Psychopathic deviate definition

What Is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)?

Does taking a personality test give you the jitters? Learn all about the MMPI and how it’s meant to help you.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is one of the most commonly used psychological tests in the United States.

It contains a variety of true/false questions that are scored on a scale used to describe a person’s mental processes and how they manage stress.

Primarily, the MMPI is used to help mental health professionals assess and diagnose mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety.

Lawyers also use the MMPI as forensic evidence in criminal defense and custody disputes. According to the publisher of the MMPI, the University of Minnesota Press, employers sometimes use the test in job screenings for high risk public safety positions, such as:

police officers
nuclear power plant personnel
firefighters
pilots
air-traffic controllers

The University of Minnesota first published the test by Starke R. Hathaway and J.C. McKinley in 1942 and currently owns the copyright.

The University of Minnesota Press licenses the test to Pearson Assessments and other companies for sales and distribution.

The MMPI is a protected psychological test. This means the test and its materials are not freely available to the public. You won’t find the test items online, except for a few examples.

Only professionals who can provide the required credentials can buy the test from Pearson Assessments.

Types of MMPI tests

There are a variety of versions of the MMPI in general use today:

MMPI-2. This is the standard adult version of the assessment. It was first released in 1989. It contains 567 true/false questions and takes 60 to 90 minutes to complete. It’s been revised to reflect more culturally diverse values than the original 1942 version.
MMPI-2-Retracted Form. This version, published in 2008, is a shorter version of the MMPI-2. It’s intended for adults and contains 338 true/false items. The MMPI-2-R F takes about half the time as the MMPI-2 to complete, about 40 to 50 minutes.
MMPI-Adolescent. This is a version of the test released in 1992 for adolescents from 14 to 18 years old. The MMPI-A contains 478 items and takes about 60 minutes to complete.
MMPI-A-RF. This short form of the test for adolescents was released in 2016. It contains 241 items and takes 25 to 45 minutes to complete.
MMPI-3. This is the newest version of the MMPI. It was released in 2020. It has updated items, scales, and norms. It contains 335 items and takes 25 to 50 minutes to complete.

These versions of the test are based on different norms and clinical scales.

A norm is a statistic or set of statistics (such as average, standard deviations, and score ranges) that researchers compare an individual’s score against. This helps researchers determine the baseline “normal,” or typical, result.

A scale is a group of questions that measure a person’s tendency toward a certain mental health condition. They can also measure aspects of mental or social functioning that don’t necessarily indicate a disorder.

Each test version also contains varying content scales, clinical subscales, and supplementary scales.

Interpreting the MMPI is a complex process that is closely protected and monitored. This is because the complex scale requires specific training to accurately interpret the results — and misinterpreting the results can have harmful consequences, leading to unnecessary distress.

It’s important to know that the MMPI isn’t a standardized test in the usual sense. It doesn’t use percentile ranks that indicate how well you did on the test. It’s not a test you either pass or fail.

The test is part of a psychological evaluation your clinician will make. The results of the MMPI test will give your clinician a sense of what mental health conditions you might be experiencing.

The MMPI result will be just one factor in the diagnosis the clinician may make and the treatment they’ll recommend. Your mental health and medical history will be considered, along with your experiences.

The MMPI has built-in clinical scales that describe a person’s psychological processes and how they respond to stress.

Each scale is made of a specific group of questions (unknown to the test taker), which the test developer’s field research says indicates a particular psychological condition.

The MMPI also has built-in validity scales designed to identify how a person approached the test, such as whether they attempted to present themselves differently from how they actually view themselves.

Here are the 10 clinical scales of the MMPI-2, which is still the most widely used version of the MMPI. These scales overlap, but generally, high scale scores point to a high risk of having a mental health disorder.

1. Hypochondriasis (Hs)

The hypochondriasis scale is designed to detect exaggerated concern over one’s health that is unsupported by medical authority. The concerns are usually vague and persist despite not being validated.

2. Depression (D)

The depression scale points to aspects related to clinical depression. The related questions concern low morale, overall dissatisfaction in life, and an absence of hope for the future.

3. Hysteria (Hy)

The hysteria scale tracks five aspects of a person:

poor physical health
shyness
cynicism
headaches
neuroticism

A high score on this scale could point to a variety of mental health disorders, such as anxiety, paranoia, or dissociative disorders.

4. Psychopathic deviate (Pd)

This scale points to difficulty with family and authority figures.

It also gauges feelings of alienation from self and society as well as boredom.

5. Masculinity/femininity (Mf)

This scale measures how much a person abides by stereotypical masculine and feminine values and roles.

