Task 1 - Who are you? Flashcards
construct validity
the extent to which a measurement accurately represents a theoretical construct
convergent construct validity
the degree to which 2 measures that theoretically should be related, are in fact related.
discriminant construct validity
construct should be uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated concepts
principle of aggregration
the sum of a set of multiple measurements is a more stable and unbiased estimator than any single measurement from the set.
self-report
asking the person questions about his behavior, thoughts and feelings in various situations. personality is inferred on the basis of responses. measurements need to be structured - every person is asked the same set of questions & there is a fixed set of response alternatives for every question
advantages of self-reports
- provides a fairly accurate measurement. generally nobody has access to more information about a person than the person themselves
- respondents are likely to be more motivated to talk about themselves than others
- cheap, convienent and quick way to gather large amounts of data
disadvantages of self-reports
- relies on the assumptions that people know their behaviors, thoughts, and feelings well and that people are willing to report those behaviors, thoughts, and feelings
- minor changes in the question wording, format, or context can result in major changes in the obtained results
- vulnerable to response biases
- construction is time-consuming
- cultural differences
socially desirable responding
individuals present themselves in a more favorable light. this does not only happen because people want to present themselves in a better way. also, it has been suggested that we respond more positively because we have a distorted self-image (self-enhancing biases)
acquiescent responding
individuals agree with responses without considering what the question is asking
extreme responding
giving extreme ratings on scales
MMPI Lie Scale
present attitudinal and behavioral statements that are common, yet not favorable to admit. a particular number of statements selected as ‘false’ suggests socially desirable responding.
self-ratings
a type of self-report in which the person is aksed to rate his/her own level of a trait (e.g., impulsivity from 1 to 10).
projective/indirect tests
e.g., rorschach ink blot tests, were used rather than self-reports partially due to the idea that individuals could not consciously provide accurate self-information
observer/informant/other/peer report
someone else is asked about the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of an individual
advantages of observer reports
- an individual’s personality might sometimes be judged more objectively by someone who observes the individual from the outside
- the principle of aggregation dictates that using several observers increases reliability of the measurement
disadvantages of observer reports
- observers might be inclined to present the individual in a good way or bad way
- might be affected by new biases such as fundamental attribution error - emphasizing others’ dispositions over situational factors when explaining their behavior
- there are some aspects of an individual’s thoughts and feelings that other may never observe
observer ratings
analogous to self-rating (but an observer gives a rating for another individual)
Behavioral/direct observation
a person is observed in a natural or artificial setting. the frequency/intensity of behaviors related to a personality trait is measured
advantages of behavioral measures
quite informative and objective
disadvantages of behavioral measures
- it requires a lot of time and effort. even for a single trait, each individual needs to be observed in a wide variety of situations and on many occasions, to make sure that reliable measurement is done
- the link between a specific behavior and a specific personality characteristic may not be direct
EAR (electronically activated recorder)
a modern behavioral measure, which involves recording short auditory snapshots of what the individual is doing at numerous times over several days.
biodata
records of the person’s life that are likely to be relevant to the individual’s personality
multiple methods research
accuracy would increase if the methods, which all have different pros and cons, are used together.
mixed methods research
(different than multiple method research) - collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data to gain a more complete insight about a research problem than could be done with qualitative/quantitative methods alone
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.
the criterion problem
the question of how accuracy should be assessed (what should the criterion be?)
-> in terms of perceptions of one’s personality, the problem is: how do we know if someone’s perception of his/Her own personality is accurate?
meta-accuracy
the correspondence between people’s beliefs about the impressions they make (meta-perceptions) and others’ actual impressions
generalized meta-accuracy
reflects people’s awareness of their general reputation
dyadic meta-accuracy
reflects people’s awareness of the impressions they make on specific individuals
interactionist theories
suggest that people select and create their social environments (e.g., friendships & social activities) to match and reinforce their dispositions, preferences, attitudes and self-views
brunswik’s lens model
elements in the environment can serve as a lens through which observers indirectly perceive underlying constructs (e.g., an organized desk could serve as the lens through which an observer perceives an occupant’s high level of conscientiousness)
cue utilization
the link between the observable cue and an observer’s judgment
cue validity
the link between the observable cue and the occupant’s actual level of the underlying construct.
self-directed identity claims
symbolic statements made by occupants for their own benefit, intended to reinforce their self-views (e.g., posters, personal objects with a sentimental meaning)
other-directed identity claims
symbolic statements made by occupants about how they would like to be regarded
behavioral residue
physical traces of activities conducted in the environment
interior behavioral residue
physical traces of activities conducted within the personal environment, such as organizing one’s space or leaving behind sketches on the floor
exterior behavioral residue
physical traces of activities conducted outside of the personal environment, such as a ski pass or a plane ticket
weighted-average model of consesus (WAM)
explains the extent to which observers agree about a target individual with 9 parameters, one of which is similar meaning systems (the degree to which observers agree about a target individual)
realistic accuracy model (RAM)
observer accuracy will be promoted when observers use high-quality information (that is actually related to the disposition) and disregard low-quality cues.
