Module 5 Flashcards
Define traits, state, and types with respect to personality. Provide examples
Traits - enduring and relatively permanent personality characteristics that are distinguished along a trait continuum
State - a temporary behavioural tendency, usually in response to an internal or external stimulus (eg: student in anxious state prior to an exam)
Type - general description of an individual into a distinct category (eg: introverted)
Smith & Archer: What do they describe as the 5 purposes of personality assessment?
1) To describe psychopathology and obtain a differential diagnosis
2) To describe and predict everyday behaviour
3) To inform psychological treatment
4) To monitor treatment
5) To use personality assessment as treatment
In regards to adoption, there is one scale the NEO doesn’t have, that Chantler suggests it should. It enables the psychologist to assess the respondent’s honesty or otherwise in responding. What is it?
Social desirability or ‘positive impression management’.
This affects the validity of these personality measures for adopting parents
What are some of the qualities of parents suitable for adoption?
Having sound reasons for adoption
Resolved grief over troubled fertility histories and associated losses
Flexible attitudes towards parenting
Sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs of children
Being open to new experiences
Flexibility in expectations about child meeting academic standards and societal norms
Emotional stability and maturity, can set aside their own needs for the child
Culturally sensitive and culturally aware - positive racial attitude, learn the language, teach strategies to cope with racism
Smith & Archer: What is the difference between psychological testing and psychological assessment?
Testing - relatively straightforward process wherein a particular test is administered to obtain a specific score. Descriptive meaning can be applied to the score based on normative, nomothetic findings. eg: an IQ test of 100 indicates a person possesses average intelligence
Assessment - the focus isn’;t on obtaining a single score, or even a series of scores. Rather the focus is on taking a variety of pieces of information from multiple methods of assessment and placing this data in the context of historical, referral and behavioural information to obtain a cohesive and comprehensive understanding of the person.
Smith & Archer: What are the 5 primary reasons to conduct a personality assessment?
1) To describe psychopathology and obtain a differential diagnosis
2) To describe and predict everyday behaviour
3) To inform psychological treatment
4) To monitor treatment
5) To use personality assessment as treatment
Smith & Archer: What are the two types of personality assessment tests?
Performance-based (unstructured) and self-report (objective)
Smith & Archer: What are the two categories of self-report measures?
Omnibus (assess multiple personality domains) and narrow-band (assesses one domain)
Smith & Archer: What are the two categories of performance-based measures?
Tests (standardised admin procedure, response format and scoring) and techniques (no standardised procedures)
What are the 4 major psychological theories/models that personality assessments generally reflect?
Psychodynamic theory
Behavioural and social learning theories
Humanistic theory
Trait models
What do personality assessments and interventions developed by psychodynamic professionals typically involve?
Drawing out unconscious and preconscious aspects of personality
What do personality assessments and interventions developed by behavioural and social learning professionals typically involve?
Conscious, present-oriented learned behaviours
What do personality assessments and interventions developed by humanistic professionals typically involve?
Less focus on standardised assessments and more focus on seeking narrative information from clients about how they perceive themselves
What do personality assessments and interventions developed by trait-focused professionals typically involve?
Emphasis on questionnaire scores for each trait as a combined indication of one’s unique personality constellation.
What are the 4 broad types of personality assessments?
1) Projective personality assessments - psychodynamic models, individual project their unconscious dynamics onto the test materials
2) Psychometric personality assessments - trait models, batteries of tests
3) Behaviour rating scales - social learning models, complete standardised scales measuring certain behaviours
4) Clinical interview - humanistic mainly
Smith & Archer: What figure is ideal for a test-retest correlation coefficient?
.80 or greater
Smith & Archer: What does alternate-form reliability analysis refer to? What are the limitations of this method?
This involves administering different forms of a test to the same individuals at different points in time (in order to reduce practice effects)
Limitations - cost of developing a new test, not knowing if the lack of correspondence between the two tests is a reliability issue or a difference in the measures’ content
Smith & Archer: Internal consistency is generally assessed by what two related means?
Split-half reliability and Cronbach’s alpha
Smith & Archer: What does split-half reliability involve? What formula is used?
Dividing a test into two halves and comparing the two totals
Spearman-Brown
Smith & Archer: How are split-half reliability and Cronbach’s alpha related?
Cronbach’s alpha provides an average estimate of all possible split-half reliabilities for a given group of items (i.e. all the possible ways the test can be split in half)
