Ch 11 and 12 Flashcards
Personality
An individual’s unique constellation of psychological traits that is relatively stable over time
Trait
Any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one individual varies from another
State
a less enduring way
Personality Typology
- A Constellation of traits that is similar in pattern
- Type A vs Type B
- MMPI profile types; MBTO types
Personality Dimensions
Big Five Personality Inventory
- Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience
Theory Driven
Myers-Briggs
Data Driven
MMPI
Data Driven [placeholder]
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Item writing stage
Content approach
Literature as a guide
Data Analysis
Factor analysis to determine traits
Objective vs Projective [placeholder]
Objective Methods
- Select response from short answer items
- Little judgement required to score
- Truly “objective”
Projective Methods
- Less structure more internal desires and conflicts would emerge
- “Project” needs, motives, desires, conflicts, etc. onto the neutral stimulus
- Makes sense of the ambiguous
– Tap the unconscious
– Less ability to fake
Varying Reporters
Interviews of clients or others
Self-Report
Other-Report
Self-Report
- May explore self concept: attitudes, beliefs, opinions & related thoughts about oneself
- Potential problems: Faking good, Faking bad, Lack of insight into own personality
Other-Report
- Reporting by a third party
- Potential problems
– Context of evaluation
– Rater bias
Nomothetic vs. Idiographic [placeholder]
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Nomothetic
applying a small number of personality traits to all people
Idiographic
Trying to learn about an individual uniquely (i.e sentence completion could reveal an infinite number of traits)
Theory Guided Objective tests
- State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
- Edwards Personal Preference Schedule
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Myers Briggs examples
- When you go somewhere for the day would you rather… (forced choice format, one or the other)
Type A and Type B Behavior
Type A - Competitiveness, haste, restlessness, impatience, feelings of being time-pressured, and strong needs for achievement and dominance
Type B - Completely opposite of Type A mellow or laid back
Data-Driven: Criterion-Keyed Objective
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
- Developed in the 1940s as psychiatric diagnosis by Hathaway and McKinley
- 567 true/false, self-report items
- MMPI-2 came out in 1989 (revised (2001)
- Subtests
- 4 validity scales
- 10 clinical scales
- Several supplementary scales
Instrument Development [placeholder]
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Criterion Group
Reference group of test takers who share characteristics
Empirical Criterion Key Method
Selected items that would differentiate between a group of test takers
- Group 1 - Possesses traits of interest
- Group 2 - Group that may or may not possess the traits of interest
- Determine which items reliably differentiate between the two groups
Data-Driven: Factor Analytic Inventories
- Sixteen Personality Factor Inventory
- Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Psychoticism, Extraversion, Neuroticism)
- NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R) [Neuroticism, Extraversion. Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness]
Projective Tests
- Inkblots
- Pictures
- Words
What is a Projective Test?
- Employs a standard of ambiguous stimuli
- Responses are reflections of unconscious processes
- Tests must be evaluated by trained clinical psychologists
Common Projective Tests
- Rorschach Inkblot Test
- Thematic Apperception Test
- Projective Drawings (House Tree Person Test)
- Sentence Completion
- Arrangement of Pictures
The Rorschach Inkblot Tests
- Published in 2001
- Standard set of 10 inkblots
- Reponses viewed as symbolic of internal dynamics
- A perceptual-cognitive task (How people perceive and organize situations)
- Children and Adults
Rorschach Administration
Several administration/scoring/interpretation guidelines have been published
- Most common is Exner Comprehensive System
Presentation Phase: Cards presented one at at time (What might this be?)
Inquiry Phase: What features led to the response? (What made it look like ____?)
Rorschach Scoring (Exner)
Personality from several response aspects
- Location (inkblot part)
Entire stimulus, small section, white space
- Determinants
Form color shading
- Content
Human, animal
- Popularity
Frequency of response
- Form
Does perception fit with inkblot
Thematic Apperception Test
- Developed by Murray and Morgan in 1930s
- Series of cards with pictures on them
- Patients asked to tell a story about what is happening in the pictures
- Measures (need for achievement, affiliation, dominance)
- Believed to be a reflection of unconscious life theme
- Poor reliability and validity (over diagnose)
Children’s Apperception Test
- Similar to TAT, but used for children
- Consists of 10 pictures
- Appropriate for ages 3 - 10
- CAT-A uses cartoon animals in human settings
- CAT- H uses human subjects
Word Association
Words as projective stimuli
- Respond what comes to mind
- Clinician tries to interpret your personality
Sentence Completion
Patient given an incomplete sentence stem and asked to finish
Completed sentences reflect underlying motives
Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank
Projective Drawings
- Typically done with children
- House, Tree, Person
– Derived on clinician intuition
- Poor validity
- Kinetic-Family-Drawings-Test
Projectives: Summary Contents
Assumptions - Does it actually get at unconscious processes?
Situational variables- Related to both examinee & examiner
Psychometric Properties - Lack of reliability & validity evidence… But are they clinically useful?
Why are they still used?
- Long-held stereotypes
- Interpretations seem to make sense
- Occasionally useful in therapy
Behavioral Methods
Assess overt behavior rather than theoretical constructs
- Manipulate antecedents & consequences
- Best predictor of future behavior is____
- Emphasize empiricism
Behavioral Approaches
Observation
Self monitoring
Response style
Tendency to respond in some characteristic manner regardless of item content
Acquiescent: agree with what is presented
Nay-sayer: disagree with what is presented
Extreme: endorse extreme rather than middle ratings
Fake-good vs. Fake-bad
Validity scale
Subscale used to assist in judgements regarding honesty in responding
Ex: MMPI Validity Index
- Lie (L) Scale: Identify people who are deliberately trying to answer dishonestly
- F Scale: To detect unusual or atypical way of answering items
- K Scale: To identify people with psychopathology that had normal range profile
