As a previous poster mentioned, there are 15 “lie” (L scale) items which are used to detect rather straightforward and unsophisticated ways for the test-taker to attempt to present him or herself in a favorable light. They are as follows:
16. Once in a while I think of things too bad to talk about.
29. At times I feel like swearing.
41. I do not always tell the truth.
51. I do not read every editorial in the newspaper every day.
77. Once in a while I put off until tomorrow what I ought to do today.
93. Sometimes when I am not well I am irritable.
102. I get angry sometimes.
107. My table manners are not quite as good at home as when I am out in company.
123. If I could get into the movies without paying and be sure I was not seen, I would probably do it.
139. I would rather win than lose in a game.
153. I like to know some important people because it makes me feel important.
183. I do not like everyone I know.
203. I gossip a little at times.
232. Sometimes in elections, I vote for people about whom I know very little.
260. Once in a while, I laugh at a dirty joke. Clearly, getting past these is pretty easy. What would the average, non-virtuous person answer? The more vexing problem is getting past the dreaded “K scale”. There are twice as many (30) of these items than there are L scale questions. Worse yet, these questions are anything but clear cut. Unlike the L scale questions, if you answered each of these just to avoid raising your K scale, you would end up raising a good many other negative things, potentially into pathological territory.
The way I look at the K scale questions, is to break them down into three different situations:
1) Items where it’s worth raising your K scale a little to avoid raising even worse scales
2) Items where it’s a no-brainer to avoid raising your K scale because there is little to no downside
3) Items where it’s a personal choice whether to take the raised K scale or raise other scales instead I’ll break down the K scale items into groups of these situations and in doing so, you can see each of the 30 K scale items. First, group #1: 37. At times I feel like smashing things. FALSE
83. I have very few quarrels with members of my family. TRUE
110. Most people will use somewhat unfair means to gain profit or an advantage rather than to lose it. FALSE
116. Often I can't understand why I have been so irritable and grouchy. FALSE
127. Criticism or scolding hurts me terribly. FALSE
130. I certainly feel useless at times. FALSE
196. I frequently find myself worrying about something. FALSE
213. I get mad easily and then get over it soon. FALSE
284. I think nearly anyone would tell a lie to keep out of trouble. FALSE
339. I have sometimes felt that difficulties were piling up so high that I could not overcome them. FALSE Again, these are items where it’s arguably better to take the raise to the K scale rather than the raise to other negative things. Answering all these questions in such a way does not come close to raising your K scale to clinically significant levels and you are still left looking quite honest in your answers.
Next is group #2: 148. I have never felt better in my life than I do now. TRUE
157. What others think of me does not bother me. TRUE
171. I am against giving money to beggars. TRUE
267. I have periods in which I feel unusually cheerful without any special reason. TRUE
330. I am full of energy. TRUE
356. I find it hard to set aside a task that I have undertaken, even for a short time. TRUE
365. I like to let people know where I stand on things. TRUE Believe it or not, answering TRUE to all the above avoids raising your K scale AND other negative scales, so it comes with virtually no downsides. Although the questions themselves may seem silly and thus the answers might sometimes seem counter-intuitive, the people who designed the test were able to correlate these answers with specific types of pathology, so it is what it is.
Lastly, we have the third group, the most difficult ones to answer: 29. At times I feel like swearing. TRUE
58. I think a great many people exaggerate their misfortunes in order to gain the sympathy and help of others. TRUE
76. It takes a lot of argument to convince most people of the truth. TRUE
122. At times my thoughts have raced ahead faster than I could speak them. TRUE
136. It makes me impatient to have people ask my advice or otherwise interrupt me when I am working on something important. TRUE
158. It makes me uncomfortable to pull a stunt at a party even when others are doing the same sort of things. TRUE
167. I find it hard to make small talk when I meet new people. TRUE
243. When in a group of people I have trouble thinking of the right things to talk about. TRUE
290. I worry over money and business. TRUE
338. People often disappoint me. TRUE
341. At periods, my mind seems to work more slowly than usual. TRUE
346. I have often met people who were supposed to be experts who were no better than I. TRUE
348. I often think: "I wish I were a child again." TRUE As you can see, I personally believe it’s best to answer them all as TRUE, raising things like “cynicism” and “introversion”, rather than looking like a sophisticated liar. Again, this is a personal choice and with these you can go either way. Ultimately, if you answer your questions in the above manner you will keep ANY of your scales from raising to “red flag” levels, provided you don’t answer poorly on all the remaining (non-K or L scale) questions.
Remember, since test admins have no concept of “cheating” they generally won’t watch you at all during the test, which means you can write down or print any of these questions and bring them with you. It can be much harder to recognize the K scale questions than it is the L scale ones.
Hopefully this helps someone! Let me know if you want any of the individual test items broken down to show what scales they individually raise and I’ll be glad to post them in detail.
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MMPI 2 First 75 Questions out of 567 Psych Exam (Read 1088618 times)
