have not figured out if she was just a bad therapist or I was excellent at hiding my feelings

This is a bit different to your usual videos and I like this format. I’d be keen to see other videos about psychological tests.

I was just administered MMPI-2, and the delivery of the results by the psychologist who analyzed it was really quite dehumanizing. The opinion was harsh, I consulted it with my family, friends and therapist, and they all said these words are exaggerated. A lot of the description is about me in a particular pathological situation in a toxic workplace that made me seek treatment in the end, but not about me in general. My therapist looked at the opinion and said it's not true, most of it he doesn't see in me or it's phrased way too harshly, and it's pathologizing my valid reaction to trauma. My mom said it's either not true or exaggerated. The worst part was not the opinion on its own, it's being treated like data and not like a human. When I discussed the results with the psychologist who tested me, and said a lot of it has to do with very particular trauma, I was invalidated and the opinion didn't change. I didn't feel like a partner in this conversation at all. Plus, I got the result of abusing substance, and he put that in the opinion. When he asked me if it's true, I said - well, no, I'm not using anything! I had one cigarette in 2020 and a few drinks with friends :O ! Then he erased this sentence, but it makes me wonder how many other scales that I had a high result in aren't true...

I'm taking an undergrad class in psychometry and this is an awesome video!

Thanks for educational topic I remember having to take on a date so stressful. I agree with you to look at all angles not just the written word thanks for explaining this to us you are the best

Sounds useful as a potential guide, or one of multiple tools to be weighed and considered. Black & White (Toggled) decisions based on MMPI without more seems negligent, if not reckless. The Insurance Company denying coverage due solely to MMPI score likewise commands medical ethic scrutiny. And, if used as evidence in a court of law, if allowed at all in a jury trial, must be accompanied by clear cautionary instructions from the judge. Bottom line, sounds kinda like nuclear power: Potent resource, but Handle with Care! Thanks, Doctor Grande. As always, your clarity is unmatched, as is your attention to relevant ethical considerations.

Why would someone in the non-clinical population need a test like this? I found this video because I am a screenwriter who is researching personality tests as a way to develop the characters in my movie. In order to make the character appear real the writer needs to "get inside their head" so I am learning about how this is typically done by professional psychologists. Thank you for this informative video!

I did the MMPI many years ago, and I found it very unfilfulling and unsatisfactory as many of the questions were just SO black and white, with yes / no answers really not allowing any accuracy. Someone here in the comments asked about the use of the Rorscach ink blot test. I am literally unable to do this, as all I see on every single ink blot is a bat. Every single one!

I had super hard time understanding how I could answer yes or no as I didn’t Have answers ???

I like your old video format like this one. Can we have more informative psych video topics like this or do I keep having to take psych classes lol? I like your style of teaching. You’re my type of professor. I wish you teach psych nursing

I took it and it said that I was faking my physical symptoms, I wasn't, and the test wasn't even for anything regarding my physical symptoms.

I've always wondered how reliable these test are & I've wonderd if the other such test used in places like treatment centers are a generic form of these test = I've even seen lie detector test used in minimum wage job's - it's litraly part of the application SO it's interesting these real test are used in some job's after being hired 🤷 I have trust issues so I've been sceptable of these kind of test lol & ya people really do go to grate length learning how to controle the out come so I'm glad to know the real test even detects that behavior P.S. I'm glad to see complaments in the comments of this video cuz it's hard work running a successful channel = a steady stream of video's helps keep buzzy America informed Watching tons of your video's I have noticed you have year's of exspereance with different positions you've worked in mental health along with commitment to continued education your years of hard work shows & helps me trust your knowledge = thank you for sharing your dedication of hi quality work ethics 👍

I like this guy, great screen presence and great content.

This test should be reworked in my opinion. I'd love to take it myself, trying to beat it and then, try to get accurate results.

How much does FBS-r vary, if any, when the patient answers on "a bad day" and/or on "a good day?" People will answer differently if they take the test another day.

