BASIC PERSONALITY
INVENTORY (BPI)
BACKGROUND
the BPI was created by Douglas N. Jackson
Ph.D.
Jackson was the former chairman of the
American Psychological Association (APA)’s
Committee on Psychological Tests and
Assessments.
He was also APA’s former president for their
Division of Evaluation, Measurement and
Statistics; and Society of Multivariate
Experimental Psychology
OVERVIEW
BPI is a multiphasic personality assessment
used to identify sources of maladjustment as well
as personal strengths
It is used with both clinical and normal
populations
It can be used for both adolescents and adults,
and takes far less time than most other
personality measures
QUICK FACTS
Composed of 240 True/ False questions
11 substansive clinical scales and 1 critical item
scale
Administration time: 35 minutes
Available in English, French, Spanish
Requires a reading level equivalent to Grade 5
THE BPI MEASURES 12 DISTINCT
PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAITS:
Hypochondriasis
Depression
Denial
Interpersonal problems
Alienation
Persecutory Ideas
Anxiety
Thinking Disorder
Impulse Expression
Social Introversion
Self Depreciation
Deviation
APPLICATION AND
ADMINISTRATION
The BPI is used as an assessment of psychopathology
in both psychiatric and counseling practices.
It can also be used as an assessment in juvenile and
adult correctional facilities and court referrals
In order to be purchased and administered an individual
must have:
1) A Doctorate Degree in psychology or a similar
discipline, such as counseling, education, human
resources, social work, etc.
2)The Direct Supervision of a qualified psychologist or a
qualified professional in a related discipline.
ADMINISTRATION
The BPI can be administered either individually or
in supervised groups. For both group and
individual administration, it is often helpful to
familiarize respondents with what is required by
reading aloud the instructions on the BPI cover.
SCORING
Scoring the BPI hand-scored answer sheet is an easy clerical
task requiring a single template. Because the BPI is
organized so that items keyed on the same scale are
arranged into vertical columns on the answer sheet, all that it
is necessary after aligning the template to the orientation
marks in the corners of the answer sheet is to count in the
appropriate columns the number of items that a respondent
has answered in the keyed direction.
THE BPI PROFILE
As has become traditional in personality assessment, the BPI
profile, together with a set of scale definitions forms the
foundation for interpretation of individual results. The BPI
profile is based on a “T” score metric, in which raw scores are
converted so that all scales have a mean of 50 and a
standard deviation of 10. This permits the comparison of
scale scores from scales with quite different means and
standard deviations using a single standard. The use of a T
score metric also permits an accurate understanding of a
respondent’s score on a scale relative to the appropriate
normative group.
PATTERN OF EVALUATION
When interpreting BPI results, it is important
to look not only at the results of individual
scales but also at the pattern of elevations.
INTERPRETATION OF SCALES
Hypochondriasis. contains items referring to a variety of physical complaints and
generalized malaise and weakness.
Depression. An elevation on the Depression scale needs to be explored fully in
order to differentiate between a situational or acute depression, which may be related
to the individual’s immediate circumstance, and a more chronic depression, which
would be more pathological.
Denial. An elevation on the Denial scale usually suggests that even though the
overall pattern of scores might be accurate for the rest of the BPI, the elevations
would have been greater if the individual had been more open in responding to the
questions.
Interpersonal Problems. Elevation on the Interpersonal Problems scale is
associated with individuals who are very resentful of authority and any attempts to
provide rules, structure, or limits in their life.
Alienation. High scores on the Alienation scale tend to indicate antisocial attitudes
often arising as a result of having been socialized in a deviant subculture.
Persecutory Ideas. Elevations on the Persecutory Ideas scale do not always or
necessarily reflect pathological levels of paranoia.
Anxiety. Individuals who have elevated scores on this scale are
experiencing high levels of psychological distress both intrapsychically and
in terms of common physical symptoms of anxiety. They may or may not
have very specific fears or phobias.
Thinking Disorder. The items on this scale refer to symptoms of serious
cognitive dysfunctioning, including auditory and visual sensory distortion,
disorganization, loss of memory, and dream-like states.
Impulse Expression. Individuals who score high on this scale tend to be
quite impulsive, sometimes in a manner that is dangerous or harmful to
themselves or others.
Social Introversion. This scale is associated with individuals who prefer
solitary activities to social ones.
Self Depreciation. Individuals who endorse many items on this scale tend
to have a very poor self-image.
Deviation. Individuals who endorse many Deviation items have either
responded non-purposefully or present a number of serious symptoms.
COMBINING BPI RESULTS WITH
OTHER RELEVANT RESULTS
As an instrument of personality assessment, the BPI should
be used in conjunction with other relevant information,
derived, for example, from a social or medical history. BPI
results can be used to confirm hypotheses generated by other
sources of information or, in fact, may be useful in generating
hypotheses to be evaluated within the entire assessment
process. The BPI results, in combination with other data, may
thus be used to aid in decision making, for example, in the
formulation of treatment goals.
THANK YOU &
HAVE A GREAT DAY!
-ROXANNE FORBES-
