Module 3 . Personality testing 1 (Neo-Pi) Flashcards
explain the psychometric properties of the NEO-PI (and how this relates to its development and theoretical underpinnings)
BRIEF EXPLANATION of NEO-Pi;
either a self-taken or other-rated test. Asks questions re general state. Considers aspects of personality on a spectrum, and we all have each trait to a greater or lesser degree. Name derives from Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness Personality Index. This is based on the Five Factor Model of Personality, with the 5 factors being OCEAN (Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. (Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were added to later editions of the Neo-Pi but name stayed same.) There are 240 questions answered per a Likert scale. Questions pertain to the accepted five domains and also the 30 facets (6 facets per domain) of personality. Questions are on usual behaviours/feelings one has towards self, others and situations. There are no ‘right” or “wrong” answers.
Big Five Personality Types itself is highly accepted across multiple cultures .
Each domain and facet has been demonstrated to have a normal bell-shaped-curve distribution in any population. Neo-Pi ratings for;
RELIABILITY-high. eg internal consistency-highly probable individual will score the same on repeat evaluations. (Openness to Actions facet less so)
VALIDITY-high. ie does measure what is supposed to. Good correlations with findings of Neo-Pi and other personality measures eg MMPI.
SENSITIVITY =test ability to detect individual as having trait (disease)
SPECIFICITY=ability of test to detect individual not having trait.(disease).
Because are talking about personality traits and not diseases, is probably best to describe Neo-Pi in terms of validity than specificity/sensitivity, but yes, seems to do the job fairly well. Also harder to rate as sensitivity/specificity as not dealing with a yes/no response but a degree of response.
describe the strengths and weaknesses of the NEO-PI
STRENGTHS; very easy to do oneself. Readily available. Seems to be consistently useful across cultures.
Extreme scores are more likely to hint at pathology or to be truly useful in defining individual traits.
Useful across a wide variety of settings eg treatment planning, vocational guidance, personnel selection.
Usually easy to understand in execution and feedback.
WEAKNESSES; in it’s original form, the development occurred with arguably higher educated cohorts and this has determined what the mean values are.
does not specifically diagnose mental pathologies (but was not designed to).
Can be “faked” fairly easily if individual so desires.
interpret the subscales of the NEO-PI.
Scores further from the mean are more extreme but also more individualistic.
Most facets follow the domain trend, but when they do not, it is noteworthy.
It is usual for skilled interpretations to be able to summarise facets and domains together, rather than to just give a score for each individual facet. An interpretation will usually look at individual scales
facet/domain comparison AND
paired domain styles.
Because the test can relatively easily be “faked” if desired, or someone may be deliberately or subconsciously trying to be especially agreeable or disagreeable, the following pattern recognitions to answers are useful in suggesting they may not be valid;
If more than 40 items are missing then the response is not valid.
If the total number of agree/strongly agree statements is less than 51 or more that 149 then the interpretation should proceed with caution.
If there are a series of consecutive answers for any of the responses, consider excluding responses that have:
more than 6 ‘strongly disagree’ in a row
more than 9 ‘disagree’ in a row
more than 10 ‘neutral’ in a row
more than 14 ‘agree’ in a row
more than 9 ‘strongly agree’ in a row.
The DOMAINS and their FACETS are;
A.NEUROTICISM;high scorers usually anxious, low self esteem and emotionally labile.
N1 Anxiety;high scorers tend to be prone to fear , anxiety, apprehension and rumination.
N2.Anger/Hostility;High scorers quick to become angry or resentful (not necessarily aggressive).
N3 Depression facet;High scorers are more likely to feel sad, worthless, lonely, pessimistic and shame.
N4 Self-Consciousness;high scorers tend to be socially embarassed or socially anxious.
N5 Impulsiveness-high scorers have greater difficulty resisting their urges. It is not necessarily the liklihood to take a risk.
N6 Vulnerability;high scoring individuals do not feel that they can cope with stress.
B.EXTRAVERSION; high scorers are positive, warm and friendly, high spirited and comfortable in company.
E1 Warmth facet;outgoing and genuinely interested in others. Form intimate relationships easily. Lower scorers are more reserved.
E2 Gregariousness;high scorers strongly seek out company whereas low scorers tend to be loners.
E3 Assertiveness facet;high scorers easily take charge (are sometimes dominant) whereas low scorers tend to be followers.
