4: Measuring Personality Flashcards
what distinguishes scales from inventories?
Scale - Measures one dimension of personality. (eg extroversion)
Inventory - Several scales that, together, measure multiple dimensions of personality. (eg Big 5)
what is the solution to random error?
Increase the number of items that measure the facet of interest = random high answer mitigates random low answer
define: acquiescence
tendency to agree
define: nay-saying
tendency to disagree
what are the 3 response set biases?
acquiescence, nay-saying & midpoint responding
what are the 2 solutions to response set biases?
Remove mid point to remove midpoint responding
Include Reverse-Scored Items (can be confusing if not done well)
what are the 2 solutions to faking personality tests?
Include ‘lie detector’ items
Make all option socially undesirable
what was Steffans & Schulze’s (2006) behaviour measure for agreeableness?
Participants turning up to take part in the study (for course credit) were (falsely) told that their name wasn’t on the list, and they might not be able to take part. Their responses were rated as an indicator of:
what was Steffans & Schulze’s (2006) behaviour measure for conscientiousness?
Participants were given an untimed computer task that required accuracy. Speed of completion was taken as a measure
what was Steffans & Schulze’s (2006) behaviour measure for neuroticism?
Participants did a ‘horrendously demanding’ working memory task. When they made mistakes, they received ‘scolding’ messages. Stress-related reactions that they made were rated as a measure
what was Steffans & Schulze’s (2006) behaviour measure for extraversion?
Participants were asked about their experiences of the study by a researcher. The time spent with the researcher, answering the questions, was taken as a measure
what was the correlation between behavioural measures & delf-report measures in Steffans and Schulze (2006) measures of the big 5?
Low concurrent validity between behavioural measures & self-report of the same trait
how is the IAT used to measure personality?
People should be faster matching the congruous categories (eg if you’re conscientious, you’d be faster at matching yourself with the conscientious categories than someone who isn’t)
how do IAT measures compare with self-report vs behavioural measures?
Some correlation between IAT scores and self-report scores.
For some traits, IAT score correlated more strongly with behaviour than self-report scores did.
But, still fairly low convergent validity – seem to measure different things.
what is the self-others asymmetry model?
Others more accurate than self when rating traits high in evaluativeness e.g. intellect
Self more accurate than others when rating low observability traits e.g. neuroticism
evaluativeness & observability are the most important
