Psychology Commons^™

Role Of Peer Attachment And Normative Beliefs About Aggression On Traditional Bullying And Cyberbullying, K. Burton, Dustin Wygant, Dan Florell

Dustin B. Wygant

This study examined the effects of normative beliefs about aggression and peer attachment on traditional bullying, cyberbullying, and both types of victimization. Cyberbullying departs from traditional forms of bullying in that it is through forms of technology, such as the Internet, which increases situational anonymity. Eight hundred fifty students in Grades 6 through 8 completed a survey that assessed normative beliefs about aggression, peer attachment, and traditional bullying and cyberbullying behaviors, which suggested that students who are involved with traditional bullying are also involved in cyberbullying. Adolescents with higher normative beliefs about aggression are more likely to be traditional bullies, …

Examining The Necessity For And Utility Of The Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (Ppi-R) Validity Scales, Jaime Anderson, Martin Sellborn, Dustin Wygant, John Edens

Dustin B. Wygant

The present study aimed to investigate the need for and utility of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory—Revised (PPI–R) Deviant Responding (DR) and Virtuous Responding (VR) validity scales in identifying overreporting and underreporting, respectively. Since the PPI–R was published, there has not been an independent peer-reviewed examination of these scales. Participants were 384 undergraduate individuals asked to respond to the PPI–R under standard, underreporting, or overreporting instructions. A comparison group consisting of 200 forensic psychiatric patients was also used for the overreporting analyses. Effects of response bias on mean elevations on the PPI–R substantive scales were examined along with the effects on …

Estimating The Accuracy Of Neurocognitive Effort Measures In The Absence Of A “Gold Standard”, Douglas Mossman, Dustin Wygant, Roger Gervais

Dustin B. Wygant

Psychologists frequently use symptom validity tests (SVTs) to help determine whether evaluees' test performance or reported symptoms accurately represent their true functioning and capability. Most studies evaluating the accuracy of SVTs have used either known-group comparisons or simulation designs, but these approaches have well-known limitations (potential misclassifications or lack of ecological validity). This study uses latent class modeling (LCM) implemented in a Bayesian framework to estimate SVT classification accuracy based on data obtained from real-life forensic evaluations. We obtained archival data from 1,301 outpatient evaluees who underwent testing with the Computerized Assessment of Response Bias (CARB), the Test of Memory …

Association Between The Mmpi-2 Restructured Form (Mmpi-2-Rf) And Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction Among Non-Head Injury Disability Claimants, A. Tarescavage, D. Wygant, R. Gervais, Y. Ben-Porath

Dustin B. Wygant

The current study examined the over-reporting Validity Scales of the MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008/2011) in relation to the Slick, Sherman, and Iverson (1999) criteria for the diagnosis of Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction in a sample of 916 consecutive non-head injury disability claimants. The classification of Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction was based on scores from several cognitive symptom validity tests and response bias indicators built into traditional neuropsychological tests. Higher scores on MMPI-2-RF Validity Scales, particularly the Response Bias Scale (Gervais, Ben-Porath, Wygant, & Green, 2007), were associated with probable and definite Malingered Neurocognitive Dysfunction. The MMPI-2-RF's Validity Scales …

Elaborating On The Construct Validity Of The Triarchic Psychopathy Measure In A Criminal Offender Sample, Jennifer Stanley, Dustin Wygant, Martin Sellborn

Dustin B. Wygant

Patrick, Fowles, and Krueger (2009) developed the triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy in an effort to integrate historical theories and contemporary measurement models. The model proposes 3 phenotypic domains of boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Patrick (2010) developed the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), a 58-item self-report measure, to index these 3 domains. This study examined the construct validity of the TriPM in a sample of incarcerated offenders (N = 141) and found evidence of good construct validity in that the scales were related to conceptually relevant normal-range and dysfunctional personality trait criteria, as well as narcissism and deficits in empathy.

DOI:10.1080/00223891.2012.735302

Viewing Psychopathy From The Perspective Of The Personality Psychopathology Five Model: Implications For Dsm-5, Dustin Wygant, Martin Sellbom

Dustin B. Wygant

The current study examined the association between domains from the Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5; Harkness & McNulty, 1994) model, which is a dimensional model of pathological personality that corresponds closely to the proposed domains of the DSM-5, and psychopathy as indexed by the Psychopathy Checklist-Screening Version (PCL-SV; Hart, Cox, & Hare, 1995). The sample comprised 99 individuals undergoing forensic psychological evaluations. The PSY-5 domain of Aggressiveness was strongly associated with the PCL-SV global measure of psychopathy, as well as both PCL-SV parts and the four facets. The PSY-5 domain Disconstraint was preferentially associated with the behavioral facets of psychopathy, whereas …

