Any U.S. citizen, if purposely exposed to sensitive classified information, ideally has been previously granted an appropriate security clearance status.  Prior to the granting of security clearances, an evaluation and adjudication process takes place and this process can, in some cases, occupy a goodly period of time and expense.  Evaluations are concerned with an individual’s past history and character and the matters focused upon, in these investigations, are fully specified in U.S. Federal Code and associated regulations and directives.  One such directive that pertains to a very high-level security clearance, something that is called “Top Secret – Sensitive Compartmented Information” (or TS-SCI), is the Director of Central Intelligence Directive 6/4 (or DCID 6/4); the last version appeared in 1997.  Actually, in a general sense, all the matters considered in granting a Top Secret level clearance are quite the same as for the lower-level clearances (i.e., Secret and Confidential) except that significantly less resources and effort are put into the investigation part of the governmental process.

     Even to those who might be considered as relatively unknowing about the evaluation/adjudication process for possible granting of security clearances, it usually is not at all surprising that one of the matters or areas of concern for evaluation is the involved individual’s mental health status and history.  This is then the logical basis for the DCID 6/4 specifying that anyone being evaluated for granting TS-SCI access (or for continuing this status) must undergo a formal mental health evaluation by an appropriately credentialed/trained clinical psychologist or psychiatrist 

     It can be easily argued that the most thorough and complete psychological research conducted pertaining to the large number of caught/uncovered, traitorous, U.S. citizen spies has been done and reported by Stone (i.e., 1991, 1992).  [A complete specification of Dr. Stone's published research on spies and espionage can be found in that portion of his Web Site that is titled as:
Pulbications.]  Much of Stone’s published findings are based upon his research that was done in the 1990s which mainly involved multivariate study of spies who were operating from following the end of World War II up until the time the research analyses were completed.   By 1991 his traitorous U.S. citizen spies database included no fewer than 184 cases; he  (i.e., Stone, 1991 ) was able to conclude, based upon research of this database, that major mental illness really was not a variable that should be considered as a ‘significant’ causation (or even as a correlate) of traitorous spying behavior. 

     Apparently, at least based upon the logic expressed in the DCID 6/4, it is still believed that some spies do what they do because of mental illness.   Stone (1991, p. 30) on this particular matter described what his research had shown.  He stated:

          “However, the number of caught American spies who have shown significant mental
          illness  is extremely small.  Of all the U.S. spies, caught since the end of World War
          II, only two were not charged and were released because they were believed to be
          insane or at least have significant mental health problems.

          A closer look at those two suggests that they may not actually have had mental health 
          problems and that the claims of mental illness may represent a cover for a plea-bargain
          arrangement.  The best available record of one of those spies indicates that she had a 
          psychological disorder of only minor severity.  That is hardly the basis of a successful 
          insanity defense.

          The other person, an Air Force sergeant, was declared by a military medical board to be 
          both insane and incompetent to stand trial.  From a criminal justice point of view, it is 
          difficult to understand how he could be found insane and incompetent at the same time 
          without going to trial.

          Again, it appear that an allegation of significant mental illness was a cover for a deal 
          involving implicating others in the spy ring.  If so, there really is no record of any U.S. 
          [citizen] spy with mental health difficulties so severe that the person was declared
          insane or incompetent to stand trial.”

     Anyway, utilization of highly trained clinical psychologists and/or psychiatrists to evaluate individuals in the process that may lead to the granting of high-level security clearances continues without any sign of cessation, right up to the present time.  In just about all of the clinical evaluations, at least those conducted by clinical psychologists during the past 30-40 years, administration of a well-known psychological test, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), has almost always been a sort of standard operating procedure.

     Since the early/mid 1980s, when the present author first formally started building his research database that included many dozens of biographic/demographic variables, all pertaining to caught/uncovered, traitorous, U.S.. citizen spies, his research became known to a number of officials in the U.S. intelligence community.  As a result, some common-interest ‘friendships’ were developed with a few managerial officials who were, in fact, high-level leaders in intelligence agency Offices of Security.  During his last almost dozen years (in a 24-year length career), when the present author was a senior psychologist in one of larger U.S. intelligence agencies, he many times informally was given ‘non-classified’ information pertaining to caught/Uncovered spies, for his database, by a number of his  Office of Security ‘friends.’  The MMPI score information that will be presented in the remainder of this presentation was one example of some of these informational ‘gifts.’

 The Spy, William H. Martin

      The description of Martin, that follows, is the entry for him in "The Encyclopedia of American Intelligence and Espionage: From the Revolutionary War to the Present" (1988), by G. J. A. O’Toole.

