A psychologist administers the MMPI to a large group of people and identifies everyone who scores high on the schizophrenia scale as actually having schizophrenia. The psychologist plans to recommend drugs for everyone with a high score on that scale. Is that appropriate? If not, why not?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The psychologist has overlooked the base-rate information about schizophrenia, meaning that not everyone who scores high on the schizophrenia scale actually has schizophrenia. The base-rate information should be taken into consideration before any diagnosis or recommendation is made.

A Psychologist Administers the MMPI to a Large Group of People