The questions deal with:

activity interests
aesthetic preferences
personal sensitivities

6.

Paranoia (Pa)

The paranoia scale identifies aspects of personality, such as grandiose thinking, suspicion toward other people, and rigid thinking.

It also includes items that might reflect delusions.

7. Psychasthenia (Pt)

This scale gauges a person’s ability to resist certain thoughts or behaviors.

This scale identifies abnormal fears, self-criticism, and concentration difficulty.

8. Schizophrenia (Sc)

This scale identifies tendencies toward bizarre thoughts and social alienation.

Its questions deal with:

family relationships
impulse control
questions of self-worth
sexual difficulties

9. Hypomania (Ma)

This scale identifies unhealthy overactivity expressed as excitement, elevated and unstable mood, and long strings of ideas.

Also included are feelings of grandiosity and egocentricity.

10. Social introversion (Si)

This scale gauges social introversion, which is the tendency to avoid social interactions or feel awkward and withdraw from them.

These items point to a lack of social skills and a preference to be among small groups or alone.

The validity scales attempt to identify deceptive or inconsistent test results. There are a variety of both intentional and unintentional reasons people might try to present themselves other than what they are.

Intentional deception has been known to occur in situations such as:

employment screening
attempts to get costly treatment
disability evaluations
personal injury lawsuits
court-ordered evaluations
competency hearings
custody proceedings
unwillingness to cooperate

Unintentional deception might occur for reasons such as:

illness
cultural misunderstanding
test-taking difficulty

The validity scales vary among MMPI versions, but the MMPI-2 contains three general types of validity scales:

non-responding or inconsistent responding (CNS, VRIN, TRIN)
over-reporting, or exaggerating psychological symptoms, popularly called “faking bad” (F, Fb, Fp, FBS)
under-reporting, or reducing psychological symptoms, popularly called “faking good” (L, K, S)

Here are the validity scales usually used in the MMPI-2 assessment. Some have been developed independently from the MMPI-2 test itself.

CNS (cannot say). This is a measure of the number of “cannot say” responses.
VRIN-r (variable response inconsistency). This identifies random responses made without consideration of the content.
TRIN-r (true response inconsistency). This identifies fixed responding patterns.
F scale (infrequent responses, 60 items). These are a collection of unlikely and contradictory responses.
Fb (F back scale). This is the same as the F scale, except it only looks at responses to the second half of the test.
FBS-r (symptom validity, 43 items). This scale is designed to identify the over-reporting of symptoms. It is popularly referred to as the “faking bad scale” scale.
L-r (uncommon virtues, 15 items). This scale is also called the “lie scale.” It attempts to identify under-reporting of symptoms by test takers to appear in a better light than they actually are.
K-r (adjustment validity, 30 items). This scale identifies under-reporting by test takers who may be tailoring answers to give the impression of healthy psychological adjustment. It’s also called the “faking good scale.”
S (superlative self-presentation, 50 items). This scale identifies under-reporting by test takers who are defensive and intentionally distort their responses to try to look better in terms of certain human virtues.

People have always had concerns over the reliability and accuracy of the MMPI ever since it was first published in 1942.

The MMPI has been revised and updated various times to correct gender and racial bias, and to validate the test against new normative samples.

Studies of MMPI accuracy usually focus on specific uses. Reports often vary.

For example, a 2021 study concluded that the MMPI-2, when results were evaluated through machine learning, provided reliable accuracy in classifying and predicting suicidal ideation and past suicidal attempts.

Researchers recommended that clinicians could use the MMPI to help detect and treat groups with a high risk of suicide.

The MMPI will probably never receive total approval or total disapproval. It’s one tool within a large diagnostic toolbox, and it’s constantly being reviewed and revised.

It will continue to be tweaked and analyzed, and most likely always be a work in progress.

In the book “Of Psychometric Means: Starke R. Hathaway and the Popularization of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory,” authors Rebecca Schilling and Stephen T. Casper conclude that the MMPI gives behavioral health professionals a starting point from which to build diagnoses and initiate treatment.

They point out that the MMPI can also help test takers to consider their mental health and better understand their own psychology.

Consider speaking with a doctor or a mental health professional to help you determine which type of MMPI test best aligns with your unique mental health experience.

If you’re going to take the MMPI test, there really is no way to prepare. The best you can do is to be well-rested for the test and answer the questions truthfully.

It’s also good to remember the test is designed to be a helping tool, one that can give both you and your mental health professionals a clearer vision of one precious and unique human personality.

