An examination of Millon's dimensional and stylistic descriptions of normal personality

Millon's new dimensional conceptualization of personality, as measured by t he Millon Index of Personality Styles (MIPS; Millon, 1994), was linked to h is traditional taxonomy of normal personality styles as assessed by the Per sonality Adjective Check List (PACL; Strack, 1987, 1991b). Participants wer e 61 male and 87 female college students (N= 148). At the bivariate level, PACL scales were most strongly associated with MIPS interpersonal behavior scales and least associated with MIPS cognitive-style scales. Similar PACL and MIPS interpersonal style measures were correlated highest with each oth er in 6 of 8 comparisons, whereas PACL personalities were reliably associat ed with MIPS measures of Millon's 3 basic axes. A factor analysis of combin ed scales yielded 4 principal components that accounted for 70% of the vari ance. The first 3 of these linked PACL scales in a predictable manner with all 3 MIPS measurement domains. A 4th factor, which loaded only MIPS scales , appeared to measure an artistic personality style. Results indicated that the MIPS retains Millon's original stylistic descriptions of normal person ality while providing unique measures of his 3 bipolar axes and 8 Jungian c ognitive styles (Jung, 1936/1971).