Personality Assessment Flashcards
Personality
• Refers to unique set of traits that define a person.
• They are significant and long lasting characteristics in an individual that experts strong influence on behaviour.
• Dynamic characteristics that makes a person unique
• Organization of traits within a person that determines their characteristics, behaviours, thoughts etc.
Theorists that have defined personality
We must note importantly that in psychology, personality is usually defined based on ghe underlined theory of personality.
- Cartell (1965): Defined personality as that which permits a prediction of what a person will do in a given situation.
- Mayer, Moore and Viljoen: Personality is constantly changing but never the less,relatively stable organization of all physical psychological and spiritual characteristics of the individual which determines his/her behavior and interactions within the context in which the individual finds him/herself
Features of personality
- Personality is organized internal structure
- Controls and integrates behaviour
- Aims to understand individual differences
- Makes clear differences among persons
- Relatively stable, consistent, but prone to change over time
- Takes into account ones emotional state, interpersonal relations, motivations, interests and attitudes.
- It is unique.
Assessment
Assessment is the systematic method through which we gather information. It involves gathering, organization, presentation, interpretation and application of data.
Personality Assessment
Personality assessment is a process that seeks to understand individual differences by measuring, describing, interpreting, explaining and predicting behaviours by assessing individual characteristics relating to intelligence, interests, attitudes, beliefs, values, needs, motives, abilities, emotions etc… through the use of techniques such as observation, testing, interviews, case history and archived data.
Objectives and goals
The goal of personality assessment is dependent on its purpose. Personality assessment could be carried out for various reasons including;
• Understanding the diversities of human traits
• Ease in classification of individuals into different classes/groups to enable psychologists understand, explain, predict and control behaviours.
• In work environments, it helps in the selection of workers, placements into different roles, promotions and termination as the case may be.
• In therapy/counseling, it acts as a guide in understanding your clients and also helps in figuring out best possible ways to help them.
• It also provides self-understanding for clients regarding strengths and weaknesses, etc.
• Personality assessments are also used for research purposes.
Basic Considerations in Selecting Tools for Personality Assessment
• Validity: does it measure what it is supposed to?
• Reliability: Does it produce consistent results?
• Practicality: Is it actually applicable in the context that it is considered for, is it suitable in terms of time, resources and also, is it manageable in terms of difficulty (to use, answer, score etc)
• Standardization: must be uniform in administration, scoring and must have an established standard for judgment.
• Competence in administration: The test administrator must have adequate knowledge on how to use which ever tool they select and must be able to administer such tools correctly.
Methods
• Observation
• Interview
• Testing
- In clinical settings, case study/history may apply
- Information can also be gotten from documentations ( archived data, reports, history etc)
Observation
Behavioral observation is a subjective measure which involves watching an individual to study behavioral tendencies in natural or artificial settings. It involves active use of our sensory system (eyes and ears most importantly) to record and evaluate behaviours and it requires that we make certain conclusions about the occurrence of the behaviour, it’s frequency, duration or latency. This is the basic method used to describe behaviour, however, Judgement are based on perception, which means that different observers can have different perceptions on the same event.
Types of observation includes:
- Naturalistic observation
- Participant observation
- Nonparticipant observation
Usefulness
- Provides additional information that may not be picked up in any other condition or using any other method of assessment
- Helps in tracking progress rates or assessing outcomes during treatments
- Aids formulation of treatment recommendations
- Also used in research settings.
Limitations
- It is heavily subjective and so may not be reliable, and this may make it difficult to arrive at conclusions.
Interview
The most widely used technique for assessment, it involves direct reciprocal communication, making use of questioning techniques designed to reveal the personality of a client. However, interviews are mostly used in collaboration with other techniques of assessment to arrive at a valid point of understanding. For example, in a face to face interview, the interviewer may apply observational skills to take not of nonverbal cues like appearance, insights, memory or other mental states.
Types of interviews
- Structured: These are interviews that strictly adhere to the use of an interview protocol to guide the counsellor/clinician. It is a more rigid interview style, in that only the questions on the interview protocol are asked. It makes use close ended questions that require “yes/no” or other types of straight, predetermined answers.
- Unstructured: These are interviews that take place with few, if any, interview questions. They often progress in the manner a normal conversation would. It is a relatively formless interview style that is used to establish rapport and comfort with the clients, and is extremely helpful when discussing sensitive topics. It involves open ended questions which are good for filling in details and probing for futher information.
- Semi Structured: These are interviews that use an interview protocol to help guide the researcher through the interview process. While this can incorporate conversational aspects, it is mostly a guided conversation between the researcher and participant. It does maintain some structure (hence the name semistructured), but it also provides the researcher with the ability to probe the participant for additional details.
Limitations
- Inherently subjective.
- Artificial situation.
Testing
Testing is a specialized form of psychological assessment that involves examining a person’s responses and quantifying or describing their meaning. It provides a scale of measurement for consistent individual differences. Tests can be objective or subjective and they come in various forms, as activities, questionnaires etc.
Problems and Challenges of Personality Assessment
• Lack of trained personnel
• Scarcity of assessment tools
• Inadequate infrastructure
• Culture
• Poor public perception
• Lack of funding
Ethics
NPA Ethics
• Beneficence and Non- Maleficience: The obligation act for the benefit of the client and to protect them, yourself and others from harm.
• Integrity: Honesty and fairness, acting in accordance with ethics etc.
• Fidelity & Responsibility: Loyalty, faithfulness and honoring commitment
• Veracity: Telling the truth
• Justice: Fair treatment
• Respect for people’s rights and dignity
• Competence
Consideration when applying ethics - four major components of ethics
Ethical sensitivity is the ability to perceive a social situation, considering alternatives, likely consequences and the effects on others, rights and responsibilities of those involved, including the assessor, circumstantial factors etc.
> Ethical Sensitivity
Ethical Reasoning
Ethical Motivation
Ethical Implication
