A literature review of subtle-obvious items on the MMPI.

This article chronologically reviews the literature relating to subtle and obvious items of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Wiener's original development of subtle and obvious subscales, Seeman's support for the concept of subtlety, and Duffs arguments concerning empirical versus face validity are discussed. Later research exploring demand characteristics are then reviewed, such as the paradoxical relationships under differing instruction sets and population issues. The work from Auburn University researchers on the development of a 5-point subtlety scale, the interaction with personality factors, and individual scale research is critiqued.