Due to the proprietary nature of CBTI programs, it is not possible for independent researchers to fully examine the algorithms upon which they rest. This is of particular concern in forensic evaluations, in which the individual test taker’s credibility and character are directly at issue. This situation can be problematic, particularly in the hands of evaluators who lack the necessary training and experience to interpret them properly.
Not only are they unable to account for the test taker’s lived experiences, thus yielding generic narrative statements that may or may not be accurate, but the primary focus of CBTIs of the MMPI-2 on psychopathology also yield a predominance of negative descriptors as well as inappropriate attributions of causality. Computer-based test interpretations (CBTI) of the MMPI-2 are ubiquitous in forensic evaluations despite limited evidence that they are either reliable or valid.