         “MARTIN, WILLIAM H. (May 27, 1931- ):
          Cryptologist, defector

         A native of Columbus, Georgia, Martin was raised in the state of Washington.  His 
         exceptional intelligence was recognized in high school and Martin  was encouraged
         to finish school in three years.   After attending Central Washington University for
         a year, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy.  Because of his mathematics background he
         was assigned to cryptographic duties with the Navy Security Group.  He served in
         Alaska and later at the Navy’s communication intercept station in Kamiseya, Japan.

              After his discharge in 1954, Martin remained in Japan where he worked as a civilian 
         employee of the Army Security Agency.  After a year he returned to the United States
         and enrolled in the University of Washington, where he studied mathematics.  After 
         graduation in 1957 he joined the National Security Agency and worked as a cryptologist
         in the Office of Research and Development.

              In 1960 Martin and his NSA associate, Bernon F. Mitchell, with whom he had
         served in the Navy, defected to the Soviet Union, where they disclosed to the Soviet
         government highly classified information regarding the NSA and American electronic 
         intelligence operations.

              Martin changed his name to Sokolovshy, became a Soviet citizen and married
         a Russian woman.  He reportedly is disillusioned with life in the Soviet Union.” 

His MMPI Scores

     While attending the University of Washington, it is understood that Martin requested and received some counseling at that institution’s Student Counseling Center.  While involved in this process, it has been understood that Martin was administered the MMPI.  An alleged copy of his MMPI profile score sheet was ‘given’ to the author of this paper; seemingly due to this author’s widely known interest in the psychology of espionage.  The copied MMPI profile sheet was a copy of an ‘old’ form of such a sheet and on it was an indication that Martin’s scores on it had originated at the University of Washington during the time when Martin had matriculated there.    The author of the present paper believes that these alleged scorings for Martin were, in fact, actually attributable to  him.  Martin’s T-scores for the MMPI validity and clinical scales are as follows:

                                                Scales                    T-Scores
                                                     ?                           50
                                                     L                          56 
                                                     F                          55
                                                     K                          60
                                                     Hs                        56
                                                     D                          50
                                                     Hy                        60
                                                     Pd                         57
                                                     Mf                        53
                                                     Pa                         55
                                                     Pt                          55
                                                     Sc                         56
                                                     Ma                        53
                                                     Si                          45

A cursory inspection of these scale scorings reveals that none are unusually high or low; in fact, all could easily be considered to be within “average” ranges.  Basically, what can be inferred from this configuration of MMPI scores is that no indication of any significant or major mental illness are seen.  Since, in many of the various descriptions of Martin that later appeared in publication is that it was believed (by the government security experts who investigated his case) that Martin and Mitchell had been homosexually involved with each other.  Since some MMPI interpreters have expressed a view that a male-obtained, elevated Mf (i.e., masculinity/femininity) scale score was an indication of heighten feminine interests and thus possible homosexual tendencies, and inspection of Martin’s Mf  Scale score showed nothing that could be regarded as an elevation.  In fact, when one reads the very excellent relating of the Martin and Mitchell incident by James Bamford (1982) in his book, The Puzzle Palace, one is not left with any understanding that any kind of homosexual relationship existed between these the two defectors.  Bamford makes it very clear that a causation for their traitorous decision/behavior had not a thing to do with anything homosexual but was political ideological in kind.  All of the later available information, after their defection to the Soviet Union, nothing in any of their approximately 40 years in the USSR can be interpreted as being suggestive of any meaningful homosexual tendencies.  Martin was noted to have taken a Russian wife and apparently this marriage was successful, according to the usual standards. 

     If Martin’s set of MMPI scores, seemingly obtained while he was still a student at the University of Washington, which was not very long before he was processed and adjudicated by the NSA for possible TS-SCI access, were actually available to this agency’s adjudicators, they could have not been interpreted in any way that would have been damaging to his evaluation for obtaining a high-level security clearance.  Nothing, other than interpreting his set of MMPI scorings as being indicative of a favorable mental health status, would be expected once his scorings are inspected and considered.

     It should be also noted that it is believed that it was Martin’s idea to go to his University’s counseling center, seeking some assistance and that his being administered the MMPI was in this context.  Normally, it is believed that fairly high test-taking validity occurs when the subject individual is the one is seeking some type of therapy or help.  In such a situation, the test-taker is not usually found to be highly prone to show a “fake-good” direction response style.   One other matter should be mentioned in this regard and that is his known very high intellect.  Experienced MMPI-using psychologists are often aware that intelligence is negatively correlated to the MMPI Lie Scale as highly intelligent test-takers apparently can see through
the measurement purposes of most of the MMPI scales, including the validity scales.