Dr G. I am undergoing a professional licence forensic examination in July. I took some questionnaire in 2018 and told that the test indicated I was answering the questions in an attempt to look more favorable. Perhaps referring to an inconsistency scale? When I answered the questions, I felt that I was honestly answering the questions and that they represented who I believe myself to be. In any event, how can I approach these questions without being inconsistent? Its quite the slap in the face to do your best only to be "inconsistent"! I am quite outgoing, yet I also enjoy being alone. Is this inconsistent? Thank you.

Interesting. I've always understood the MMPI to be pure snake oil. Maybe it is just the way it is sometimes used.

Wow its complicated! Thank you Dr. Grande😉 ps I had to catch up! I just binge watched your last four videos. Happy New Year

Always something interesting. I didn’t know this test existed. Youre the best Dr Grande. Your a specialist in knowing as much as humanly possible about people. Must be cold Have a super great day

I applied for a job at Toys R Us once and you had to fill out a mini mmpi as part of the process.

Another patient population that is often poorly served by the MMPI is those suffering from ME/CFS, since all the somatic symptoms the MMPI asks about are symptoms that can legitimately be caused by ME, which is classified by the ICD-10 as a neurological illness (much like MS), and not a psychogenic one. Yet their MMPI results are often interpreted as though anyone who endorses a large number of physical symptoms couldn't possibly have them explained by a physical illness. I imagine it's the same for many who may just have a combination of comorbid chronic illnesses that happen to cause that particular constellation of symptoms. I guess the old analogy of "when you only have a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail" applies. There is no reason for psychologists to just assume that scoring high on the somatic scale is psychological in nature without reviewing the person's medical records to determine whether those things have a physical explanation first.

Would you like the work of a florist, Dr. Grande?

I was administered this test as well as the ink blot test and several others in a psychological evaluation. I was annoyed with the length, all the tests combined took me nearly 4 hours to complete, but this test took almost 2 hours by itself for me. The interpretation I found was highly accurate to my prior diagnosis and confirmed those diagnoses for me. Overall, I was satisfied with this test.

We used to call the uncommon bias cales social desiralibity. I took an entire course in grad school for my clinical psych doctorate in the MMPI its construction, reliabilty and validity studies, administering and interpreting it...a great deal of emphasis was then placed on the subscales and the patterns of the scales and subscales,...excellent treatment of this subject while maintaining confidentialty of the instrument. We were cautioned to ALWAYS use clinical history in addition to the instrument to reach diagnostic conclsions. Who on earth would rely on the substantive scales if the validity scales were off? I found it to be a very useful diagnostic tool...

crazy how people can dislike this video. So helpful and to the point. Thanks!

I live in Australia and in the early 1990s while at college mental health issues id had for as long as i could remember and i had never got treatment for got much worse. I ended up getting out patient treatment at the local psych hospital after the college psychologist was worried about me and refered me there. Im not sure that that can happen now. But back then a person could even self refer for help. Anyhow i saw whichever psychiatrist there had time to see me each week and staff turn over was also high. I was prescribed anti depressants and anti psychotics and often my meds would be changed before the previous sort had had time to know if they were really going to help. It was crazyness. I had some overnight inpatient treatment where i was listed as a vollentary patient but if i didnt agree to it i would be non vollentary so i knew there was no point protesting. Not only did my meds keep changing. My diognosis kept changing. And then due to an over reaction by a trainee psychologist at the college during my 3rd year i got admitted to the psych hospital for 12 days and the new head consultant psychiatrist there decided there was nothing psychiatric wrong with me and i was attention seeking and playing the system so i was taken off all my meds cold turkey. (Yep. Very dangerous decision) The withdrawal symtoms were awful. I threw up for all the time i was in the hospital and for days after i was discharged before my sister got me to a general type doctor who obviously was very concerned and upset that i had been taken of such meds cold turkey. We have all Im sure read on the meds boxes why that is dangerous. And more than 20 years later and after being able to access help from private psychiatrists thanks to medicare bulk billing and other allied health practitioner support and several more changes in diognosis and medication Ive learnt if something cant be seen on an xray or measured by a blood test or other similar type test there will always be grey areas and practitioner opinions and different ways of testing and provided i can live life with a managable amount of issues it doesnt really matter what my diognosis is or what some other dr might decide would be a better medication. What im currently on keeps me pretty stable and im content with that.

