Task 1 - Who are you?

Question 1

construct validity

Answer 1

the extent to which a measurement accurately represents a theoretical construct

Question 2

convergent construct validity

Answer 2

the degree to which 2 measures that theoretically should be related, are in fact related.

Question 3

discriminant construct validity

Answer 3

construct should be uncorrelated with theoretically unrelated concepts

Question 4

principle of aggregration

Answer 4

the sum of a set of multiple measurements is a more stable and unbiased estimator than any single measurement from the set.

Question 5

self-report

Answer 5

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

Question 6

advantages of self-reports

Answer 6

• 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

Question 7

disadvantages of self-reports

Answer 7

• 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

Question 8

socially desirable responding

Answer 8

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)

Question 9

acquiescent responding

Answer 9

individuals agree with responses without considering what the question is asking

Question 10

extreme responding

Answer 10

giving extreme ratings on scales

Question 11

MMPI Lie Scale

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

self-ratings

Answer 12

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).

Question 13

projective/indirect tests

Answer 13

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

Question 14

observer/informant/other/peer report

Answer 14

someone else is asked about the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of an individual

Question 15

advantages of observer reports

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

disadvantages of observer reports

Answer 16

• 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

Question 17

observer ratings

Answer 17

analogous to self-rating (but an observer gives a rating for another individual)

Question 18

Behavioral/direct observation

Answer 18

a person is observed in a natural or artificial setting. the frequency/intensity of behaviors related to a personality trait is measured

Question 19

advantages of behavioral measures

Answer 19

quite informative and objective

Question 20

disadvantages of behavioral measures

Answer 20

• 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

Question 21

EAR (electronically activated recorder)

Answer 21

a modern behavioral measure, which involves recording short auditory snapshots of what the individual is doing at numerous times over several days.

Question 22

biodata

Answer 22

records of the person’s life that are likely to be relevant to the individual’s personality

Question 23

multiple methods research

Answer 23

accuracy would increase if the methods, which all have different pros and cons, are used together.

Question 24

mixed methods research

Answer 24

(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

Question 25

self-knowledge of personality

Answer 25

accurate self-perceptions about how one typically thinks, feels, and behaves, and awareness of how those patterns are interpreted by others.

Question 26

the criterion problem

Answer 26

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?

Question 27

meta-accuracy

Answer 27

the correspondence between people’s beliefs about the impressions they make (meta-perceptions) and others’ actual impressions

Question 28

generalized meta-accuracy

Answer 28

reflects people’s awareness of their general reputation

Question 29

dyadic meta-accuracy

Answer 29

reflects people’s awareness of the impressions they make on specific individuals

Question 30

interactionist theories

Answer 30

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

Question 31

brunswik’s lens model

Answer 31

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)

Question 32

cue utilization

Answer 32

the link between the observable cue and an observer’s judgment

Question 33

cue validity

Answer 33

the link between the observable cue and the occupant’s actual level of the underlying construct.

Question 34

self-directed identity claims

Answer 34

symbolic statements made by occupants for their own benefit, intended to reinforce their self-views (e.g., posters, personal objects with a sentimental meaning)

Question 35

other-directed identity claims

Answer 35

symbolic statements made by occupants about how they would like to be regarded

Question 36

behavioral residue

Answer 36

physical traces of activities conducted in the environment

Question 37

interior behavioral residue

Answer 37

physical traces of activities conducted within the personal environment, such as organizing one’s space or leaving behind sketches on the floor

Question 38

exterior behavioral residue

Answer 38

physical traces of activities conducted outside of the personal environment, such as a ski pass or a plane ticket

Question 39

weighted-average model of consesus (WAM)

Answer 39

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)

Question 40

realistic accuracy model (RAM)

Answer 40

observer accuracy will be promoted when observers use high-quality information (that is actually related to the disposition) and disregard low-quality cues.