Announcing the publication of the MMPI-3

The University of Minnesota Press is pleased to announce the publication of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3). This is the first full revision of the test since the late 1980s and features a new, nationally representative normative sample, selected to match the 2020 US census projections for race and ethnicity, education, and age.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The MMPI-3 is the first full revision of the test since the late 1980s.

Press Release Date: 2020-11-02T11:30:00


(MINNEAPOLIS, MN)—The University of Minnesota Press is pleased to announce the publication of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-3 (MMPI-3). The MMPI-3 is the first full revision of the test since the late-1980s and features a new, nationally representative normative sample, selected to match the 2020 U.S. census projections for race and ethnicity, education, and age.

The MMPI-3 is the most recent major project in the research and development program on the MMPI instruments to which the Press made a commitment when it resumed direct publication of the original MMPI in 1982. The MMPI-3 builds on the history, research base, and strengths of the original MMPI (1942), the MMPI-2 (1989), and the MMPI-2-RF (2008) to create a well-validated, psychometrically up-to-date instrument for use in a broad range of settings.

The primary goals for the MMPI-3 were to enhance the item pool, update the test norms, optimize existing scales, and introduce new scales where warranted. Additionally, for the first time, Spanish-language norms are available for use with the U.S. Spanish translation of the MMPI-3. New scales assess disordered eating, compulsivity, impulsivity, and self-importance, and several existing scales have been enhanced. Data for developing, norming, and validating the MMPI-3 were obtained from over 28,000 individuals. Field data were collected for mental health, medical, forensic, and public safety settings.

MMPI-3 development was led by co-authors Yossef Ben-Porath and Auke Tellegen, with editorial guidance of the Press and its Advisory Board. Yossef Ben-Porath is a Professor of Psychological Sciences at Kent State University and a board certified Clinical Psychologist. He received his doctoral training at the University of Minnesota and has been involved extensively in MMPI research for the past 35 years. Auke Tellegen is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota. He was a Professor in the department from 1968 to 1999, having received a PhD in personality psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1962 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1963.

The University of Minnesota Press sponsored development of the MMPI-3 under the auspices of the Press’s Research and Product Development program, which is overseen by the University’s Office of the Vice President for Research and an external Advisory Board. The Board, composed of researchers and/or clinical practitioners credentialed in personality assessment and knowledgeable in the application and interpretation of personality instruments, including the MMPI tests, is responsible for working with the Test Division in setting r/d priorities; advising on the preparation and dissemination of requests for r/d proposals; reviewing r/d proposals submitted annually for Press funding; and reviewing all proposed publications of the Test Division.

Doug Armato, Director of the University of Minnesota Press, says: “The Press is grateful to authors Yossef Ben-Porath and Auke Tellegen, to the many researchers and clinicians who were involved in the field data collection process, and to those who reviewed and commented on the MMPI-3. The Press also wishes to thank longtime Test Division Manager Beverly Kaemmer who guided the revision process.”  

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