     As a side note, it should be mentioned that Martin, and his partner, Mitchell, when it was discovered that they had defected to the Soviet Union and were telling the Soviets all that they knew about the NSA, cryptology and all related matters, this resulted in probably the most drastic and sweeping reaction, on the part of the U.S. Government, than had any other traitorous spy discovery, before and perhaps up to the present time.  Major Congressional response, sweeping personnel changes in the NSA at all levels including even the highest,  formal development of what looked like homophobia within the Pentagon and the general intelligence community (which appears to continue to exist even today), a ‘purge’ of many 
Agency employees suspected only of “sexual deviancy,” major changes and additions to the evaluation process for being granted high-level security clearances, and an increased Agency paranoia, all resulted in the months and couple of years, following their defection.
 

The Spy, Ronald W. Pelton

     A quite brief description of Pelton that is accurate but rather understated  is given in Jay Robert Nash’s 1997 book, "Spies: A Narrative Encyclopedia of Dirty Deeds & Double Dealing from Biblical Times to Today"; this description is as follows:

     “PELTON, RONALD
       U.S. Spy for Soviets  (1942 -    )

      Pelton worked for the NSA in a minor capacity, joining that ultra-secret agency in 1965.  He 
      resigned in 1979 and the following year he established contact with the KGB.  Pelton
      delivered whatever secrets he had stolen from NSA files to the Soviets and continued his
      contact with them for the next five years, receiving small sums for his information.  The
      Soviets at the time may or may not have found Pelton’s information useful but it was
      customary for the KGB to continue liaisons with any American citizens who might later be
      useful to them.  Keeping them on the dole, promising more money in greater sums to
      come, always to come.  Pelton was one of these.  He was finally unearthed by federal
      agents, tried and convicted in 1986.  Pelton was sent to prison for life.”  [Actually, this quoted
      brief description of Pelton can be regarded as being rather unflattering about him; most 
      others, and unfortunately usually more lengthy descriptions of him, generally indicate that he 
      should be thought of as possessing a high intellect, having some kind of photographic 
      memory, and that the loss of information he caused NSA was horrendous.]

     It is interesting to note that Pelton was one of the multiple number of spies who were caught in the so-called “year of the Spy” (which was 1985); he ended up being one who the news media more heavily focused upon.  As with the Martin and Mitchell case, Ronald Pelton’s uncovering also resulted in a good deal of ‘noise’ coming from the U.S. Congress that ended with an upgrading of security clearance standards for the intelligence community, especially aimed at the NSA. 

     The author of the present paper, a number of years ago, was ‘provided’ with a four-page set of already responded-to MMPI answer sheets.  These answer sheets were published by the Psychological Corporation, copyrighted by the University of Minnesota in 1943; no earlier copyright dates are seen on any of the sheets.  The name hand-written on top of all sheets was “Ronald W. Pelton” as well as the date, “30Jun65.”  This author submitted these responses to a computerized MMPI scoring program that not only scored for the standard validity and clinical scales but also for a number of additional supplemental scales (i.e., Harris and Lingoes scales, Serkownek scales, Subtle-Obvious scales, Frequently scored research scales, Wiggins content scales, and the Tryon, Stein, and Chu scales).  Pelton’s standard validity/clinical scales scores are shown below:

                                               Scales                      T-Scores
                                                    ?                             50
                                                    L                            50
                                                    F                            46
                                                    K                            57
                                                    Hs                          44
                                                    D                            44
                                                    Hy                          51
                                                    Pd                          48
                                                    Mf                          53 
                                                    Pa                           50
                                                    Pt                           48
                                                    Sc                          44
                                                    Ma                         43
                                                    Si                           44

     Inspection of Pelton’s scorings n the many additional scales, which were 86 in number, showed that he did not obtain any T-scores on any of these scales below 30 or above 70.  Generally, these two T-score levels are regarded as the cut-off points used to identify possible ‘significant’ elevation levels.  Basically, what can be inferred from all of this just described MMPI scorings?  They suggest normality, being average, and/or no identified or suggested mental health problems.  In fact, these scores almost scream out a status of normalcy!  Of the set of so-called ‘critical items that were utilized in this attempted MMPI interpretation, with only one did Pelton respond in the scored direction (i.e., with a “true”); this particular item was: “I have had very strange experiences.”   Although there was absolutely no doubt regarding William Martin’s extremely high intellect, it has already been mentioned that information exists that also suggests that Ronald Pelton’s  intellect level was considerably above average, most likely in the so-called ‘Superior Range.’ 
 
