Music: Sweet Dreams
The HMTI (Hershey's Miniatures Personality Indicator)
Working on the foundation of other personality indicators such as the
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Indicator (MMPI) and the Meyers-Briggs
Personality Indicator (MBPI), as well as thought modality systems such
as the Gregoric Personality Assessment (GPA), we find an additional diagnostic
modality based on the nontransitive desires associated with cocoa-based
confection preference in the small-sample, long-duration psychological
testing protocol.
Using the standard
Hershey's Miniatures chocolate assortment, the test is conducted by
allowing the diagnostic subject to eat a substantial portion of the
bag over a several-day period, observing what sample chocolates are
ingested first, as well as any pertinent remarks made by the subject.
The clinician administering the test is specifically cautioned to avoid
making any references to the choices made by the diagnostic subject
during the testing period. It is also suggested that any clinician who
administers the HMTI on a regular basis avoid ingesting many of the
chocolates themselves, to avoid excessive caloric intake and subsequent
eating disorder-related weight gain.
There are four
sample types in the standard Hershey's Miniatures assortment. We denote
each of the four types by the following:
G: Mr
Goodbar
K: Krackel
R: Regular Milk Chocolate
S: Special Dark
The primary metric
of the HMPI is to observe the preference structure of the subject given
the above choices in between-meal snacking. Additional metrics are associated
with the preference ratio between rated confections, the consistency
of response (e.g. does the subject ALWAYS choose Regular in preference
to Mr. Goodbar?), and the subject's style of injestion.
By observing the
subject consuming the confections over a period of minutes to several
days, a clinical profile of the subect may be developed.
The HMPI testing
protocol requires a fresh bag of Hershey's Miniatures for each subject.
As the ratio of available confections changes as confections are consumed
by the subject, it is important to start from a standardized state as
well as to avoid adding additional chocolates to the remaining set as
they are consumed. An extension of this testing methodology to multiple
subjects and resupplied confections will be developed in future research.
Analysis of the
subject metrics
The clinical metrics
of the subject may be read in the following style; each type of confection
conveys a number of indicators which are self-prioritized by the subject.
Certain indicators may be disavowed, expecially by subjects stating
"I don't like that kind". On some occasions, a refusal to consume a
particular confection type may, of course, be indicative of some form
of denial or repression.
G: Mr Goodbar
G-preferers ("Mr.
Goodbar") embody a self-image of old-fashioned virtue and a semi-Calvinist
attitude of "one gets what one deserves". If taken to an extreme, the
G-preferer subject can also become reactionary, chauvinist, and monomaniacal.
The possibility of paranoid reaction and/or repeated episodic violence
against a group or percieved group cannot be ruled out. High G-rejection
preference indicates a rejection of society's reward structures and
a weak self-image; in extreme cases one may find bomber/arsonist tendencies,
as well as memberships in the ACLU.
K: Krackel
K-preferers ("Krackel")
are indications of a happy, almost irreverent aspect of the personality.
Strong K-preferrer indications are emotional lability, giggles or laughter
when socially inappropriate, and making little toys out of the candy
wrappers. Extreme K-preferer metrics may be indicative of a manic complex;
poor impulse control and random-victim violence is associated with high
Krackel preference. Conversely, K-refusers are associated with long-term
depression and codependent self-image.
R: Regular Milk
Chocolate
R-preferers ("Regular
Milk Chocolate") view themselves as "precisely meeting the socially
required standards". R personalities are highly extroverted and dependent
on the reaffirmation of their roles in social interactions. Strong type
R preference may be coincident with a weak self-image and a strong R
personality may be easily pursuaded to become a "follower" in criminal
groups or religious cults, accosting strangers in airports and holding
up liquor stores and gas stations. Rejection of R confections indicates
a rejection of social standards and behaviors (in contrast with G rejection,
which rejects the social reward/punishment interaction)
S: Special Dark
S-preferer("Special
Dark") personalities tend toward the extremes of sensation. S-preferer
personalities are attracted to marginalized subcultures and have a disregard
for societal norms. A high S preference is correllated with sadomasochism,
necrophilia, sexual vampirism, and other "dark" paraphilias. Conversely,
strong S-rejection (and thus rejection of marginalized subcultures)
correllates with a high risk of becoming a Greenpeace member or, in
extreme cases, a television evangelist.
Secondary observations:
Order choice
In general, a subject
will choose confections in non-strict priority; instead of consuming
all of the R's, the subject will intersperse the R's with G's, K's and
D's. Subjects following a strict ordering can be considered to indicate
a rigidity of personality.
Conversely, subjects
with no strong preferences whatsoever may be exhibiting an inner confused
state by their behavior. Episodic preference of one type confection
followed by another when both confections are available in equal quantity
can be an indicator for multiple-personality disorder. Mixed consumption
without preference among two confections generally indicates a typical
and non-pathological blend of the personality types; however uniform
consumption (especially methodically controlled uniform consumpton)
of three or all four confections often indicates that the subject is
trying to decieve the clinician (i.e. "beat the test"). Such subjects
must be treated with suspicion.
Some subjects
will indicate that they are consuming chocolates in the inverse order
"to save the best for last". (denoted ICDG, for inverse consumption-
deferred gratification) Such deferred gratification is often a correllator
to weak self-image and depression, especially in type strong-R or K-rejector
subjects.
Subjects who refuse
all chocolates should be considered at risk for an eating disorder;
the clinician should also be checking for the presence of bulemic behavior.
Secondary observations:
Consumption mode
Subjects will typically
consume the chocolates in one of these ways:
1) biting and
chewing the pieces (BC)
2) chewing the
entire bar without biting off pieces (CE)
3) biting off
pieces, then sucking the pieces (BS)
4) sucking on
the entire bar, without biting at all (SE)
A "bite and chew"
(BC) subject exhibits some anxiety controlled to a societal norm. As
the test progresses, the subject may progress to a "chew entire" (CE)
mode, which is indicative of a loosening of control and an increase
in the demand for instant gratification. An increase in agitation will
usually be noted on this transition.
A "bite and suck"
(BS) subject indicates a lack of anxiety while still conforming to the
societal norms and standards. As in the chewing modes, a transition
to "suck entire" (SE) may occur, indicating rejection of control; however
in contrast to the chewing modes this indicates not instant gratification
but an embracement in sensuous activity verging on the narcissistic.
Forming the HMPI
Clinical Profile
After the subject
has been observed and the preference ordering (or lack of ordering)
obtained, the clinical profile is formed by combining the salient points
of the strong preferences, strong rejections, and the secondary observations.
The observation
set is denoted by the primary metrics, with parenthesis to indicate
groups of equal preference; strong rejectors are indicated with a prefix
hyphen, with excessively strong preferrers denoted by a prefix plus
sign. Secondary observations, such as ICDG, BC, and BC transition CE
follow.
A quick summary
of HMPI profiling shows that any extreme preference or extreme rejection
is bad news, lack of preference is bad news; and any style of consumption
(including refusal to consume) is bad news.
This, of course,
is good news; clearly anyone who is feeling so out-of-sorts that they
will eat an entire bag of chocolates is in need of some professional
help. The HMPI test merely proves what was previously known and justifies
some further therapeutic efforts on the part of both the subject and
the clinician.
-Crash [ an +[SK]
R -G, SE transition CE ]
- aka Bill Y.
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