Lecture 12- Self-Report Inventories (Peters)

Question 1

What is personality?

Answer 1

A complex construct that integrates all domains of psychological study

Question 2

What are the two major theoretical approaches?

Answer 2

General process theories

Structural/descriptive theories

Question 3

What are general process theories

Answer 3

• Focus is on the general process through which personality develops
• e.g., Freud, Bandura, Maslow
• Little on measurement or differences between individuals

Question 4

What is the structural/descriptive theories?

Answer 4

.Emphasise individual differences
• e.g., Cattell, Eysenck, Guilford, Five Factor Model
• Trait theories

Question 5

What is a trait?

Answer 5

A predisposition to respond to situations in a consistentway
Is unobservable
Predicts behaviours

Question 6

What is the nomothetic view?

Answer 6

• Trait theories assume there is a set of dimensions of personality on which all
people can be placed
• Responses from the individual are understood in the context of responses
from a large group of people
• The uniqueness of individuals is captured by scores on a set of traits – a
Profile (e.g., 16PF)

Question 7

What is the idiographic view?

Answer 7

• A standard set of traits cannot describe the richness of an individual’s
personality
• An individual’s behaviour may not be organised according to a particular trait
• A single set of traits cannot be relevant to all individuals
• Traits are ok – but a different set may be required for each person

Question 8

What are the two ways to measure personality?

Answer 8

1- Self Report-

2- Observe the person (rely on people close to them or observe them under standard conditions

Question 9

What psychometric properties does questionnaires possess?

Answer 9

Measure
Standardised norms
reliability and validity of test scores is assessed

Question 10

What formats can SRI take?

Answer 10

absolute- each item judged independently (yes/no)

Comparative/forced choice (2 or more items)

Question 11

Advantages of SRI?

Answer 11

• SRIs are easy to construct (relatively) and to establish norms
• Can be administered to groups as well as individuals
• Require little training for administration and scoring
• Time (and therefore cost) effective
• Can be used in variety of applied settings

Question 12

Disadvantages of SRI?

Answer 12

• Self-report assumes that the respondent:
• can be accurate (self deception)
• will be accurate (fake good/bad)

Question 13

What are the five different response tendencies?

Answer 13

Acquiescence – agree with what’s presented
• Non-acquiescence – disagree with what’s presented
• Socially desirable responding – tendency to see oneself in a favourable light
• Overcautious approach – choosing middle options on response scales
• Extremes in responding – endorse items in an unusual/uncommon way

Question 14

What are the three approaches to constructing self-report inventories?

Answer 14

External (aka empirical; criterion group)
• Inductive (aka factor analytic; internal)
• Deductive (aka rational; intuitive; theoretical)

Question 15

What is the external self-report measure?

Answer 15

• Scale membership of items is determined by criteria external to questionnaire domain
• assumes that people come in “batches” (happy-unhappy; depressed-manic)
• administer items to 2 groups, one known to have the trait (criterion group) and the other
known not to have the trait (reference group)
• keep the items that discriminate between the two groups

• Problem: Unreliability of criterion

Question 16

What is the inductive self-report measure?

Answer 16

attempts to identify the universals of personality by inferring from specific cases to the generalities
• inductive because the number and nature of the scales on a questionnaire follow from the data analysis
• generate a large number of items
• administer to as many people as possible (thousands)
• factor analyse results to group the items into scales
• devise labels

Question 17

What is the deductive report measure?

Answer 17

Choice and definition of construct(s) precedes item formulation
• formulate the construct or use an existing well formulated construct
• deduce basic descriptors from construct
• write items

Question 18

What are the selected inventories?

Answer 18

• External: MMPI-2
• Inductive: 16PF, NEO PI-3
• Deductive: MCMI-III, Myers-Briggs Typological Indicator

Question 19

What is the MMPI-2?

Answer 19

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
Criterion groups were psych patients with a diganosis and patients without diagnosis.
Items were retained that distringuished between the two groups.
567 items and rated true/false
Has both 10 clinical scales and 3 validity scales

Question 20

Whats is the 16pf?

Answer 20

Designed as measure of normal personality traits

185 items, 170 phrased as self statement and rated true/false or forced choice.

Question 21

What is NEO PI-3

Answer 21

Based on 5 factor model of personality traits
Based on the Five Factor Model of personality traits
• Items derived from previous questionnaires and rationally
derived items from domain descriptions
• Factor analysis yielded 5 factors each made up of 6 facets
• Revision allows use in adolescents as young as 12
• 240 items phrased as self-statements rated on a 5-point scale:

Self-report and observer-rating versions available
• Designed as a test of normal personality but increasing evidence for its usefulness
in clinical settings
• Separate norms for adults and college-aged people
• No validity (response style) indices

Question 22

What is Millon clinical multaxial inventory?

Answer 22

Test of personality disorders and symptoms associated with them.
Scales reflect the classificatory system of DSM-IV – Axis II Personality Disorders
• 175 items phrased as self-statements and rated as true/false
• I’m too unsure of myself to risk trying something new
• I guess I’m a fearful and inhibited person

Question 23

What is the myers briggs type indicator?

Answer 23

Assesses personality using Jung’s classification
• People have definite preferences in how they approach the world, receive
information about the world and make conclusions about the world
• Four bipolar dimensions
• Extraverted – Introverted (attitude)
• Sensation – Intuition (way of perceiving)
• Thinking – Feeling (judgement)
• Judgement – Perception (orientation to world)
Scores on four dimensions give 16 possible types
• Ipsative (vs normative) approach
• Forced choice format
• Which of these words appeals to you more: scheduled OR unplanned
• When you go somewhere for the day, would you rather: Plan what you will do
and when OR Just go
• Several forms; Form G has 126 items
• Much used in occupational settings