Pd - Psychopathic deviate | AcronymAttic

Pd stands for Psychopathic deviate

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Samples in periodicals archive:

These include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Psychopathic Deviate scale), California Psychological Inventory (Socialization scale), and Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory Antisocial Personality Disorder scale. There is also the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP) and the Hare Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (HSRP), but in terms of self-report tests, the PPI/PPI-R has become more used than either of these in modern psychopathy research on adults.

Scale 4 - Psychopathic Deviate: Originally developed to identify psychopathic patients, this scale measures social deviation, lack of acceptance of authority, and amorality. This scale can be thought of as a measure of disobedience. High scorers tend to be more rebellious, while low scorers are more accepting of authority.

Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 17-38. Lilienfeld, S. O. (1996). The MMPI-2 Antisocial Practices content scale: Construct validity and comparison with the Psychopathic Deviate scale. Psychological Assessment, 8, 281-293. Lilienfeld, S. O. (1998).

3) Avoid using negative terms such as using the term "psychopathic deviate" scale for scale 4. Instead, use the scale number and call this scale by a similar but different name such as a "rebelliousness" scale.

79 with scale 0 Social Introversion,. 74 with Hysteria-Subtle, and. 64 with Ma3 Imperturbability. Hy1, Pd3 and Ma3 all are similar components of psychopathology. They represent the component of narcissistic insensitivity in Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate and Hypomania. Outside the context of psychopathology, they simply mean extroversion. Hy2 Need for Affection - Harris & Lingoes (1955). (12 items) High: Naively optimistic and trusting, denies hostile feelings, strong need for attention and affection from others, and avoids confrontations.

The "worst thing that happened to him" was that his cousin was killed at the age of sixteen. Kimbrough won talent show trophies for singing and had an intelligence quotient (IQ) of seventy-six, which was in the fifth percentile on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale test (WAIS). He had an MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) which was valid, but defensive. The note also stated that there was a spike on "scale four, psychopathic deviant 6 endorsing items consistent with family discord, other scales normal. " She did not recall what exactly Mings told her about the psychopathic deviate.

90,000 how to recognize a psychopath?

In society there are always people with non-standard thinking, impulsive, perky character - favorites of the public, playing a specific role, hidden behind a mask of fictitious feelings. Emotional openness or psychopathy - a deliberate plan of action in achieving goals? You can determine the subtle play of nature, you just have to wait for the right moment.

What is psychopathy?

The word psychopathy consists of two parts: "psyche" in Greek - soul and "pathos" - suffering. Psychopathy is a congenital or acquired in early childhood deviation in the functioning of the nervous system. Deformed development of volitional character traits that expresses the personality in society. Signs of psychopathy appear in early childhood, such behavior in psychologically healthy people does not occur in adulthood:

high vulnerability of feelings, developing into an uncontrolled outburst of negative emotions - one of the main signs of psychopathy;
unrestrained character, hard to adapt personality in social terms - quarrels with relatives and colleagues based on personal self-hypnosis of a psychopath, a tendency to embellish circumstances;
indifference to the feelings and problems of other people, disregard for the norms of social behavior, the manifestation of violence and aggression to achieve personal needs;
psychopaths do not have feelings of guilt, making mistakes that entailed punishment is not subject to analysis - experience.

Psychopathy in psychology

A psychopath is originally an egoist, it is important for him to be in the center of attention, and no matter for what reason. The desire of a person to become a leader and attract the attention of others is the norm for him. Emotionally unbalanced individuals suffering from psychopathy can easily betray, they are cowardly. A psychopath easily turns an important task assigned, but not completed, into a scandal.

Psychologists answer the question whether psychopathy is a disease or a character, a non-affirmative answer is the line between a healthy and pathological state of the psyche. Such personalities do not suffer from dementia or low intelligence, they are often successfully realized in creative professions that require expressions of an emotional state.

Psychopaths are great at manipulating the feelings of others, pretending to be a victim or expressing "genuine" sympathy. Symptoms of psychopathy are often confused with manifestations of neuroses.

Sociopath and psychopath - the difference

A distinctive feature that distinguishes a psychopath from a sociopath is remorse. A psychopath does not have such at all, and a sociopath has hesitations about bad deeds. A sociopath, unlike a psychopath, finds it difficult to pretend in society to achieve benefits; in communicating with others, he openly demonstrates personal interests, often makes rash spontaneous actions. A psychopath, on the contrary, never publicly recognizes a personal interest, and it is easy to pretend to achieve what you want, sometimes developing tactics of behavior.

