Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI): obsolete norms identify psychopathology in nearly everyone

We conclude that the PAI US norms are no longer appropriate for high-stakes assessments, ought to be withdrawn immediately, and new up-to-date norms ought to be established to prevent mislabelling and diagnostic misclassifications of and harm to examinees. Continued use of the PAI outdated norms in high stakes assessments carries ethical risks, is non-scientific, and likely amounts to malpractice.

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Publication Details

Journal
PeerJ
Published
2025-11-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.20340
Primary Topic
Psychological Testing and Assessment
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI): obsolete norms identify psychopathology in nearly everyone

Bob Uttl, M. Tat, Kiefer Sikma
PeerJ
Psychological Testing and Assessment
article

Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI): obsolete norms identify psychopathology in nearly everyone

Bob Uttl, M. Tat, Kiefer Sikma
article en

Abstract

We conclude that the PAI US norms are no longer appropriate for high-stakes assessments, ought to be withdrawn immediately, and new up-to-date norms ought to be established to prevent mislabelling and diagnostic misclassifications of and harm to examinees. Continued use of the PAI outdated norms in high stakes assessments carries ethical risks, is non-scientific, and likely amounts to malpractice.

PeerJVol. 13
Mount Royal University (CA)
Openalex Percentile: Top 62%
Psychological Testing and Assessment
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