Personality Tests Flashcards
What was the case of Jodi Arias?
Accused of killing her boyfriend, claims BPD, was high on MMPI and found to be lying and was found guilty.
Why should we use multi method assessment?
Because no measure of personality or behaviour is perfect.
We can’t rely just on one test. It is best to use multiple methods (tests, interviews, observations)
The conclusions made from all these tests equate to convergent validity which gives more confiedence
What is evidence-based assessment based on?
What works empirically
What tests do clinicians who use evidence-based assessments use?
Tests with strong psychometrics (validity, reliability, clinical utility)
They typically use assessments tied to particular disorders (SCID and BDI-II for depression)
They have sufficient normative data and are sensitive to the issue of diversity such as age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
What challenges are contemporary clinical psychologists now facing with evidence-based assessments?
integrating “what works” empirically with their own clinical judgment and their clients’ needs as they make decisions about assessment.
every culture has its own definitions of…(2)
normal and abnormal
Why is it important to be culturally competent?
So we don’t overpathologize, don’t view what is culturally normal somewhere else in the world as abnormal here
What is an objective personality test include? (3)
- unambiguous test items (only interpret in one way)
- has a limited range of responses
- is objectively scored
What is a typical objective personality test like?
a self report questionnaire
a series of brief statements or questions to which clients respond T/F or MC
What are projective tests?
use ambiguous stimuli and open-ended range of responses
What is the assumption with projective tests?
that clients reveal their personality by the way they define vaguely dined objects/situations
What is the MMPI-2
The most popular and psychometrically sound objective personality test
When the MMPI was published in 1943 what criterion was used?
empirical criterion, not just theoretical criterion
How do you successfully construct a list by using empirical criterion keying? (3)
- Identify a distinct group of people (mental illness group) ask them to all respond to the same item, compare responses with a normal population
- If there is different responses from one group than the other, then it is a worthy item and should be included on the final version
- If the group answers similarly, then the item should be discarded because it does not help categorize a client
When empirical criterion keying is used, what matters and doesn’t matter?
it doesn’t matter whether an item should, in theory, differentiate two groups; it matters only whether an item does, in actuality, differentiate two groups
Why was the MMPI revised in 1989?
It has better norms and less outdated wording of items
On the MMPI there are 10 clinical scales, the higher you score on the scale the more likely you are too…
have that form of psychopathology
What is a feature of the MMPI often used for more specific aspects of personality and pathology?
supplemental and content scales
The MMPI also features validity scales to measure…
test taking attitudes to identify clients who fake good (appear healthier) or fake bad (appear impaired) or respond randomly
What are the 3 validity scales and what do they test?
L (Lying, suggesting “faking good”)
K (Defensiveness, also suggesting “faking good”)
F (Infrequency, suggesting “faking bad”)
What does the adolescent version of the MMPI target?
targets common teen ideas like school, family, peer relations and substance use
How do you interpret the MMPI?
notice the elevations
What do the more recent publications of the MMPI scale change?
made it briefer
less overlap
What are the strengths of the MMPI
psychometrics and comprehensiveness
What are the limitations to the MMPI? (5)
- length
- reading requirement
- attention requirement
- emphasis on pathology/abnormality
What was interesting about giving MMPI-2 feedback
it was therapeutic
Why might the feedback be therapeutic?
♣ Gain self-awareness and feel like they have a name for what is going on
♣ Can become an interactive discussion not a lecture
♣ Most effective when treatment is voluntary
What is the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory?
consists of 195 T or F questions
What are modifier indices in the MCMI-IV?
function like validity scales from the MMPI to assess test taking attitudes
What are two ways the MCMI-IV is like the MMPI ?
Comprehensive objective personality test
Self-report, pencil and paper format
What is the main difference between the MCMI-IV and the MMPI-2?
its clinical scales are based on DSM personality disorders
What is the main distinction with the NEO personality inventory ?
it measures “normal” personality traits not pathologies
The NEO-PI is based on…
The 5 factor model (OCEAN)
What is problematic about the NEO-PI
It lacks validity, limited clinical diagnosis and its easy to lie and fake
What is the CPI? and hoe is it like the NEO-PI?
its another objective test
doesn’t emphasize pathology
What is the CPI consisted with?
the positive psychology movement
focused more on what is strong than what is wrong
What does the CPI emphasize?
positive attributes of personality-strengths, assets and internal resources (scores on empathy, independence, tolerance, acceptance)
who is CPI regarded negatively by?
clinicians looking to diagnose
What is the beck depression inventory?
