MMPI screening scales for somatization disorder

44 items on the MMPI were identified which appear to correspond to some of the symptoms in nine of the 10 groups on the Perley-Guze checklist for somatization disorder (hysteria). This list was organized into two scales, one reflecting the total number of symptoms endorsed and the other the number of organ systems with at least one endorsed symptom. Full MMPIs were then obtained from 29 women with primary affective disorder and 37 women with somatization disorder as part of a follow-up study of a consecutive series of 500 psychiatric clinic patients seen at Washington University. Women with the diagnosis of somatization disorder scored significantly higher on the somatization disorder scales created from the 44 items than did women with only major depression. These new scales appeared to be slightly more effective in identifying somatization disorder than the use of the standard MMPI scales for hypochondriasis and hysteria. Further development is needed.     

A factorial analysis of olfaction

Twenty-one reagents were rated on a pleasantness scale by 182 subjects. The tetrachoric correlation coefficients were determined for the variables. The correlation matrix thus obtained was subjected to a Thurstone analysis which gave rise to a 6-dimensional structure. Two of these were not clear-cut, and the last one appeared to be a residual factor. One factor, the benzene-ketone, revealed the chemical property of unsaturation and the physiological quality of possible trigeminal stimulation. The other two factors were marked by the presence of oxygen and nitrogen, respectively, and were tentatively labelled as a plant factor and an animal factor accordingly. The intercorrelations of the primaries are high.The author wishes to express his gratitude to Professor L. L. Thurstone for his kindness in providing facilities which made this study possible and for his guidance on the factorial problem; to Doctor T. G. Andrews for his many invaluable assistances and technical advice on the experimental aspect of this problem; to Miss Florence Brown for her editorial assistance; and to Mrs. Virginia Brown for her generous assistance on the computational procedures.     

A common factor in the MMPI scales of married couples.

Using canonical analysis, a common factor in the MMPI scales of husbands and wives was found. The Sc, Pd, and Hs scales for both the husbands and the wives contributed heavily to the relationship. Other scales contributing to the correlation between the personality components of the pairs were F, Hy Pt, and Si for the husbands and Pa for the wives. The results were interpreted as indicating areas of homogeneity and heterogeneity in the personalities of married couples.     

Social desirability and Wiggin's MMPI content scales.

Using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) item pool, Wiggins (1966) developed 13 scales, each with a homogeneous content. The 13 scales, along with marker scales for the 1st 3 MMPI factors, Edward's social desirability (SD), Welsh's repression (R), and Wiggins's social desirability (Sd) respectively were scored in the MMPI. The same scales were scored in an Experimental Multiphasic Personality Inventory (EMPI). A principal-components analysis of the 16 scales when scored in the MMPI resulted in 4 factors. A principal-components analysis of these same scales when scored in the MMPI and when scored in the EMPI were found to be highly congruent. The SD, R, and Sd scales proved to be excellent markers for the 1st 3 factors of the MMPI and also for the 1st 3 factors of the EMPI. Results provide further evidence that the 1st MMPI factor is a social desirability factor rather than a content factor.     

A critique and comparison of two scales from fifteen years of studying compulsive buying

Compulsive buying is an important construct in marketing that has far-reaching personal and social implications. The profile of the adult compulsive buyer in the literature is based largely on the 1992 Faber and O'Guinn Compulsive Buying Scale. A second compulsive buying scale by Edwards has also been used but sparingly. Empirical research conducted over that past 15 years with these two scales shows that, although both scales were designed to measure compulsive buying, the two appear to be different operationalizations of the construct. The present review raises several psychometric issues about both scales. Their robustness is crucial to a clear understanding of the antecedents and consequences of compulsive buying. Directions for research are added.