week 1 Flashcards
Psychological Assessment
a processes that uses both nomothetic and ideographic means to understand a subject and their behavior in context;
Goal of Psychological Assessment
to guide treatment planning
inform decision-making about the client
help the client understand themself in a way that ameliorate the problems in their life
Nomothetic
part of variance in a quality that is shared by people
Idiographic
part of variance that is unique to the individual
traditional objective tests
structured stimulus (a specific statement)
limited set of externally provided answers (true/false, likert scale)
does not rely on scorer’s judgment to classify the response (scored according to a preexisting key)
objective tests ignore …
the test takers willingness to be honest/malingering
test takers lack of self knowledge, response style, halo effect and scapegoating effect
imperfections in the test (ambiguity, psychometrics etc)
replaced objective tests
self-report tests
can be differentiated by type of informant (self typically) but also can be parent questionnaire, spouse questionnaire, teacher questionnaire etc
Projective tests
refers to ambiguous stimulus or activity (inkblot)
test takers generate a response with minimal guidance; puts forward elements of their habits and personality; interpretation requires subjectivity
which test fits classical definition of projective tests and why
rorschach inkblot method
ambiguity and infinite answers
Rorschach scoring
involves stimulus classification and problem solving styles more than projection
scoring strictly limits subjectivity
modified use of projective tests
we distinguish between two types
1) projective tests
2) performance based personality tests
projective tests (type)
rely exclusively on projection (house-tree-person, thematic apperceptions tests, Roberts picture story)
Performance based personality tests
have substantial nomothetic aspects
Rorschach, Wartegg Drawing Completion, Adult attachment projective
Attributes of a good test
clear instructions for administering, scoring, and interpreting
efficient use (incremental validity)
accurate
- reliability: consistency
- validity: measures what its supposed to
Purpose of personality assessments
- describe current functioning
- confirm, refute or modify impressions
- Identify therapeutic needs
- aid in differential dx
- monitor treatment
- manage risk
- effective short term therapeutic intervention
- guard against bias/human thinking errors
best defenses against inaccurate conclusions
using valid/reliable measures (guard against biases)
multi-method assessment
collaborative/therapeutic assessment
reasons NOT to do assessment
reaching beyond our limits
invading privacy
collecting data too limited to draw conclusions
data will be misused
over-generalizing
inefficient use of money
when feedback will NOT be provided
What is personality
an individuals unique constellation of psychological traits and states
traits
relatively enduring ways in which one person varies from another
at least somewhat situation-dependent
perfect consistency will not be found; no absolute standards
states
temporary (unlike traits which are enduring)
Personality (Meyer Erdberg)
a bio-psycho-social construct
relatively stable set of attitudes and behaviors that make each person unique
product of complex interaction of nature nurture and context
personality disorders (Meyer Erdberg)
maladaptive extremes of normal personality characteristics
deviate markedly from expectation of an individual’s culture
States v Traits debate: Mischel
traits are not very important determinants of behavior, rather the context of the behavior is most important
States v Traits debate: Bandura
traits theorists neglect the functionality of a behavior in a particular situation (reinforcement etc)
States v Traits debate: Wachtel
traits are important; differing experiences cause people to see similar situations differently, or different situations similarly; traits can influence the kinds of situations we put ourselves in
underlying assumptions in assessment
- traits and states do exist
- traits and states can be quantified and measured
- various approaches to measuring aspects of the same thing are a vital part of the assessment process (multi-method)
- assessment can provide insight to important issues that are not efficiently available otherwise
- various sources of error are part of the assessment process
- tests and other measurement techniques all have strengths and weaknesses
- test-related behavior predicts non-test related behavior
- present day behavior sampling predicts future behavior
- testing and assessment can be conducted in fair and unbiased manner
- testing and assessment benefit individuals and society
personality dimensions: NEO-PI big 5
- neuroticism
- extraversion
- openness to experience
- agreeableness
- conscientiousness
methods of personality assessment
self report
performance based
behavioral
methods of personality assessment: self report
true/false
Lickert scale
force choice
Q sort technique
adjective checklist
methods of personality assessment: Performance based
sentence completion
inkblot
picture stories
drawings
methods of personality assessment: behavioral
actual exercises
behavioral observations
role play
physiological methods
Methods of self-report construction
rational
factorial
empirical
Methods of self-report construction: Rational
items are written to capture understanding of what a trait is
Characteristics: tend to be face valid, susceptible to responses biases (easily faked), may not be internally consistent or valid
Methods of self-report construction: factorial
items are selected on the basis of factor analysis
Characteristics: highly internally consistent, tends to be face valid, somewhat susceptible to response bias
Methods of self-report construction: empirical
items are selected on their ability to empirically distinguish one group from another
Characteristics: often have low internal consistency, items are not face valid, may be less susceptible to response bias
