Comparison of the MMPI and MMPI-2 Among Job Applicants

The primary objective was to compare the MMPI-2 profiles for professional job applicants with corresponding profiles on the original MMPI. Male and female MMPI-2 profiles were also compared, and correlational and factor analyses were used to examine: A) Interscale correlations vis-à-vis item overlap, and B) The impact of K-corrections. The subjects were 82 auditor applicants, plus 212 sales and management applicants from an earlier study. The original MMPI was found to overpathologize applicant profiles. Male and female MMPI-2 profiles differed only on Mf. Scales L, K, and Hy formed a favorable cluster for job applicants, while F, Hs, Pt, Sc formed one unfavorable cluster—and D, Si a second. K-corrections consistently moved clinical scales in the direction of the favorable cluster.