You can beat this test by looking around for the questions and getting a book to explain the scales. It helps if you have a background knowledge of some psychology but you don't have to be a professional you just have to be willing to take the time to study all the questions and what the desirable answers are. You also have to be cognizant of the validity scales some of the questions "wrong" answers are quite surprising and it doesn't take that many even for a fairly normal and honest person to look like they are faking good. There are also secondary scales that are less important but the most important thing is you keep your answers within a certain range. It also helps to be consistent. Taking the test you will notice that the same question is asked maybe 3-4 times in different ways and you want to be consistent when you keep seeing that button pushed. Know which way to push it and say it keep saying it the same way. So even if you don't have a copy of the questions which without knowledge of how the answers tip the scales and what those very scales are just knowing there are internal validity measures and a general idea of how they work help to get a more favorable score. In the end there is no "best" way to answer the test because it will depend on the context. In a hiring or forensic situation like custody battle especially if the test is pushed by your workplace or court for example it is in your best interest to paint yourself as very naive, trusting, easily admitting little personality foibles but making sure to deny anything more serious. Or perhaps if you are in trouble and need to make yourself seem more crazy than you are then make sure you answer in a way to admit things that make you look like a strong person, deny little foibles and minor personality flaws but pick a handful of answers showing deep distress that you are disturbed beyond belief. This is because if you try to "fake good" the validity scales and get very low scores of lying or trying to make yourself look worse than it is it will enhance the more crazy scales which will be already high.

Could you discuss the study about the MMPI2 and persons with PTSD appearing paranoid?

Thank you for the in depth explanation of MMPI. 👍🏻📚

Agree - people give WAY too big weight to that kind of tests. I think most useful would be commision consisting of different people just as trial jury instead of just computer test.

I learn more from your videos than from my grad school lectures.

Very interesting and very well presented! Thank you, dr. Grande

I believe this test could easily be scewed, depending on the awareness the testee has of himself/herself, and how bright they scored. Moreover, the MMPI should not be given to students desiring a placement in a university or a graduate program, or as a condition of employment. How do psychopaths test out? I did take a lie detector test as a prerequisite for a full time staff position in a Youth Delinquent Center. I wanted to be TRUTHFUL and answered honestly. I admitted to many questions that I was not proud of. I PASSED.

I am grateful for such material. 👊 *Greatly explained.* However, I have 2 questions: 1. *Can You even if just discribe under my comment, what is *CONTROL FACTOR* and what let find it out in MMPI-2? 🤔 2. You say, doc, 'best is not to cheat during MMPI', so I have a question. What with someone, who during MMPI-2 is telling truth comming out having L and K 2 or lower, F factor around 80(Fb and Fp about 70), scales 4, 8 and 9 higher ( 69, 75, 72), has no delusions, no paranoia, no hypochondria, quite high agression and much too high control? 🤔

Thank you for this! I’m waiting on my results for this test. But I ended up doing three others as well to make sure.

I think this is one of the psychometric instruments that came up during the Timothy Jones, Jr. murder trial. Can you comment on his personality and the diagnoses he's been given?

Liking that checky jacket Doc 😊

🙂 I enjoy this kind of topic! Sadly I can't join the discussion as I'll be for a few days visiting my aunt and cousins in the southern part of the country. I will miss Dr. G. and his community badly being among these narrow minded people in the "Schwabenlaendle", but it's inevitable and thus I will yield up to my fate. I hope the doctor will behave well during my absence 😊 and I'm on the safe side leaving him "alone" with his 179000 followers. See you soon guys, take care. ⭐

Thank You! Only one problem with MMPI and other similar tests is that person who has results of test could manipulate tested person et will.

It’s a stupid test. I did it yesterday and each question has three yes answers and one no answer. The statements are too variable with no specifics and very outdated.

