Favorability Ratings of MMPI Sex Items: Stimulus Pull or Social Interaction Effects?

Summary This study examined the influence of sex of subject, sex of experimenter, and need for approval on Ss' perception of the sex items of the MMPI. Each of the 32 male and 32 female Ss was seen individually by one of 4 male and 4 female Es who instructed the S to rate the 16 items on a five-point favorability continuum. The results are consistent with earlier findings that opposite-sexed E-S dyads are more likely to produce conventional, socially desirable responses than same-sexed dyads. The study also revealed that Ss with a high need for approval are more cautious and guarded in their evaluation of “negative” and “positive” sex items than Ss with a low need for approval. The overriding determinant of the favorability ratings, however, is the stimulus pull of the items themselves.