measuring personality Flashcards
pre-scientific methods
-astrology
-physiognomy
-pheronology
astrology
personality assesment based on birth date
physiognomy
personality assessment based on the shape of body,particularly the face
phrenology
personality assesment based on shape of skull
Descriptive methods (4)
approches to study personality
LOTS
1.self-report
2.observer reports
3.test data
4.life history data
1.Self-report
asking people questions about their belifs and behaviour
provided by subject
responses to questionnairs
advantages
allows study of difficult- to-observe behaviours,thoughts and feelings
easy to distribute to large groups
disadvantages
respondednts may not be representative
responsaes may be bias or untruthful
-just don’t know
-or want to look good
2.observer report
observing behaviour of others
who makes the observations ?
-parents,friends,teachers (questinair)
-trained observers
-untrained,participants observers
advantages
-capture spontaneous behvaiour
-avoid bias of self-report
disatvantages
resercher interference
rarity of some behaviours
observer bias
time consuming
test data
assesing an individual’s abilities,cognitions,motivations,or behaviours, by observing their performance in a test situation
tests may be: physical,written or physiological
physiological
heart rate,blood pressure,arousal etc.
projective techniques
ex: the rorschach(inkblock)
perception of the stimulus revels something about mental state or personality
advantages
allows measurment of characteristics not easily observable,or known to the participant
disadvantage
must infer that the test measures what you think its measuring
case study/life history
intensive examination of a single person or group
-obtained from life history:interviews,autobiography,criminal records, social media,diaries
advantages
rich sources of hypothasis
allows for studies or rare behaviour
disatvantage
observer bias
difficult to generelize
difficult to reconstruct causes from complexity of past events
which traits are easier to predict in observation data
-openness
-conciencious
-extraversion
evaluating personality measures
reliability: are you hitting the same spot each time ?
validity: are you hitting the actual bulls eyes?
reliability
extent to which scores on the measure are stable and replicable vs amount of error or randomness in the measure
validity
degree to which measures asses what it is supposed to assess
*bull eye analogy