Problem 1: Methods of Measuring Personality Flashcards
Self-reports
asking people directly for information relating to a particular construct
–> questions containing what people like, dislike, or how they behave
–> built on the assumption that individuals have access to the psychological property that the researchers wishes to measure
Advantages of Self-reports
–> practical and efficient
–> easy to administer
–> inexpensive
–> direct insight into unique personal information
–> most commonly used method
Disadvantages of Self-reports
Response biases
- Socially Desirable Responding: responding in a
favorable light
- Acquiescent Responding: agreeing with the response
without considering the intention of the question
- Extreme Ratings
Fallible source of data –> minor changes in e.g., question-wording, and question format can change obtained results
Cultural Limitations (e.g., language)
Do people know themselves?
- Self-perceptions come close to reality
- People’s self-views are somewhat similar to those of their closest friends/family
- People have some insight that others see them differently than they see themselves
self-knowledge of personality
accurate self-perceptions about how one typically thinks, feels, and behaves, and awareness of how those patterns are interpreted by others
How can self-knowledge be studied?
- Self-perceptions can be compared to objective criteria
- Self-perceptions can be compared to the perceptions of others who know the person well
- We can ask whether people know how they are seen by others –> reputation
self-other agreement
increases with the other’s level of acquaintance
–> self-knowledge exists but leaves something to be desired
meta-accuracy
the capacity to know how others see us
–> reflects the correspondence between people’s beliefs about the impressions they make and others’ actual impressions
generalized meta-accuracy
reflects people’s awareness of their reputation
dyadic meta-accuracy
reflects people’s awareness of the impressions they make on specific individuals
Informant/Observer Reports
inventories on which a target’s friends, acquaintances, spouses, and the like, provide ratings that are based on their overall conception of the individual or judgments by peer observers
Advantages of Observer Reports
–> provide objective information about a target
–> practical, inexpensive, convenient
–> ‘principle of aggregation’ - multiple raters aggregation of data can lead to reliable results
–> insight across situations
Disadvantages of Observer Reports
–> expensive in terms of money and time
–> response biases
–> ‘fundamental attribution error’ - emphasize dispositions of others over situational factors in explaining behavior
–> situation-specific
Preconception - Informant methods are time-consuming
False:
Use of Internet
–> fast to create, distribute, and answer
–> require less effort to answer
Preconception - Informant methods are expensive
False:
Use the internet
Do no compensate informants –> saves money, high response rate, no incentive to cheat
Preconception - Informants will not cooperate
False:
Avoid spam filters
Keep the questionnaire simple and brief
Send reminders
Interesting to complete
Short time effort
Preconception: Informant data are not valid
False:
Emphasize confidentiality
Online questionnaires
Behavioral Measures/Direct Observations
external judges view and code an individual’s actions, either in a laboratory or naturalistic setting
Advantages of Behavioral Measures/Direct Observations
–> directly examined behavior which is central to examining personality
–> situation-specific information
–> fewer response biases
Laboratory setting:
–> stimulate a particular situation
–> assesses situation-specific traits
Naturalistic setting:
–> high ecological validity - the extent to which the research setting matches/resembles a real-life situation
–> ‘EAR’ (Electronically Activated Recorder) - captures short auditory snapshots of what the individual is doing at numerous times over a couple of days
Disadvantages of Behavioral Measures/Direct Observations
–> least practical and convenient method
–> expensive in time and money
–> ethical concerns
Laboratory setting:
–> artificial
–> lack representativeness of general behavior
–> socially desirable responding
Naturalistic setting:
–> expensive and time-consuming for the researcher
Interactionist theories
individuals select and create their social environments to match and reinforce their dispositions, preferences, attitudes, and self-views
Brunswik’s lens model
Elements in the environment can serve as a kind of lens through which observers indirectly perceive underlying constructs
Cue utilization
the link between the observable cue and an observer’s judgment –> Meaning system
Cue validity
the link between the observable cue and the occupant’s actual level of the underlying construct –> Good information
Observer accuracy
if both links are intact, then observer judgments should converge with the underlying construct being observed –> functional achievement
Self-directed identity claims
symbolic statements made by occupants for their own benefit, intended to reinforce their self-views
Other directed identity claims
symbols that have shared meanings to make statements to others about how they would like to be regarded - it may be strategic and even deceptive
Interior behavioral residue
physical traces of activities conducted in an environment –> traces of behavior inside an environment (e.g., painting in an apartment)
Exterior behavioral residue
physical traces of activities conducted in an environment –> traces of behavior conducted outside e.g., an apartment (e.g., flight ticket, sports)
Multiple Methods Approaches
different methods should be applied for different purposes
–> accuracy might be improved by applying multiple methods in combination with one another
–> to obtain different but complementary data on the same topic and to increase understanding of the research topic
Mixed Methods Research
focuses on collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of studies
Advantages of Multiple Methods Approaches
–> improvement of construct validity
–> improved accuracy
–> address new questions that cannot be examined with another approach alone
–> richness of data
–> all advantages from the different methods
Disadvantages of Multiple Methods Approaches
–> require more effort, money, resources, time, and training to implement
–> all disadvantages from the different methods
Biodata (Life Outcome Data)
obtaining biodata (records of a person’s life) such as cell phone bills (sociability), GPA (industriousness) or speeding tickets (recklessness)
Advantages of Biodata
–> represent important outcomes in a person’s life
–> objective indicators of behavior
Disadvantages of Biodata
–> it is not clear that particular information is an accurate indication of the level of the personality trait being assessed because it might be influenced by other traits
