Faking good on the MMPI-2: A quantitative study

The present study, conducted during the Fall 1996 and Spring 1997 academic terms, investigated the susceptibility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2$\sp{\rm nd}$ Edition (MMPI-2) to fake good behavior. The MMPI-2 was administered to a sample population of 114 teacher education students at a private California university. Administrations were in two sessions a minimum of four to six weeks apart, including one in which the subjects were instructed to respond honestly and another in which they were instructed to fake good. A questionnaire inquiring as to their veracity on each administration was also collected. The null hypotheses were that (1) there would be no statistically significant differences between standard and fake-good clinical scale scores in the subject population, (2) there would be no correlation between MMPI-2 validity indices and the degree of MMPI-2 clinical scale elevation from standard to fake-good conditions, (3) MMPI-2 scales would not be susceptible to fake-good behavior, and (4) there would be no correlation between a subject\u27s perceived ability to fake good and their v actual fake-good performance. Each of the null hypotheses was rejected. Findings indicated that K (Consistency) corrected clinical scales on the MMPI-2, and to a lesser degree non-K corrected scales, were significantly susceptible to fake good behavior. The L (Lie) and K validity scales, however, were found to consistently detect the fake good behavior. Richwerger\u27s (1989) results were generally confirmed, and recommendations for practical application of the instrument were addressed