Psychopathy - causes

Psychopathy occurs on the basis of birth trauma of the head, encephalitis, genetic predisposition and as a result of improper upbringing of the child, alcoholism of parents. If life circumstances that cause psychopathic syndromes in a person are minimized, then the manifestation of symptoms decreases. The first signs of psychopathy appear in early childhood and over the years become more pronounced - exacerbation of symptoms that form antisocial behavior of the individual.

Signs of a psychopath

There are a number of behavioral signs to recognize a psychopath. Ignoring the general norms of behavior for a person suffering from psychopathy is the standard. The psychopath lacks the skills to establish social connections, there are no long-term friendships. To determine psychopathy, a person must have several essential characteristics, congenital or acquired over the years, qualities:

short sleep duration;
lack of gratitude;
high rancor;
inconsistency and a bunch of started unfinished business;
frequent change of work and stereotypes of thinking;
permanent false;
own moral laws, far from legal norms;
instant occurrence of states of rage;
accusing the opponent of lies and shortcomings, at the slightest conflict;
frequent change of character masks, convincing play on the feelings of other people;
lack of long-term love relationships;
extreme hobbies;
sexual perversity;
baseless jealousy;
no danger reflex;
possessing attractiveness and charm, the presence of high intellectual inclinations;
non-standard points of thinking.

Psychopathy - signs in men

Thoughtful tactics of behavior in society, excellent disguise of real facts, is inherent in male psychopaths. It is difficult to recognize a man as a psychopath with a short acquaintance. High success at work and business, an attractive demeanor and high activity - thought out to the smallest detail behavior in society. A woman caught in the network of a psychopath sees the real face of her chosen one late - domestic violence is a norm for him that cannot be eradicated.

Psychopathy - signs in women

Psychopathy in women is manifested by signs of irascibility and emotional imbalance, frequent depression. Callousness of the soul and neglect of the feelings of loved ones are habitual for her. A psychopath woman is of interest to most men, her cold calculation is built on personal interests, there is no feeling of love, but selfishness is developed, which manifests itself in adolescence.

What are psychopaths afraid of?

You can determine the type of behavior of a psychopath by applying the rules of behavior, they will help to establish communication in a team, smooth out the sharp edges of relations between relatives. The best way out is to avoid the manipulation of feelings, in the interests of the psychopath. The disease psychopathy is usually divided into groups, with the main symptom characterizing a particular type of personality disorder:

Paranoid psychopathy - individuals with this disorder suspect everyone of bad intentions, are extremely observant, meticulous and curious about someone else's life, the manifestation of emotions in others, who are prescribed insidious plans.
Schizoid psychopathy - such people do not like to express emotions and communicate, choosing a profession, they prefer work with minimal human contact.
Hysterical psychopathy - individuals with such a disorder are afraid to be left without attention to their person, creative abilities, they react sharply to criticism.
Excitable psychopathy - such psychopaths are characterized by groundless bouts of anger, jealousy, high demands on others, frequent dysphoria. Excitable psychopaths are rude and boorish, aggressive and easy to beat, prone to committing crimes.
Psychasthenic psychopathy - cowardice and insecurity, these individuals are far from reality - dreamy, prone to unreasonable self-criticism.
Affective psychopathy - characterized by constant mood swings, pronounced dissatisfaction with life, the search for artificial pleasure stimulants - drugs, alcohol.
Unstable psychopathy - lack of willpower, a high degree of suggestibility and obedience from others. Having agreed with the opponent completely, such a person does not fulfill these promises.

A psychopath in a relationship with a woman

Playing on the feelings of a partner is a psychopath's favorite thing, Getting away from a psychopath is not easy, he asks for forgiveness in an acting way, with tears in his eyes, makes a promise not to repeat or resorts to threats - a close look at the frightened sacrifice, gives him pleasure. In moments of aggravation of relations, one should not cry and justify one's behavior, insult in response to comments, make promises.

Wife and children, close relatives suffer emotionally from a psychopath husband. The decision to abandon the psychopathic tyrant must be final. Returning back to the psychopath, the woman in the following scandals will receive an enhanced method of pressure, she will be attacked by the tyrant with particular anger, she will receive psychological trauma that increases the self-esteem of the psychopath aggressor.

How to deal with a psychopath?

How to communicate with a psychopath if circumstances require contact? You need to know - he is not interested in someone else's point of view, the psychopath skillfully disguises his own interests behind an affirmative consent, followed by a surge of emotions. It is useless to enter into disputes with such personalities, if possible, listen to the arguments in the affirmative, redirect the conversation to a neutral zone, where the opponent is an ally.

