Perceptualand Motor Skills, 1992, 74, 779-786.
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1992
PREDICTION O F MMPI CLINICAL SCORES FROM THE APPERCEPTIVE PERSONALITY TEST ' STEPHEN A. KARP, DAVID E. SILBER, ROBERT W. HOLMSTROM,
AND HEATHER KELLERT George Washington Universi~ Summary.-Eight independent scores from a new objectivelprojective personality test, the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT), were validated against eight clinical scores of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). In pardel studies of 150 male and 150 female college volunteers given both tests, weighted combinations of the 8 APT measures significantly predicted MMPI raw scores in 15 of 16 analyses (Ma scores could not be predicted for men). Of 84 predicted zero-order correlations between APT and MMPI measures, 50 (60%) were confirmed, 74% for women and 45% for men; however, the vast majority of these correlations were below 3 0 .
The Apperceptive Personahty Test (APT; 8) was developed in 1985 and has since been the subject of a number of studies assessing its validity and reliability. The aim of the authors was to create a new apperceptive test w h c h addressed some of the many problems which beset prior apperceptive tests, particularly the Thematic Apperception Test. These problems included datedness of the stimulus characters and scenes (APT has newly painted stimuli), variation in the number and order of stimuli used (APT has eight plates always given in the same order), lack of racial-ethnic variety of the characters (APT has characters interpreted by independent judges as black, Oriental, Hispanic), and gloominess of the settings (APT scenes were designed to be neither gloomy nor cheerful). However, the major problem of traditional apperceptive tests has been the lack of standard, objective scoring procedures. The new test addresses this issue through a multiple-choice questionnaire, completed by the subject after all stories have been told. This elicits relationships between story characters and their feelings and actions toward each other, identifies the story herolheroine, and provides ratings of each character and of story outcomes. The questionnaire yields over 400 scores of which 22, involving all characters and all stories, have been studied extensively. The present study was designed to assess criterion-related validity of the test by comparing APT scores to similar MMPI scores. Further, in a more general assessment of gross similarity across tests, an attempt was made to predict each of eight MMPI clinical scales from weighted combinations of APT scores. 'Reffle.ts for reprints may be addressed to any of the three senior authors at the Department of Psyc ology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
780
S. A. KARP, E T A L .
Past studies of validity of the new test can be described in three categories: between-group comparisons, relationships with scores from self-report personality tests, and relationships with measures derived from projective tests. Regarding age effects on APT scores, Karp, Hall, Holmstrom, Silber, and Reiss (7) reported only minor differences between high school, college, and (well-educated) geriatric samples. Further, they found no differences on any of 22 APT scores when scores of private university students in Washington, DC were compared with those of public university students in Chicago. Oriental (n = 5 I), Hispanic (n = 60), black (n = 107), and white (n = 101) high school and college students were compared on 21 APT variables (10). As no more than one or two significant differences were obtained between any two groups out of 2 1 comparisons, the authors suggest that such differences could be due to chance. When men and women were also compared, small but significant differences appeared in 10 of 21 APT comparisons. Women tended to rate characters more positively. A study of 177 inpatients and outpatients with mental health problems was carried out (6). Alcoholics, schizophrenics, manic-depressives, and outpatients referred by their employers for evaluation at a university outpatient clinic were compared on patterns of performance. Each of the inpatient groups could be distinguished with approximately 75% accuracy from the outpatient group. The outpatient group tended toward passivity on the test. Alcoholics showed passivity and denial; schizophrenics and manic-depressives showed hostility and tendencies toward extreme responses. Miller (15) found APT differences between male volunteer inpatients and outpatients of a sexual disorders clinic at a major eastern hospital and a matched (for age, race, and education) group of outpatients referred to a university clinic for evaluation and/or psychotherapy. Scores on the test have been correlated with those on a variety of scales from objective, self-report instruments, including the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (16), Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (18), California Psychological Inventory (5),Bem Sex-role Inventory (13), and by the present authors with scores on Beck and IPAT Depression Scales as well as objective measures of field dependence. Relationships were also noted for leadership scores of high school (9) and college students (12). Three studies compared scores on the Apperceptive Personahty Test with measures derived from projective instruments. TAT stories evoked more achievement imagery than APT stories in an unpublished study (14). Condrell (2) gave the Apperceptive Personality Test and eight TAT cards (chosen for their s i d a r i t y to APT cards) to 104 college volunteers. After the TAT stories were produced, APT questionnaires were administered for
APPERCEPTIVE PERSONALITY TEST: VALIDITY
781