 

     What has been reported in the few previous pages of this presentation may appear to some as some kind of  highly unexpected  findings.  A number of people (psychologists included!) seem to believe that any citizen who would knowingly become an active traitor to the United States and engage in such felonious activities, as did William Martin and Ronald Pelton, would certainly show some significant mental health problems.  With Pelton, perhaps another alternate explanation seems to be more likely; namely, since it is assumed that he was administered the above indicated MMPI as part of his NSA employment/clearance evaluation process and that, due to his superior intelligence, he could be believed of being capable of producing a set of responses to the test’s items that were not overly valid so as to produce what appeared to be a mentally healthy ‘picture’ of himself.   In fact, when Pelton’s history, especially that part of his life following his leaving the NSA in 1979, seems to correspond clearly with several of the “psychopath” traits that have been described as being diagnostic by Hare (1991).  Although it would be quite incorrect to suggest that Pelton was a psychopath, it would be early to argue that he certainly had some tendencies in this direction.  This same kind of explanation would not so easily fit William Martin’s situation as it seems that his being administered the MMPI was as the result of his own seeking for some type of helpful counseling.  Why would Martin be motivated to distort or invalidate something that he himself had sought and seemingly valued? 

     Why can it not be speculated or considered that his (i.e., Martin’s) MMPI scoring configuration, obtained back when he was still an undergraduate student at the University of Washington, validly reflected his then current mental status.  When one attempts to psychologically understand Martin, there is very little in either the pre-defection stage of his life, or after his defection to the then Soviet Union, that would be considered as a symptom of mental ill health.  His decision (made cooperatively with a colleague peer with whom he had known for several years and who apparently he respected) to politically and criminally blame the United States for a number of existing problems and that he held some quite obviously incorrect and naïve appreciation of the Soviet Union, can be easily believed.  It can be argued that his ‘mental problem’ was that of basically being politically ideologically naïve.  The present author has no difficulty viewing William Martin in a way that bears remarkable similarity to what can be understood a an extreme liberal in today’s society.   Based upon his 50+ year familiarity with the MMPI (and its later version), the present author, has no awareness that political liberalism is correlated with psychometric measurement of mental ill health.  The writer of this present paper views Martin, back around 1960, as being a sort of internationally oriented political liberal who somehow viewed communism as then being the best model for world government.

     Martin’s early history, and most certainly his later life history (i.e., following his defection to the Soviet Union), clearly does not support the accusatory contentions made by the U.S. Government toward them following his and Mitchell’s defection.   The U.S. Government described the Martin and Mitchell defection to the Soviet Union  apparently being mainly  blamable to their “homosexual relationship.”  With this said, it is interesting to note that the only information that history has actually recorded (at least in the so-called ‘open literature’) that could suggest that either Martin or Mitchell had had something in their pasts that could later label them as being homosexual was something that Mitchell (and not Martin)  had apparently revealed, during a polygraph examination.  It has been described that during such an examination/interrogation session, Mitchell described something to the effect that when he was a teenager he had sexually “experimented” with a chicken and a dog, perhaps when he was as young as 13 years of age.  At the time he revealed this information, his interrogator (and later security clearance adjudicators) must have not been overly concerned about this particular revelation as he was regarded as having “passed” the polygraph session and in a short time was later hired by  NSA and granted his TS-SCI security clearance status.  It should be noted that his particular admission of some sexual exploration  antics, as a teenager, was done by Mitchell and NOT by Martin.  There is available no information that would suggest that Martin had any areas of his life that would suggest sexual deviancy and most certainly nothing for either of them that would suggest a homosexual relationship between them.  Mitchell, not very long before his and Martin’s defection did attend a few limited counseling sessions with a local Baltimore/Washington area psychiatrist.  Seemingly, after the defection had taken place this psychiatrist was interviewed by U.S. Government investigators and it is alleged that he described that Mitchell had revealed that he had what apparently were bisexual interests (but no homosexual experiences were apparently revealed).

