Psychological Testing and Forensic Decision Making: The Properties-in-Use of the MMPI

Abstract

This paper reports an ethnographic study of the use of psychological testing in decision making by a forensic psychiatry organization that makes recommendations to the courts regarding criminal justice, child custody, and workmen's compensation cases. Psychological testing using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) supports the decision-making process. Through a variety of interpretive practices, the staff deals with contradictions between the MMPI and other clinical information, while maintaining the sense that the MMPI is a valuable tool that can provide valid assessments. Test results are generally accepted when they indicate a client problem but are likely to be rejected when they indicate no problem and other clinical information suggests that a problem does exist. The logic associated with these interpretive practices is examined.