Utility Of The Mmpi-2-Rf In Detecting Non-Credible Somatic Complaints, Martin Sellbom, Dustin Wygant, Michael Bagby

Dustin B. Wygant

We examined the utility of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) validity scales (infrequent responses (F-r), infrequent psychopathology responses (Fp-r), infrequent somatic responses (Fs), symptom validity (FBS-r), and response bias (RBS)) in differentiating individuals who were asked to feign physical health problems from a group of somatoform disorder patients and genuine medical patients with no history of mental health problems. A large group of undergraduate students were instructed to feign physical health problems as if they were participating in a disability evaluation for a work-related injury. Comparison groups were drawn from archival databases and consisted of non-litigating medical patients …

Empirically Guided Case Conceptualization Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder With The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (Mmpi-2-Rf) In A Forensic Disability Evaluation, Lauren Vines, Roger Gervais, Dustin Wygant

Dustin B. Wygant

The following article discusses how the Restructured Form of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI -2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008) can be used in case conceptualizations for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), particularly in compensation seeking settings. We review contemporary conceptualizations of PTSD, particularly emphasizing the role that affect and personality in regards to etiology of the disorder, as well as different manifestations of the disorder. We then review the case of an individual seeking compensation for trauma related disability performed by the third author. Particular emphasis is placed on examining how interpretation of the MMPI-2-RFprofile is guided by empirical findings.

Development And Construct Validation Of Mmpi-2-Rf Indices Of Global Psychopathy, Fearless-Dominance, And Impulsive-Antisociality, Martin Sellbom, Yossef Ben-Porath, Christopher Patrick, Dustin Wygant, Diane Gartland, Kathleen Stafford

Dustin B. Wygant

This paper reports on three psychopathy indices derived from scores on the MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008). In Study 1, we describe the development of such indices referenced to the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) and its two distinguishable facets, Fearless-Dominance and Impulsive-Antisociality. We estimated psychopathy scores by regressing PPI scores onto conceptually selected MMPI-2-RF scales in a combined sample of 825 college students and correctional inmates. In Study 2, we explored the construct validity of these psychopathy measures in college student and correctional samples. The measures demonstrated conceptually expected patterns of associations with …

Brushed-Off Testimony, Stanley Brodsky, Dustin Wygant

Dustin B. Wygant

In line with years of tradition, soldiers young and old come together at the local pub or hall to swap war stories of time in the trenches. For the forensic clinician, the trenches represent the hard-fought battles during expert testimony. As it turns out, our pub was a social gathering at the 2012 meeting of the American Psychology Law Society in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The University of Alabama Psychology Law Program hosted a social gathering for its faculty, graduate students, alumni, and friends to come together and share stories and camaraderie. It was in this setting that we launched …

Child Custody Evaluations: Ethical, Scientific, And Practice Considerations, Robert Archer, Dustin Wygant

Dustin B. Wygant

Child custody evaluations are among the most difficult of forensic evaluations. The current paper examines differences between custody evaluations and other types of psychological and forensic evaluations. We also discuss important ethical issues regarding these evaluations and review the typical components of a custody evaluation, with particular attention on psychological testing as a component of custody evaluations. We then discuss the role ofresearch in informing the interpretation of the evaluation data and provide a complete sample custody evaluation report to illustrate several points from the manuscript.

Association Of The Mmpi-2 Restructured Form (Mmpi-2-Rf) Validity Scales With Structured Malingering Criteria, Dustin Wygant, Jaime Anderson, Leslie Allgeier, Jesica Rapier, Martin Sellbom, Robert Granacher

Dustin B. Wygant

The current study examined the validity scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath and Tellegen 2008) in relation to the structured malingering criteria developed to assess malingered neurocognitive dysfunction and pain-related disability. These criteria examined a sample of 251 individuals undergoing compensation-seeking evaluations, who completed a battery of response bias measures. The MMPI-2-RF over-reporting scales yielded large effect sizes in contrasting those in the probable/definite malingering groups from the incentive only groups. The largest effects were found for the Infrequent Responses and Gervais et al. (Assessment, 14, 196–208, 2007) Response Bias Scale, an experimental scale that …

Further Validation Of The Mmpi-2 And Mmpi-2-Rf Response Bias Scale: Findings From Disability And Criminal Forensic Settings, Dustin Wygant, Martin Sellbom, Roger Gervais