     Why then would the U.S. Government want to state that investigation had revealed that the most likely causation for their defection was their homosexual relationship?  One should remember that Martin and Mitchell’s defection were hired at the NSA in 1957, only four years following the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.  The warnings of Senator Joseph McCarthy that the U.S. Government was riddled with card-carrying communists were still quite loud and believable when Martin and Mitchell became U.S. Government employees in what was regarded as the Country’s most secret intelligence agency.  It can be hypothesized that the Department of Defense (which included the NSA), as well as the investigating congressional committees, felt less vulnerable to criticism if they could attribute the Martin and Mitchell defection as having occurred because of some psychological or mental problems, such as they had been homosexuals rather than their having developed strong positive beliefs and interests in Communism and/or that actually their defection could be more easily attributed to their ideological political beliefs.  It may have boiled down to a simple decision, that was undoubted made by a governmental official, that Congress would have to punish the NSA (and quite possibly other intelligence agencies) less if the defection could be blamed on something such as homosexuality rather than caused by the defectors being communists or the like.  For what it is worth, the Martin and Mitchell case made the matter of homosexuality then to become one of the more major polygraphing questioning areas, in NSA security clearance processing for the next 30 or 35 years.   The just given reason for why Martin and Mitchell defected is not at all an unusual or never-before seen explanation.  In fact, Bamford (1982) very extensive and well-researched description of this NSA spy case, he presents just about the same motivation(s) for the defection.  Bamford states:  “Never once did the [investigating congressional] committee bother to look into what might have been the deeper reasons for the defection, the political and ideological motivations [p. 145].”

     Based upon what has been said in the several previous pages regarding the MMPI scores attributed to William Martin and to Ronald Pelton, it can be stated that Martin’s MMPI scoring configuration most likely reflected his psychological status in a relatively valid fashion at the time he responded to the MMPI items.  On the other hand, it would seem rather likely that Pelton’s set of MMPI scores were ‘encouraged’ by him so a to produce some kind of communication of favorable mental health.  In Martin’s case, his scorings with the validity scales probably were correct as they indicated valid response on his part.  In Pelton’s case, that fact that his validity scales scores being within so-called ‘average limits’ most likely can be used to provide some type of commentary as to his quite high intellect – he is believed to have created a set of scores that were motivated by a strong and sophisticated desire to “fake-good.”

     What is perhaps the most important  consideration/understanding that can come out of this current description of two traitorous spies’ MMPI scores, is simply that there really is nothing that should cause one to only expect to see psychometric indications of psychopathology when inspecting personality testing results produced by traitorous spies.  Spies do not have to be mentally ill, homosexual, or unintelligent.  There is no ‘law’ that states that such persons are unable to either validly or invalidly produce an MMPI scoring configuration that is normal or average in appearance and is suggestive of a status of favorable mental health  Much of the origin for assuming that a traitorous spy is likely to be a mental or emotional ‘cripple’ is due to U.S. Government being motivated to not want to admit a political ideological belief status might be an underlying cause for some of the spying.  Senator Joe McCarthy may have been greatly disliked and feared, but unfortunately there was a good deal of validity in what he was preaching, namely that there were a large number of Communists in our Government back in the 1950’s.  The danger still exists, the only major change is that these enemies of our Country, as we have known it, are very similar to what Martin and Mitchell were.  Today, they would be regarded (by others and by themselves) as being political liberals having a special interest in ‘one world government’ or the like.

     One additional matter may be learned from the presentation that has just been laid out in these several pages is that the appropriateness of using the MMPI (or its later versions) in some type of attempt to discern psychological tendencies toward traitorous spying and/or defection  Actually, the MMPI is very poorly designed for this kind of purpose.  It was created to identify possible presence or tendencies of various types of psychiatric psychopathological diagnostic entities for the test-taker.  The presence of mental illness has never, in any reliable fashion, been  found to be diagnostic for those who might have elevated tendencies for traitorous spying and/or defection.  The MMPI is (and is its later versions) a personality test that was never designed for many of the various uses it has been given in the past five or so decades.  It is suggested that if psychologists wish to evaluate individuals, for sensitive job and security clearance granting matters, that they should give some study to psychological assessment instruments that have bee designed especially for such a purpose.  The Personnel Security Standards Psychological Questionnaire (PSSPQ) immediately comes to mind (Stone, 19887).
 
 

Bamford, James (1982). The Puzzle Palace: A Report on NSA, America's Most Secret
     Agency.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Hare, R. D. (1991).  The Revised Psychopathy Checklist. Toronto, Ontario, Canada:
     Multi-Health Systems.

Nash, Jay R. (1997). Spies: A Narrative Encyclopedia of Dirty Deeds & Double Dealing
     from Biblical Times to Today. New York: M. Evans Co. Inc.

O'Toole, G. J. A. (1988). The Encyclopedia of American Intelligence and Espionage from
     the Revoltionary War to the Present. New York: Facts on File.

Stone, LeRoy A. (1987). Manual: Personnel Security Standards Psychological Questionnaire
     (PSSPQ). Harpers Ferry, WV: Probity Press.

Stone, LeRoy A. (1991).  I Spy a Myth. Security Management, 35, 26-33.

Stone, LeRoy A. (1992).  Canonical Correlation between Security Clearance Adjudicaion
     Concerns and Later Motivational Causes for Espionage Behavior. Forensic Reports, 5,
     305-316.