Lecture 3 - Trait approach: History and intro Flashcards
Rational / theoretical method for creating personality assessments
It is structured and non-disguised and especially useful if lying IS NOT a major concern and the focus is a narrower set of information. It uses existing theories of personality to create (face valid) questions and determine which traits are important. The researcher then selects items that correlate. The method’s strengths and limits coincide with those of the theory.
Factor-analytic method for creating personality assessments
It is structured and non-disguised and especially useful if lying IS NOT a major concern and the focus is a broader set of information. It identifies factors or groupings of (face valid) questions that correlate with each other but not with others. The method’s strength is that it provides a means for determining which traits belong together within the same group. Its limit is that if an important trait happens to be left out, it does not show up in the results.
Empirical strategy for creating personality assessments
It is structured and disguised and especially useful if lying IS a major concern. It involves a lot of questions about anything and everything and identifies patterns of responses characteristic of the group of interest that, at the same time, differ from those of other groups. Its limit is that it is very resource-demanding
Projective tests
They are unstructured and disguised and assess the unconscious forces that might guide behaviour through respondent’s projections of their feelings, desires, and fears onto stimuli.
Rorschach’s test (projective test)
A projective test that involves a small number of inkblots, which respondents have to describe. The researcher then interprets their descriptions. It has some utility in predicting suicide or commitment to a mental institution.
Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) (projective test)
A projective test that contains pictures that show individuals in important life situation. Respondents have to describe what has happened, is happening, and will happen in the picture. The responses (often) refer to the respondent’s motives and are, thus, potentially useful for identifying motives (McAdam’s level 2)
Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI)
It is a structured and disguised questionnaire mostly used to determine whether one has symptoms of a mental illness or personality disorder. It is based on the empirical strategy, which involves basing the test scales on the responses that differentiate people with, for example, a mental illness from people without that mental illness. MMPI includes about eleven main scales and three validity scales that detect response biases. It is, therefore, hard for respondents to fake responses, deny problems, or give a particular impression. Also, MMPI does not rely on clinical predictions (Meehl). Its limits are that some scales have low (test-retest and internal consistency) reliability and social/racial biases. Moreover, it is not always useful for assessing “normal” people.
Expectancies
Expectancies are based on people’s existing beliefs and make understanding new people easier. They influence what one pays attention to, how one interprets events, and how one decides to behave toward others.
Expectancy effect
Expectancies can lead to expectancy effects, which is the effect of one individual’s expectation about the behaviour of another individual on the actual behaviour of that individual.
Self-Other Knowledge Asymmetry (SOKA) model
The SOKA model suggests that because individuals and others differ in their susceptibility to biases or motivations, and in the information, they have access to, self- and other-knowledge will vary by trait. In some cases, other-perceptions are more accurate than self-perceptions, and sometimes self-reports can be most trusted. It is important to take multiple perspectives in order to accurately understand an individual.
Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM)
RAM outlines a four-stage process necessary to achieve accurate personality judgments: (1) the target exhibits trait-relevant behaviors, (2) which have to be observable, and (3) detected by a judge, (4) who interprets them in the right way. Additionally, aspects of the judge, target, information, and trait being judged can moderate the accuracy of judgments and make accuracy more or less likely.