No a comprehensive test of personality, but a brief targeted measure of one characteristic
How do you score the client’s overall level of depression?
summed to get a total score, the higher the more depressed
T or F, the beck depression inventory has strong validity and reliability?
true
what is missing on the beck depression inventory?
validity scales
what lacks in the projective personality tests?
objectivity in scoring and interpretation
the projective personality test is considered to be empirically inferior to
objective tests and the usage has declined in recent years
Advocates of projective personality tests claim
is less fake-able
WHAt happens in the response phase of the Inkblot test?
client says what they see in each blot
What happens in the inquiry phase?
client explains what features of the blot caused them to make their response
For the rorschach inkblot method, what is the most widely used scoring system since it includes normative data from thousands across the lifespan?
John Exner’s Comprehensive System
What does the inkblot score emphasize?
HOW the client perceived the inkblot and WHAT the client sees
What are 5 scoring variables for the inkblot test?
o Location (does the response involve a whole blot, large part, or small detail?) o Determinants (what aspect of it? Its form, color, or shading of blot?) o Form Quality (is the response easily identifiable and conventional? Or unique and Distorted?) o Popular (what others see? Idiosyncratic? How often do they offer the popular response?) o Content (what kinds of object appear with unusual frequently? People, animals, food, clothing?)
What is the rule of thumb for interpreting the ink blot?
the way the client makes sense of the picture is usually how the client makes sense of the world
What is hotly debated about the inkblot test?
the reliability and validity
What is different about the Thematic Apperception Test?
the cards feature interpersonal ambiguous scenes rather than inkblots
What do clients do in the TAT test?
tell a story to go along with each scene (what happened before,
The TAT is not..
formally reliable or empirically sound
The reliability and validity of the TAT are…
questionable
What is the TEMAS (Tell Me a Story) test?
A TAT-style apperception test that has greater emphasis on cultural sensitivity and empirical scoring because of normative data
What are examples of projective drawings?
Draw a person
House-Tree-Person
Draw-a-Family
Kinetic Family Drawing
What are some possible interpretations for projective drawings?
- What is your 1st impression
- Where are family members placed in relationship to one another?
- The stance of each figure (facing toward, away, back to others)
- Are there any erasures?
- Any barriers between family members
- Who is taller (or bigger)?
- Any distortions in body parts (e.g. Big hands, eyes)
- Who is in the center? Anyone standing in the background?
What is the ambiguous stimuli in the sentence completion tests?
the beginnings of sentences:
o I enjoy _________
o It makes me furious _________
o My greatest weakness___________
The sentence completion tests are not often
formally scored or empirically sound
The sentence completion test have questionable
reliability and validity
What are 3 Implicit assumptions for Traditional Personality Assessments?
- Personality is a stable, internal construct. In other words, behavior is determined primarily by characteristics or dispositions “inside” the person.
- Assessing personality requires a high degree of inference. That is, clinical psychologists use the data provided by personality tests (e.g., MMPI-2 scale scores, Rorschach responses) to deduce or speculate about problem behaviors that clients may actually experience.
- Client behaviors are signs of deep-seated, underlying issues or problems, sometimes taking the form ofDSMdiagnoses.
Behavioural assessment assumes the behaviours are not…
signs of underlying issues or problems; instead, those behaviours are the problems
The behavior a client demonstrates is a sample of the problem itself, not a sign of some deeper, underlying problem
What is behavioural/naturalistic observation?
systematic observation of a client’s behavior in the natural environment
What is required with behavioural observation?
operationally defining target behavior and measuring its frequency, duration, or intensity across specified time periods
What is analogue observation?
replicate the situation in the clinic when naturalistic observation is not possible
What is CRUCIAL with behavioural assessment?
recording of the behaviour which is done by a parent, teacher, friend, client
What is the KEY concept in behavioural assessment?
every behaviour serves a function