E4 Activity facet;high scorers bustle through activities at high pace, low scorers are more laid back (but does not equal laziness).
E5 Excitement-seeking facet;seek out activities that are highly exciting or thrilling.
E6 Positive emotions facet; high scorers more easily and frequently experience positive emotions such as joy, love, optimism and excitement. Low scorers are not necessarily pessimistic or gloomy but their emotions are not as exuberant.
C. OPENNESS;High scorers are curious and enthusiastic about new concepts and are intellectually and artistically creative.Often good at abstract thinking and able to enjoy their emotions.
O1.Fantasy facet;high scorers have a vivid imagination and are able to use it to solve problems. It does not mean they are a fantasist or in an alternate reality.Low scorers think in a more linear, grounded and realistic way.
O2 Aesthetics facet;High scorers can get absorbed/excited by art or beauty appreciation (man-made or in nature) but may or may not have inherent artistic ability themselves.
O3 feelings facet;high scorers have deeper emotional responses and value and have insight about their own emotions and are more likely to be able to be truly empathetic towards others.
O4 Actions facet; high scorers are excited about trying new foods, places, travel. Low scorers find change difficult.
O5 Ideas facet;high scorers are intellectually curious and are open to new concepts and philosphies.
O6 Values; high scorers are open to their beliefs being challenged and accept that there are many different world views.Tend to believe there is more than purely “right” and “wrong”.
AGREEABLENESS;high scorers tend to think the best of others and are considerate of others’ needs.Low scorers are more sceptical about others’ motives and tend to push to get their own way.
A1 Trust;high scorers believe others are well -intentioned and trustworthy.
A2 Straightforwardness;high scorers are genuine, direct and unflinchingly honest.Low scorers tend to be manipulative or flatterers but not necessarily dishonest.
A3 Altruism; genuinely concerned for others.
A4 Compliance;high scorers tend to “forgive and forget” and tend to focus more on having a good relationship than being right.low scorers insist on being right and can be aggressive.
A5 Modesty;high scorers are humble, low scorers feel superior to others.
A6 Tender-mindedness;high scorers are more concerned with individual suffering and welfare whereas low scorers tend to be more rational and more concerned with fairness and “the greater good”.
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS;high scorers are both motivated and equipped with the tools too succeed at various goals/tasks
C1 Competence;high scorers feel they are well prepared to cope with situations and succeed in life.
C2 Order;high scorers like things neat and tidy and are very well organised.
C3 Dutifulness;high scorers feel a well developed sense of doing things because they ought to.
C4 Achievement striving:high scorers have a great sense of drive and motivation and work hard to achieve their goals.
C5 Self-discipline:high ability to make a plan and follow it through.
C6 Deliberation;high scorers think and plan very diligently and cautiously before acting.
differences/similarities with other tests (MMPI, State-Trait Personality Inventory, and Interpersonal Style Inventory)
MMPI (MINNESOTA MULTIPHASIC PERSONALITY INVENTORY);designed originally to detect psychiatric disorders. True/false set of questions. High validity. Can make multiple diagnoses from. Low number of false positives. Self test
STATE-TRAIT PERSONALITY INVENTORY for adults. rates a person’s current and general level of anxiety, curiosity, anger and depression. Sometimes just do the one for anxiety or just the one for depression etc.Ratings determined as low, moderate, high etc. 4 point likert scale. self test. Aims to aid dx and ddx of anxiety and depression.is reliable and valid.
ATTENTIONAL AND INTERPERSONAL STYLES INVENTORY do self PLUS have 5-10 others rate you.Designed to identify concentration style and under what circumstances problems might arise.
STYLES of Neo-Pi
Styles of Neo-Pi are a consideration of how 2 domain scores together reflect a person’s personality. Derived by plotting 1 domain score on y axis and and on on x. The further away from the axes intersection, the more “ingrained” the characteristic is considered to be. There is a style for each domain at high or low level , with every other domain at high or low level.
PAIRED DOMAIN STYLES;
1. style of INTERESTS (Extraversion/Openness
E+/O+ Creative Interactor.enjoy meeting people, discussing
E+/O- Mainstream Consumer.mainstream hobbies and like working with others.
E-/O+ Introspector.prefer soloist hobbies, reading and writing, still enjoy expanding their horizons, but in their own introspective way.
E-/O- Homebodies. Like soloist or small group hobbies.Traditional.
