Lateral Inhibition

Abstract

Synonyms Lie scale Definition One of the original validity scales on the Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and its revisions, the L scale consists of 15 items designed to detect attempts to avoid responding honestly. The items reflect patterns of behavior that are socially desirable but only found in the most conscientious individuals. ''True'' is the non-elevating response for all items, making the scale also sensitive to systematic response bias. There is good face validity to these items; however, because of their transparency, the scale may not detect more sophisticated attempts to respond dishonestly. Elevations on this scale have been associated with denial and lack of psychological sophistication. In addition to its value in the validation of MMPI data, the clinical neuropsychologist may find value in the L scale in validating information obtained in the clinical interview. Readers are referred to the MMPI entry for a discussion of limitations of this self-report measure when used with neuropsychologi-cal populations