subjects to rate their TAT stories. Thus stories and questionnaire responses were obtained for both APT and TAT stimuli. All stories were rated on Fine's scoring system (3) for aggressive actions and aggressive feelings. APT stories had less aggressive content than TAT stories. Hostile Feelings, but not Hostile Actions, were more often ascribed to TAT than APT characters on the questionnaires. Judges' ratings of Hostile Actions from the stories correlated significantly with questionnaire ratings of Hostile Actions, but this relationship did not hold for Hostile Feelings. When judges' ratings of APT and TAT story outcomes were compared to subjects' questionnaire outcome ratings, Karp, Silber, Holmstrom, Banks, and Karp (11) reported significant correlations (.58 to .68) between these for men and women on each test. The present study was undertaken to test the broad general hypothesis that MMPI clinical scale scores (Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma) can be predicted for men and for women from patterns of eight independent APT scales. I n addition, predicted specific correlations between APT and MMPI scores, based upon results of the studies of patient groups and depression scales referred to above, should for all MMPI scales be negative with APT character ratings and Average Outcome scales. Hostile Feelings scores will be positively related to MMPI "neurotic scales" (Hs, D, Hy) and Hostile Actions positively related to the remaining scales. Initiation of Feelings wdl be negatively related to the "neurotic scales." Extreme Negative Outcome, Extreme Negative Ratings, and Character Distinction scores will be positively correlated with Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma scales. Subjects Subjects were 150 men and 150 women, all students in introductory psychology courses at a private, Eastern university. AlI were participants in a Department of Psychology volunteer pool where additional credit can be earned either through outside assignments or through participation as a volunteer subject in a research project. Experience with the pool suggests over 66% participation. Over 95% of volunteers choose research participation rather than short, written reviews of journal articles. Of those who were assigned to the present research, 98% completed it. Of the group, 261 were white, 23 black, and 16 Hispanic or Asian. Subjects were approximately equally divided by school year. Measures The MMPI (booklet form) was administered to 313 subjects as a take-home assignment to be returned within 1 week. Approximately 10% returned it late (2 to 4 weeks after it was due). Protocols were computerscored for all MMPI clinical and validation scales. Data of 13 subjects (11 men) who had extremely high F Scale T scores (70 or above) were not in-
782
S. A. KARP, E T A L .
cluded in this study. Scores used for the present study were uncorrected raw scores for Scales 1 to 4 and 6 to 9 (Us, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, Ma). MMPI mean scores for the present subjects were compared with those of 150 men and 150 women from the same volunteer population who had taken the MMPI in class as part of a different study. Of the 16 comparisons (8 scales by 2 sexes) only Ma scores for women differed significantly (t,,, = 1.99, p
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1992
PREDICTION O F MMPI CLINICAL SCORES FROM THE APPERCEPTIVE PERSONALITY TEST ' STEPHEN A. KARP, DAVID E. SILBER, ROBERT W. HOLMSTROM,
AND HEATHER KELLERT George Washington Universi~ Summary.-Eight independent scores from a new objectivelprojective personality test, the Apperceptive Personality Test (APT), were validated against eight clinical scores of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). In pardel studies of 150 male and 150 female college volunteers given both tests, weighted combinations of the 8 APT measures significantly predicted MMPI raw scores in 15 of 16 analyses (Ma scores could not be predicted for men). Of 84 predicted zero-order correlations between APT and MMPI measures, 50 (60%) were confirmed, 74% for women and 45% for men; however, the vast majority of these correlations were below 3 0 .
The Apperceptive Personahty Test (APT; 8) was developed in 1985 and has since been the subject of a number of studies assessing its validity and reliability. The aim of the authors was to create a new apperceptive test w h c h addressed some of the many problems which beset prior apperceptive tests, particularly the Thematic Apperception Test. These problems included datedness of the stimulus characters and scenes (APT has newly painted stimuli), variation in the number and order of stimuli used (APT has eight plates always given in the same order), lack of racial-ethnic variety of the characters (APT has characters interpreted by independent judges as black, Oriental, Hispanic), and gloominess of the settings (APT scenes were designed to be neither gloomy nor cheerful). However, the major problem of traditional apperceptive tests has been the lack of standard, objective scoring procedures. The new test addresses this issue through a multiple-choice questionnaire, completed by the subject after all stories have been told. This elicits relationships between story characters and their feelings and actions toward each other, identifies the story herolheroine, and provides ratings of each character and of story outcomes. The questionnaire yields over 400 scores of which 22, involving all characters and all stories, have been studied extensively. The present study was designed to assess criterion-related validity of the test by comparing APT scores to similar MMPI scores. Further, in a more general assessment of gross similarity across tests, an attempt was made to predict each of eight MMPI clinical scales from weighted combinations of APT scores. 'Reffle.ts for reprints may be addressed to any of the three senior authors at the Department of Psyc ology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052.
