Personality Pattern Scales Flashcards
7 cards from real MCMI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Personality Pattern Scales flashcards as text
A client with a markedly elevated MCMI Scale 2A profile is likely to show which core feature?
Answer: Desire for social engagement with fear of rejection and hypersensitivity
Scale 2A (Avoidant) reflects intense desire for closeness paired with extreme sensitivity to humiliation and rejection.
Millon's biosocial learning theory underlies the MCMI scales; which reinforcement strategy does the Dependent personality (Scale 3) rely on?
Answer: Passive-dependent: seeking nurturance from others
Scale 3 (Dependent) reflects a passive-dependent strategy of relying on others as the primary source of positive reinforcement.
On the MCMI, an elevation on Scale 6B (Aggressive/Sadistic) is best interpreted as reflecting which behavioral tendency?
Answer: Overt intimidation and domination of others
Scale 6B (Aggressive/Sadistic) captures a pattern of using power, force, or cruelty to control and intimidate others.
Which MCMI Personality Pattern Scale is associated with a self-image of being undeserving and a tendency to sabotage positive outcomes?
Answer: Scale 8B (Self-Defeating/Masochistic)
Scale 8B (Self-Defeating/Masochistic) reflects a pattern of undermining one's own success and accepting mistreatment.
A clinician compares elevations on Scale 1 (Schizoid) vs. Scale 2A (Avoidant). Which distinction is most clinically meaningful?
Answer: Schizoid individuals are indifferent to relationships; Avoidant individuals desire but fear them
Scale 1 (Schizoid) reflects genuine indifference to relationships, while Scale 2A (Avoidant) reflects a conflict between wanting and fearing connection.
High scorers on MCMI Scale P (Paranoid) typically demonstrate which cognitive style?
Answer: Concrete and rigid thinking with suspicion of others' motives
Scale P (Paranoid) captures hypervigilance, suspiciousness, and a rigid tendency to attribute malicious intent to others.
In Millon's polarity model, the Narcissistic personality (Scale 5) is best described as operating primarily on which polarity orientation?
Answer: Active-independent: seeking reinforcement from within the self
The Narcissistic pattern is active-independent, drawing reinforcement primarily from internal self-appraisal rather than from others.