PROBLEMThe dual nature of perceptual defense, the facilitation or inhibition of response to threatening stimuli, is likely to be manifested in projective test protocols (6, 11). The explicit use of case history material to identify facilitators and inhibitors among hospitalized psychiatric patients was introduced by Ullmann (20). I n further work @2), the case history technique was refined and its use illustrated by replicated significant differences obtained between facilitators and inhibitors in humor preference. A number of difficulties, however, exist in the case history technique. To reduce t6ese weaknesses, this paper introduces an empirically derived scale measuring facilitationinhibition.The first difficulty with case history material involves rater reliability. To improve rater reliability, borderline cases are placed in an "unspecifiable" group. This procedure reduces the number of cases available for further work by approximately 40%. Aside from the reduction of usable sample size, categorization of subjects as internalizers, or externalizers, or acters-out, eliminates the possibility of using correlational techniques of greater power and flexibility. Another type of difficulty occurs when generalization or application to a college population is desired. Case histories are not available for normal subjects as they are for hospital populations, and even if such material were available, the inappropriate behavior used to make ratings would not be present to the same degree. An MMPI scale would eliminate error introduced in the scoring process, assign a designation to all subjects, provide scores on a continuum permitting the use of correlational techniques, and, if successful, be useful in both hospitalized and normal populations.The feasibility of developing such an MMPI scale had been indicated by findings with both patient and student populations. Using the case history technique, four samples of patients had been investigated. I n the first two 21), this author was the rater and found that the F minus K index differentiated facilitators from inhibitors and that the PA scale distinguished externalizers from acters-out and inhibitors. With two other Lim was the case rater, and the F minus K index again distinguished facilitators from inhibitors. While the association between the PA scale and the externalizer category was not replicated, the PD scale was found to distinguish acters-out from externalizers and internalizers. Aside from indicating likely success of the venture, these findings also indicated the need to use a crossvalidational technique and the value of screening all MMPI items rather than only those MMPI scales most frequently used to identify sensitizers and repressors.2The MMPI, especially HY and PT scale items, has been successfully used to identify sensitizers and repressors among college studentsc4, 7, *, 9 , lo, l 2 -13, 16, 17, l*).Altrocchi, Parsons and Dickoff ( l ) subtracted standard scores on D, PT (without K), and from standard scores on L, K, and D N ( '~) in order to identif...
