Chapter 2- How is Personality Studied and Assessed? Flashcards
What is a subjective assessment?
A measurement that relies on interpretation
What is the weakness/strength of subjective assessments?
weakness: diff observers can make diff judgements
strength: experts can gain valuable insights
What is reliability?
consistency of scores that are expected to be the same or similar
What is test-retest reliability?
instrument’s degree of consistency on different occasions
What is internal-consistency reliability?
correlation between 2 halves of a test
internal-consistency reliability is measure by what?
cronbach’s coefficient alpha- average of all possible split-half correlations
What is construct validity?
the extent of test truly measuring a construct
Construct validity involves what two factors?
construct validity and discriminant validity
What is construct validity?
measure is related to what it should be
What is discriminant validity?
measure is not related to what it should not be related to
What is criterion-related validity?
measure can predict important outcome criteria
What is content validity?
measure has items that represent the entire domain of the theoretical construct
What are items?
questions or statements in surveys
What are 5 things items should do?
be clear/relatively simple, discriminate among test takers, total score should have normal distribution, be intercorrelated (relate to each other), avoid ceiling/floor effect
T/F: ceiling/floor effect is when answers skew the scales
T
What is an objective assessment?
measurement depends on measuring observations that are quantifiable
What are the weaknesses and strengths of an objective assessment?
weakness: same factors are difficult to interpret in terms of research
strengths: results based on concrete data; more reliability
What are response sets?
bias in responding to test
What are 2 examples of response sets?
acquiescence response set and social desirability
What is an acquiescence response set?
response remains relatively the same
ex. always checking yes
What is social desirability in terms of response sets?
answering in a way that reflects well on the test-taker
Which of the following is NOT one of the ways you can reduce response sets by:
1. use several different methods of assessment
2. include lie-scales (used to pick up lies in survey)
3. reverse code some items (make 4 into 2)
4. watch the test-taker in person
- correct answer: use neutral wording
What is ethnic and gender bias?
a strong characteristic in one group may be perceived as a weakness in another
What are the 10 personality measures?
self-report tests, q-sort test, expressive behaviors, life stories, projective tests, demographs/lifestyle, judgments by others, biological measures, behavioral observations, and interviews
Which personality measure is the most common?
self-reports
What are self-report tests?
usually a pencil/paper test to encourage authenticity (ex. MMPI)
What is a q-sort test?
person makes comparisons among own characteristics
Sorting cards that have characteristics on them into piles based on how descriptive the card is of the person describes which personality measure?
q-sort test
The personality measure of judgements by others is when ____ answers questions about the person being measured
someone else
Biological measures for personality assumes what?
that the nervous system is an important element of personality
Behavioral observations records what?
the actual behavior of the person
What are 3 types of behavioral observations?
- simple counts of specific behavior
- coding videotaped interactions
- electronic beeps (randomly beeps + participants record their behavior at the time of the beep)
What are the pros and cons between unstructured interviews and structured interviews?
unstructured:
pros- have rich info, con- validity is questionable
structured:
pro- more valid, con- don’t reveal individual nuances
What is expressive behaviors as a personality measure?
an analysis of how people stand, move, speak, etc
What is life story/document analysis as a personality measure?
careful analysis of writings like letters/diaries
-can be very rich source of info
What are projective tests?
present person with ambiguous stimulus, task, or situation and test taker interprets it
The goal of projective tests is to:
gain insight into unconscious motives/concerns
What is the use of demographics as a personality measure?
uses info about a person’s age, place of birth, gender, and family size to understand people based on their everyday lives
We must be careful when doing what?
interpreting test results and choosing how to apply the results
What are 3 common designs in personality?
case study, correlational study, and experimental study