Excellent explanation of this true and false questionnaire. I remember it was very popular in pysch depts a long time ago.

your voice is so calming i fall asleep to it

I've been in law enforcement for six years and I'm in the process of switching to a different state and apparently it's a requirement to pass this fuckin test. Apparently the doctor saw "flaws" in my first test and considered it failing. I have to take it again Tomorrow and hopefully I pass. Because if I don't it will black list me from my career.

I’ve heard that the MMPI test has questions like “I like parties and socials?” For me it’s not if I can say Y/N or T/F because it depends on the party specifically if I like it or not.

Thanks I have a better understanding you help me with my class you are the man

Hey. Have you ever done a myers briggs personality test breakdown. My 16yo old daughter is sure it is accurate and tells me I need to research it and her profile to understand her better. But from what Ive read it sounds like pseudoscience. Can you clarify this?

Hello, thank you for this! How much do professionals typically pay for the MMPI-2?

Of course after Dr. G and his talk on the MMPI, came a video from Genius Test offering to test my brain dominance...😜

DR GRANDE PLEASE DO A VIDEO ON YOUR THOUGHTS ON ALEX JONES. Does he seem like a guy trying to make money off his viewers and people with paranoid traits OR does he come across as genuine to what he says he’s doing his work for?? One things clear he’s very intelligent and knows history well, I just can’t understand his true motives. Thankyou so much if you read this and I loved your video on Michael Jackson and came to the same conclusion when all that blew up.

How can you lump everyone into one test? I call bs on this

is charlie zelenof unbeatable in the ring??

When you take it you realize what it's doing but it's too late to try and trick it. You'd have to write down every answer and go back to check. It would take so long. Longer than what it already take which is 2+ hours

What are the legal considerations for the test under the "Americans with Disabilities Act" for administrating this test in the hiring process? Being disqualified from a position for a disability such as psychopathology is illegal under this act.

I took the MMPI repeatedly once a year when I was in the convent. The new nuns had to take it so we "model" nuns took it with them to make them feel less singled out I guess. I didn't actually try to beat the test, but each time I took it pretending to be a different sister I was close to. My results always came back different every year. Same as Sister Mary one year. Next year looking exactly like Sister Susan. I always had to laugh. Beat the heck out of being bored to tears every year.

What about misagyny and elitist bias in MMPI and its applications?

I wonder if Doctor Todd has ever had a patient who was legally insane.

My psychologist gave it to a crazy lady who got a perfect straight line on it.

*develops anxiety disorder about the MMPI2*😅

Dr. Grande, So what does "tentative" mean? Can the folowing be trusted? As his wife, I wanted to know about narc. , although i guess if it loks like, feels like etc...it causes same problems. No test needed. There were narratives for example, "suggests he was being somewhat defensive and unwilling to acknowledge pychological distress. "might be insensitive to and unaware of the motives of other people. caustic, sarcastic, and socially isolated." I jut dont understand "tentative."

Dr. Grande can you please tell me what would happen when a physician many year ago while administering that kind of insturment often gave instrucitons not to answer many of the quesitons at all? Dr. Grande can you please tell me what would happen when that kind of corrupt practise was being done at that time in more than one setting because they were from a certain kind of background and/or gender? Dr. Grande I altogether agree with your conclusions about using them during custody settings too. So Dr. Grande how are clinicians working for honest run institutions later after all that kind of thing while they are being ordered by government agents to push so many new things now again in another generational cycle as 'remedies'?. Remedies like being prescribed methamphetamines for them to get through school while working too many horurs to use critical thinking about what they are trying to learn how to learn while working in their field? Might explain why many people end up working in a different field than what they were trained to do.

I searched for Milion Clinical Multiaxial Inventory after reading about it used on a woman accused of a crime and claimed BWS as a defense. The results led me to this video. I hope you could explain MCMI in a future video.

Does the test can be wrong if not realise in appropriate condition? Does the doctor take consideration if their is a gap between your answer and your thoughts? Thinking fake but put a true because lack of confidence? How accurate it is? Can you retake the test to check the validity?

