Writing a Good Cookbook: I. A Review of MMPI High-Point Code System Studies

Abstract

A small set of studies that will be called the high-point code system studies has contributed greatly to the perception of the MMPI as an empirically grounded clinical instrument. Ten published studies have provided data concerning the interpretive significance of high-point codes in general. This article provides a methodological evaluation of these studies. We reviewed the features that distinguish these studies from other MMPI actuarial studies. The high-point code system studies were designed to maximize clinical usefulness, more so than even other actuarial studies, but sometimes did so at a potential cost in power. We address this issue further in a second article on effect sizes derived from the high-point code system studies (McGrath & Ingersoll, this issue). We found striking differences across studies in the code-definition strategies used. Which strategy represents the optimal high-point coding strategy for clinicians who use the MMPI remains an unresolved question because any strategy requires some tradeoff between the ideals of code group homogeneity and inclusiveness. We also address the issue of whether complete description or unique description of code group members is a more desirable goal for such studies and discuss implications of the findings for future research on this topic.