780
S. A. KARP, E T A L .
Past studies of validity of the new test can be described in three categories: between-group comparisons, relationships with scores from self-report personality tests, and relationships with measures derived from projective tests. Regarding age effects on APT scores, Karp, Hall, Holmstrom, Silber, and Reiss (7) reported only minor differences between high school, college, and (well-educated) geriatric samples. Further, they found no differences on any of 22 APT scores when scores of private university students in Washington, DC were compared with those of public university students in Chicago. Oriental (n = 5 I), Hispanic (n = 60), black (n = 107), and white (n = 101) high school and college students were compared on 21 APT variables (10). As no more than one or two significant differences were obtained between any two groups out of 2 1 comparisons, the authors suggest that such differences could be due to chance. When men and women were also compared, small but significant differences appeared in 10 of 21 APT comparisons. Women tended to rate characters more positively. A study of 177 inpatients and outpatients with mental health problems was carried out (6). Alcoholics, schizophrenics, manic-depressives, and outpatients referred by their employers for evaluation at a university outpatient clinic were compared on patterns of performance. Each of the inpatient groups could be distinguished with approximately 75% accuracy from the outpatient group. The outpatient group tended toward passivity on the test. Alcoholics showed passivity and denial; schizophrenics and manic-depressives showed hostility and tendencies toward extreme responses. Miller (15) found APT differences between male volunteer inpatients and outpatients of a sexual disorders clinic at a major eastern hospital and a matched (for age, race, and education) group of outpatients referred to a university clinic for evaluation and/or psychotherapy. Scores on the test have been correlated with those on a variety of scales from objective, self-report instruments, including the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (16), Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (18), California Psychological Inventory (5),Bem Sex-role Inventory (13), and by the present authors with scores on Beck and IPAT Depression Scales as well as objective measures of field dependence. Relationships were also noted for leadership scores of high school (9) and college students (12). Three studies compared scores on the Apperceptive Personahty Test with measures derived from projective instruments. TAT stories evoked more achievement imagery than APT stories in an unpublished study (14). Condrell (2) gave the Apperceptive Personality Test and eight TAT cards (chosen for their s i d a r i t y to APT cards) to 104 college volunteers. After the TAT stories were produced, APT questionnaires were administered for
APPERCEPTIVE PERSONALITY TEST: VALIDITY
781
subjects to rate their TAT stories. Thus stories and questionnaire responses were obtained for both APT and TAT stimuli. All stories were rated on Fine's scoring system (3) for aggressive actions and aggressive feelings. APT stories had less aggressive content than TAT stories. Hostile Feelings, but not Hostile Actions, were more often ascribed to TAT than APT characters on the questionnaires. Judges' ratings of Hostile Actions from the stories correlated significantly with questionnaire ratings of Hostile Actions, but this relationship did not hold for Hostile Feelings. When judges' ratings of APT and TAT story outcomes were compared to subjects' questionnaire outcome ratings, Karp, Silber, Holmstrom, Banks, and Karp (11) reported significant correlations (.58 to .68) between these for men and women on each test. The present study was undertaken to test the broad general hypothesis that MMPI clinical scale scores (Hs, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma) can be predicted for men and for women from patterns of eight independent APT scales. I n addition, predicted specific correlations between APT and MMPI scores, based upon results of the studies of patient groups and depression scales referred to above, should for all MMPI scales be negative with APT character ratings and Average Outcome scales. Hostile Feelings scores will be positively related to MMPI "neurotic scales" (Hs, D, Hy) and Hostile Actions positively related to the remaining scales. Initiation of Feelings wdl be negatively related to the "neurotic scales." Extreme Negative Outcome, Extreme Negative Ratings, and Character Distinction scores will be positively correlated with Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, and Ma scales. Subjects Subjects were 150 men and 150 women, all students in introductory psychology courses at a private, Eastern university. AlI were participants in a Department of Psychology volunteer pool where additional credit can be earned either through outside assignments or through participation as a volunteer subject in a research project. Experience with the pool suggests over 66% participation. Over 95% of volunteers choose research participation rather than short, written reviews of journal articles. Of those who were assigned to the present research, 98% completed it. Of the group, 261 were white, 23 black, and 16 Hispanic or Asian. Subjects were approximately equally divided by school year. Measures The MMPI (booklet form) was administered to 313 subjects as a take-home assignment to be returned within 1 week. Approximately 10% returned it late (2 to 4 weeks after it was due). Protocols were computerscored for all MMPI clinical and validation scales. Data of 13 subjects (11 men) who had extremely high F Scale T scores (70 or above) were not in-
782
S. A. KARP, E T A L .
cluded in this study. Scores used for the present study were uncorrected raw scores for Scales 1 to 4 and 6 to 9 (Us, D, Hy, Pd, Pa, Pt, Sc, Ma). MMPI mean scores for the present subjects were compared with those of 150 men and 150 women from the same volunteer population who had taken the MMPI in class as part of a different study. Of the 16 comparisons (8 scales by 2 sexes) only Ma scores for women differed significantly (t,,, = 1.99, p
