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ON NOT "GIVING PSYCHOLOGY AWAY": The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Public Controversy Over Testing in the 1960s

Psychological tests, especially the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, became the center of public controversy and Congressional scrutiny during the 1960s. This unwanted attention actually helped American psychologists more than they imagined. Assisted by those on Capitol Hill, psychologis...

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Published in:	History of psychology 2002-08, Vol.5 (3), p.284-309
Main Author:	Buchanan, Roderick D
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Subjects:	Biological and medical sciences Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology General aspects History of medicine History, 20th Century MMPI - history Psychological Tests - history Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychology. Psychophysiology Public Opinion United States
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container_title	History of psychology
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creator	Buchanan, Roderick D
description	Psychological tests, especially the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, became the center of public controversy and Congressional scrutiny during the 1960s. This unwanted attention actually helped American psychologists more than they imagined. Assisted by those on Capitol Hill, psychologists were able to defend their science in a manner that avoided imposed forms of public accountability. Social questions were reformulated as technical problems. The need to adjust intelligence and aptitude tests reinforced psychologists' control over them. Conversely, personality tests were not made more transparent and nonintrusive, unless psychologists thought these changes were scientifically necessary. This episode prompted tighter regulation of test use and demonstrated that traditional forms of testing were far too important to popularize and "give away."
doi_str_mv	10.1037/1093-4510.5.3.284
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source	PsycARTICLES
subjects	Biological and medical sciences Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology General aspects History of medicine History, 20th Century MMPI - history Psychological Tests - history Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychology. Psychophysiology Public Opinion United States
title	ON NOT "GIVING PSYCHOLOGY AWAY": The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Public Controversy Over Testing in the 1960s
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