Psychopathy - treatment

A diagnosis of personality psychopathy made by a doctor requires treatment. The initial stage will be explanatory conversations, family psychotherapeutic consultation, and the technique of hypnosis can be used. If after such methods of exposure there is no improvement in the condition, then drug therapy is prescribed. A strict selection of psychotropic drugs is carried out by a psychiatrist.

Famous psychopaths

Giftedness or madness of a person that influenced the course of history and the development of science - there is no clear division of the outstanding abilities of a talented person. However, a significant contribution to history was made by people with completely flawed characters, and those who had an unbearable character and a reprehensible reputation. Famous psychopaths who have contributed to the culture and history of mankind.

Vincent van Gogh - a brilliant artist with signs of psychopathy, had the technique of quick drawing and writing letters, cut off his ear during an exacerbation of psychopathy.
Ludwig van Beethoven - the famous composer fell into depression, bordering on psychopathy, tended to treatment with opium and alcohol.
Isaac Newton - physicist and mathematician suffered from sudden mood swings, it was problematic to communicate with him due to psychopathy.
Edgar Allan Poe - the author of psychological thrillers suffered from psychopathy, had an alcoholic addiction, published a fictitious news story about a balloon trip across the ocean.
Abraham Lincoln - President of the United States - an interesting personality, was prone to prolonged melancholy, developing into a prolonged depression.

Psychopath brains are obsessed with pleasure - scientists

MOSCOW, March 15 - RIA Novosti. Scientists have shown for the first time that a key abnormality in the brain of people suffering from psychopathic behavior is the desire for pleasure and satisfaction at any cost, regardless of the risks and consequences, which can be used to treat and prevent antisocial behavior of such people, the researchers report in an article. published in the online edition of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy and pathological immoral behavior while maintaining an outwardly normal appearance.

"Psychopaths are often thought of as cold-blooded criminals who get their way regardless of the consequences. We have found that the hyper-reactive dopamine reward system in the brain of such people may be the basis for one of the most problematic behaviors of people with personality disorders associated with violent crime, recidivism and substance abuse," said Joshua Buckholtz, lead author of the publication, as quoted by Vanderbilt University in the United States.

"This discovery could help us find new ways to intervene before the personality disorder begins to lead to severe antisocial behavior," said Dr. Francis Collins, agency director for the US National Institutes of Health.

"Until now, research on psychopathic behavior has focused on identifying low sensitivity to punishment and lack of fear in such people, but such personality traits are unlikely to predict the occurrence of antisocial or even criminal behavior in a person. Our data show that the cause may be that such people have such a strong craving for pleasure that it overrides the feeling of risk, concern about consequences and possible punishment," said David Zald, co-author of the publication.

The authors of the article in their work tried to connect psychopathic behavior with the work of the system of reward centers of the brain: areas whose activity under the influence of the hormone dopamine causes a pleasant sensation in a person. It is believed that these centers play an important role in teaching a person something, and are designed to consolidate the knowledge gained when the right actions lead to a positive result.

Activation of reward centers in the brain occurs under the influence of the hormone dopamine, also called the hormone of joy or pleasure for its functions.

In the course of the experiments, the Buckholz group used volunteers who passed a test to identify certain aspects of personality and the degree of inclination to psychopathic behavior. While violent criminals are the most prominent example of psychopaths, ordinary people can also exhibit traits of this disorder, including manipulative tendencies, egocentrism, aggression, and risk-taking behavior.

In the first phase of the experiments, volunteers were dosed with a nervous system stimulant, amphetamine, often found in the popular drug ecstasy, after which scientists scanned the volunteers' brains using positron emission tomography, which can detect the production of dopamine in the brain in response to the stimulant.

In the second part of the experiment, participants were promised a good monetary reward if they completed a simple task. As people completed this task, their brain activity was scanned using the magnetic resonance imaging method.

"As a result of these two completely different experiments, we saw the same thing: both the production of dopamine and the activation of the brain's satisfaction centers were clearly overestimated in volunteers with more pronounced psychopathic behavior," Zald said.

Comparison of the results of these experiments showed that people with more pronounced features of psychopathic behavior have increased activity in the area of the brain responsible for obtaining pleasure and satisfaction, the so-called "nucleus accumbens".

"Experiments have shown that the brains of people with more pronounced psychopathic traits produce almost four times the amount of dopamine in response to the stimulant amphetamine," Buckholz said.

"Probably because of this hypertrophied release of dopamine, people with psychopathic traits, once focused on the possibility of getting satisfaction from something, can no longer change their behavior until they achieve their goal," the scientist added.

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