California Psychological Inventory

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Psychological Testing Using the California Psychological Inventory 

  • This month you are to write a 1200-word research paper on psychological testing using one of the following instruments: California Psychological Inventory, 16 Personality Factors or the MMPI.
  • This paper is worth 15% of your grade.
  • Please use the APA format and cite at least four (4) sources. Take time to review the APA video posted in the Getting Started area of the course.
Assignment Requirements (Use as a checklist):

You will select one of the above testing instruments:

  • CPI
  • 16PF
  • MMPI

and research and discuss the following aspects of the test:

  1. Development and Description
  2. Uses
  3. What does it measure
  4. Strengths
  5. Weaknesses
  6. Reliability
  7. Validity
  8. Administration
  • Use a 10 or 12 pt Arial or Times New Roman Font
  • Double-space paper
  • Minimum of 1200 words. No more than 2,000 words
  • Minimum of four (4) cited sources
  • Use APA format and parenthetical citations right after cited material (See below)
  • Make sure your name is on your paper
  • Paper should contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion

Answer preview

The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) has been in existence for quite some time. It was first used in 1951 and has had to go through numerous improvements to increase its accuracy and validity (Jones & Peskin, 2017). Professor Gough believed he could use the California Psychological Inventory to understand human conduct and what motivates its emergence and then use this information to anticipate how an individual will act in the future. The validity and reliability of the CPI test results are the main reasons behind the popularity of this measurement tool, especially within the corporate world.

The person credited with coming up with the CPI is Professor Harrison Gough, of the University of California. During development, Professor Gough started by borrowing a couple of items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and then made his additions to CPI. The additions were variations of the MMPI since they had a slightly lesser clinical inclination. The original CPI model had five hundred and forty-eight components, which generated fifteen scale scores. The number of items covered by the CPI has changed over the years, with the 1987 edition having four hundred and eighty items while the 2002 model contained two hundred and sixty items (Jones & Peskin, 2017).(1452 words)