As Dr. Grande was speaking I thought of the MMPI for police officers and hiring authorities not listening to the advice of the psychiatrist when the results reveal the officer is not psychologically apt and should therefore not be allowed to work as a public official. Ignoring the disorder doesn't at all help the public which we have most certainly seen over the years, particularly in 2020.

Your answer to the question 'is the MMPI unbeatable?': Please do not try to do so, it is not a good idea. That is not really a very good answer IMO.

I agree some sort of testing is necessary for sensitive positions. A main concern I have is that people with personality disorders can fake telling lies and emotions. Such as psychopaths' and narcissist's. Any thoughts on this? Another concern with many of these tests is the objectivity and lack of uniformity in administration and interpretation. Example being people can test fine on one and fail another. If there are concerns with a test result is it required that people have a chance to explain or clarify? Does the ADA law cover any of this for employment?

What is the validity of the MMPI? I am researching information on the creation of the MMPI-2 and found that the MMPI-2's reliability and validity data were taken from the original MMPI. However, the information on its validity is unclear. Could you please explain that?

I have taken the MMPI twice and I was off the charts on Axis IV? and the only explanation that was ever given to me was that " I had a peculiar Filter on the World" Keep in Mind I was a 100% on the Cognitive Scale test during both evaluations and got a 34 on my ACT which is a 1650 on the SAT with no prep, hell my High School hated that I got the highest score in School History and a Free Ride to College. I think Axis IV actually measures Corporate Capitalism v. Marxism.

I had a psychologist share more than his opinion of my results with the military. He mentioned his opinion, but also shared the graphs and several negative answers(with no positive answers promoting a bias to my potential employer) in his report. I know it's the military so maybe they are an exception, but it's it even legal to share specifics and test data?

done the mmpi1 once and the mmpi2 3times

Questions are kind of messed up if you’re a thinker. If you answer questions like True for a hand tremor but False for clumsy hands, it will most likely get you in the lie category, even though true and technically different symptoms

Hello, Can PTSD or similar issues invalidate MMPI2 results and interpretation? If so, does interpretation require an interview with the patient from the evaluator?

What do you think of the MillonClinical Multiaxial Inventory?

I am fine with the MMPI, I am not fine with the Interpretation of the MMPI.

A temporary agency once required me to take the MMPI to go on their list of people to send out to do clerical work - really. I didn't care, I was registered with other agencies and jobs were fairly available at the time, and I had nothing better to do that afternoon. But after I took it, I wondered just who was evaluating the tests. I am willing to bet that the average dim bulb marketing major working at hiring people for data entry had absolutely zero experience trying to even understand what it meant. I found it hilarious. On the other hand, they never called me. So I may have, um, flunked it. 😂

I have a psychology evaluation with corrections for MMPI-2 and 16PF can you tell me what that stands for and what they are looking for ?

Thank you 🙏🏻 👌🏻

Mmpi is quite accurate but onservational psycholgy works better, fruedian appoarch of dream interpretation is even better.

I had to take one of these in a hospital once. It indicated that I have disorders that were removed from the DSM. (self defeating and depressive pd) I take it that this was due to the clinicians interpretation of the test rather than the test itself? Still really weird

I have my own horror story about the MMPI.... Freshman Psych, 1986.... "True or False: It is more important to be just than merciful." I'm probably the only (student) test subject in the history of this instrument to take two days to agonize over a single item. Can't imagine what THAT indicated to my poor professor -- except that he should have flunked me the day of, and retired that semester.... 😏

This was really interesting!

Thank you, good video 😁👍

I was wondering if you have any views on person centered therapy- its the only type near me till i graduate and move back to london, im worried it wont give me any guidence or advice at all and its just me talking while someone nods and offers zero insight... am i wrong in this thought?

Nice! thank you! God bless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is the mmpi-2 a good instrument to determine ptsd?

I've read that Timothy Leary was one of the people who originally developed this. As a joke, actually. Anyone know if there's any truth to that?