Personality and its Assessment

Question 1

• totality of an individual’s qualities which includes temperament, interest, ability and habits which determine one’s unique adjustment to his environment
• enduring characteristics and behavior that compromise a person’s unique adjustment to life

Answer 1

personality

Question 2

a relatively permanent individual characteristic

Answer 2

trait

Question 3

• temporary change in one’s personality
• usually describe a person’s reaction to something

Answer 3

state

Question 4

aims at measuring the personality traits and characteristics of individuals

Answer 4

personality assessment

Question 5

direct methods of personality assessment

Answer 5

• observation
• interviews
• personality inventories / questionnaire
• rating scales
• behavioral data
• situational tests

Question 6

indirect methods of personality assessment

Answer 6

projective techniques

Question 7

a person is directly observed in different situations

Answer 7

observation

Question 8

2 types of observation based on the involvement of the psychologist

Answer 8

• a participant observation method
• a non-participant observation method

Question 9

a psychologist becomes a part of the group under observation

Answer 9

participant observation method

Question 10

• “naturalistic observation method”
• does not seek to participate as a group member rather observes the client or group from a distance to note down the observations about the client
• good method of observation

Answer 10

non-participant observation method

Question 11

limitations of observation method

Answer 11

• observer bias
• observer effect

Question 12

• consists of asking questions to the person/interviewee about his/her behavior
• the goal is to collect information about the behaviour, and personality patterns of the individual
• a technique of self-report
• it can be structured, semi structured or unstructured

Answer 12

interviews

Question 13

• has a predefined set of questions
• not time consuming but fetches very limited information

Answer 13

structured interview

Question 14

best form of an interview as it allows the psychologist to ask specific and detailed questions as and when required based on the need

Answer 14

semi-structured interview

Question 15

• One question leads to another and a larger pool of information can be collected from the client
• It is highly time consuming and may or may not fetch relevant information.

Answer 15

unstructured interview

Question 16

limitations of interview

Answer 16

• bias of interpretation
• halo effect
• interviewer subjectivity
• lacks reliability and validity
• time consuming
• not easy to take the interview

Question 17

questionnaires or scales that consist of questions/statements and the individual or test taker needs to answer these in a specific standardized format

Answer 17

personality inventories / questionnaires

Question 18

consists of standardized items that are to be rated on a fixed parameter

Answer 18

rating scales

Question 19

limitations of rating scales method

Answer 19

self-report bias

Question 20

Observation of the behaviour of the individual but does not require a researcher/psychologist to be present to observe the behaviour, rather the job is done by a device

Answer 20

behavioral data

Question 21

involves assessing the individual in carefully designed situations

Answer 21

situational tests

Question 22

indirect methods of assessing personality through drawings, pictures or stories which may reflect the unconscious feelings, emotions or thoughts of the individual

Answer 22

projective techniques