2.style of INTERACTIONS (Extraversion/Agreeableness)
E+/A+ Welcomer.welcoming and gregarious.
E+/A-Leader.decisive and unafraid. leader
E-/A+Unassuming, modest and quiet.
E-/A-Competitor. view social interactions with suspicion.
3. Style of WELL-BEING (Extraversion/Neuroticism)
E+/N+ Overly emotional.feel broad spectrum of emotions fully.
E+/N- Upbeat optimist.
E-/N+ Gloomy Pessimist.
E-/N- Low-Keyed. Relatively unaffected by emotional circumstances.
4. Style of DEFENCE (Openess/Neuroticism)
O+/N+Hypersensitive defender.Anticipate all things that can go wrong.
O+/N- Adaptive defender. React to stressful situations by becoming inspired.
O-/N+ Maladaptive defender. Use primitive defense mechanisms and lack insight.
O-/N- Hyposensitive defender.Not easily worried. Focus on what they can do to reach solution.
5. Style of ANGER CONTROL (Neuroticism/Agreeableness)
N+/A+ The Timid.Easily offended but find it difficult to express.
N+/A- The Temperamental. Quick to anger and hold onto it for a long time.
N-/A+ Easy Going. Difficult to offend them.
N-/A- Cold-blooded. Express their anger strategically, often in revenge and rarely overtly angry.
6. Style of IMPULSE (Neuroticism/Conscientiousness)
N+/C+ The Overcontrolled. Perfectionism.
N+/C- The Undercontrolled. Impulsive. Self-defeating behaviours.
N-/C+ the Directed. Not overwhelmed by setbacks.
N-/C- Relaxed. At extreme level lack motivation.
7. Style of ACTIVITY (Extraversion/Conscientiousness)
E+/C+ The Go-getter.
E+/C- The Fun-lover. Enthusiastic but lack focus.
E-/C+ The Plodder. slow and steady.
E-/C- Lethargic. Lack motivation. extremely passive.
8. Style of ATTITUDES (Openness/Agreeableness)
O+/A+ The Progressive.
O+/A- The Free Thinker.
O-/A+ The Traditionalist.
O-/A- The Resolute Believer.
9. Style of LEARNING (Openness/Conscientiousness)
O+/C+ The Good Student
O+/C- The Dreamer.
O-/C+Methodical Learner.
O-/C- The Reluctant Scholar
10. Style of CHARACTER (Agreeableness/Conscientiousness)
A+/C+ Effective Altruist
A+/C- Well-Intentioned. Genuinely care but cannot accomplish goals.
A-/C+The self-promoter.
A-/C- Undistinguished. Believe in themselves but lack the drive to self-promote.
OCEAN and mental health disorders (video)
Personality traits are not of themselves able to diagnose mental health issues or personality disorders. But some domains/traits have stronger correlations to predicting problems. Will see more associations with disorders where the traits/domains are more extreme, especially with personality disorders, but also to mental health dz in general.
Very High scorers of Openness more correlated with Schizophrenia and Bi-polar disorder, sometimes schizoid personality disorder. But findings are a little controversial.
Some link with very low scores of Openness with Depressive symptoms.
Very high scores of Conscientiousness some association with OCD.
Very low Conscientiousness scores have some correlation with Substance -Abuse disorders, Anti-social personality disorder and depressive disorders.
High extremes of Extraversion some association with ADHD and some attention-seeking behaviours.
Low end of Extraversion some anxiety and depressive symptoms associations.
High end of Agreeableness may have some dependency behaviours.
Low end Agreeableness little associations with any particular issues.(Agreeableness in general is least associated with any disorders).
Neuroticism is the domain most strongly associated with mental health issues.
High end Neuroticism associated with Anxiety, Depression, Bi-polar, Borderline Personality Disorder and most other personality disorders.
Low end Neuroticism see more risk-taking behaviours. (also see more risk taking at high end Extraversion and low end Conscientiousness).
There are also some who argue that personality disorders would be better served to be labelled according to the five factor model ratings.Pros and cons for this.
HEXACO
(Honesty,Emotionality. eXtraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to experience)
Still does the big 5 domains (emotionality=neuticism), but also considers a 6th factor which is honesty/humility. This came about as many studies esp of Asian cultures, found the NEo_Pi lacking in its ability to explore this other factor which seemed a significant part of other cultures. High scorers in the Honesty/Humility trait rarely break rules whereas low scorers usually do whatever necessary for personal gain.