Dustin B. Wygant

The present study extends the validation of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) Response Bias Scale (RBS; R. O. Gervais, Y. S. Ben-Porath, D. B. Wygant, & P. Green, 2007) in separate forensic samples composed of disability claimants and criminal defendants. Using cognitive symptom validity tests as response bias indicators, the RBS exhibited large effect sizes (Cohen's ds = 1.24 and 1.48) in detecting cognitive response bias in the disability and criminal forensic samples, respectively. The scale also added incremental prediction to the traditional MMPI-2 and the MMPI-2-RF overreporting validity scales …

Incremental Validity Of The Mmpi-2-Rf Over-Reporting Scales And Rbs In Assessing The Veracity Of Memory Complaints, Roger O. Gervais, Yossef S. Ben-Porath, Dustin Wygant, Martin Sellbom

Dustin B. Wygant

The Response Bias Scale (RBS) has been found to be a better predictor of over-reported memory complaints than Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) F, Back Infrequency (Fb), Infrequency-Psychopathology (Fp), and FBS scales. The MMPI-2-Restructured Form (RF) validity scales were designed to meet or exceed the sensitivity of their MMPI-2 counterparts to symptom over-reporting. This study examined the incremental validity of MMPI-2-RF validity scales and RBS in assessing memory complaints. The MMPI-2-RF over-reporting validity scales were more strongly associated with mean Memory Complaints Inventory scores than their MMPI-2 counterparts

(d ¼ 0.22 to 0.49). RBS showed the strongest relationship with memory …

Utility Of The Mmpi–2-Rf (Restructured Form) Validity Scales In Detecting Malingering In A Criminal Forensic Setting: A Known-Groups Design, Martin Sellbom, Joseph A. Toomey, Dustin B. Wygant, L. Thomas Kucharski, Scott Duncan

Dustin B. Wygant

The current study examined the utility of the recently released Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory—2 Restructured Form (MMPI–2-RF; Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008) validity scales to detect feigned psychopathology in a criminal forensic setting. We used a known-groups design with the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS; Rogers, Bagby, & Dickens, 1992) as the external

criterion to determine groups of probable malingering versus nonmalingering. A final sample of 125 criminal defendants, who were administered both the SIRS and the MMPI–2-RF during their evaluations, was examined. The results indicated that the two MMPI–2-RF validity scales specifically designed to detect overreported psychopathology, F-r and …

Examination Of The Mmpi-2 Restructured Form (Mmpi-2-Rf) Validity Scales In Civil Forensic Settings: Findings From Simulation And Known Group Samples, Dustin Wygant, Yossef Ben-Porath, Paul Arbisi, David Berry, David Freeman, Robert Heilbronner

Dustin B. Wygant

The current study examined the effectiveness of the MMPI-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Ben-Porath and Tellegen, 2008) over-reporting indicators in civil forensic settings. The MMPI-2-RF includes three revised MMPI-2 over-reporting validity scales and a new scale to detect over-reported somatic complaints. Participants dissimulated medical and neuropsychological complaints in two simulation samples, and a known-groups sample used symptom validity tests as a response bias criterion. Results indicated large effect sizes for the MMPI-2-RF validity scales, including a Cohen's d of .90 for Fs in a head injury simulation sample, 2.31 for FBS-r, 2.01 for F-r, and 1.97 for Fs in a medical …

Empirical Correlates And Interpretation Of The Mmpi-2-Rf Cognitive Complaints (Cog) Scale, Roger Gervais, Yossef Ben-Porath, Dustin Wygant

Dustin B. Wygant

The MMPI-2-RF Cognitive Complaints (COG) scale (Ben-Porath & Tellegen, 2008) was developed to assess self-reported memory and other cognitive difficulties. The present study explores cognitive and self-report correlates of the COG scale and provides recommendations for its interpretation. We examined archival demographic, cognitive test, and self-report symptom data from 1741 consecutive, non-head injury disability claimants seen in a private-practice setting. Insufficient cognitive effort and cognitive symptom exaggeration were controlled by excluding cases that scored in the biased responding range on cognitive symptom validity tests and the Response Bias Scale (RBS). Results of the study found that performance on COG was …

Clinical Utility Of The Mmpi–2 Restructured Clinical (Rc) Scales In Therapeutic Assessment: A Case Study, Dustin Wygant, Karen Fleming

Dustin B. Wygant

In the following article, we provide a case study on a 25-year-old man who was released from a crisis stabilization unit following a suicide attempt. After completing a diagnostic intake, the client participated in a Therapeutic Assessment (Finn, 1996, 2003), which included the MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 2001) and the Incomplete Sentences Blank (Rotter & Rafferty, 1950). In particular, in the article, we focus on how the Restructured Clinical (RC; Tellegen et al., 2003) scales can be used to form a personological conceptualization of the client. The RC scales measure important personality and affective trait dimensions including demoralization and both …