week 10 - personality testing Flashcards
what is personality testing
describe personality in relation to a persons more striking characteristics
- often stable over time
- created to capture non-intellectual aspects of human behaviour
what is personality
relatively stable. distinctive patterns of behaviour that can characterize an individual and their reactions to the environment
trait
long lasting characteristic that shapes how a person thinks, feels and behaves
ex. extraversion is a trait that reflects a person’s sociability
type
general description of people (broad definition of a persons personality)
states
description of how people think, feel and behave in a given moment
self concept
a persons self definition
- an organized and consistent set of assumptions a person has about themselves
humanistic theory
study of personality focuses on the individuals subjective experience
people are basically well-intentioned, not the product of urges, and they have a need to develop their potential (self-actualization)
CARL ROGERS
self concept - all experiences are to be evaluated in relation to a persons self concept
What is the earliest personality test we discussed?
Woodworth Personal Data Sheet (WPDS), developed during World War I
- self report, T/F questionnaire created to screen soldiers for emotional instability also known as “shell shock”
2 well received personality tests with better psychometric properties
- Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory (MMPI) - Cattell’s 16 Personality
Factor Test (16PF)
What is the Big 5
personality test that is able to predict many different areas of life with a major focus on the importance of conscientiousness
what are the components of the big 5
- Neuroticism
- Extraversion
- Openness
- Agreeableness
- Conscientiousness
Descriptions of each of the big 5
Neuroticism:
- high depressivity
- high emotional lability
- high shamefulness
Extraversion
- high excitement seeks
- high attention seeking
- low social withdrawal
- low detached coldness
Openness
- high magical thinking
- high eccentricity
- low inflexible
- low close minded
Agreeableness
- high submissive
- high selfless
- high gullible
- low callousness
- low deceitfulness
Conscientiousness
- high perfectionism
- high workaholism
- low distractibility
- low irresponsible
- low rashness
what is MMPI
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
- developed in 1941
to aid in assessment of psychological disorders - items used to distinguish different types of individuals
groups included: hypochondriacs, depression, hysterics,
psychopathic deviates, paranoids, psychathenics,
schizophrenics, and hypomanics
- individuals respond to True-False questions about themselves.
- Requires sixth grade reading level
strengths and weaknesses of MMPI
strengths:
- high reliability & validity
- includes scales for diagnosing disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, depression)
weakness:
- Sociodemographic biases
- high literacy levels for accurate responses
- correlated errors from overlapping items
validity scales of the MMPI
Lie Scale (L) - detect individuals who present themselves in an overly good way
K Scale - detect denial of problems of defensiveness.
Infrequency Scale (F) - Identifies unusual or random answers, often reflecting inconsistent or deviant responses
TRue Response Inconsistency (TRIN): examines inconsistent responses to similar items or opposite items
scoring on the MMPI
- if more than 10% of items across the MMPI are not scores, the entire profile would be invalid
- Scores of 70+ indicate significant deviation from the mean.
- MMPI-2 now uses 65+ as the cut-off for significant deviations.
MMPI – Pattern Analysis
Pattern of responses believed to help create a profile of a disorder
- in reality, subjects often scored high on multiple scales.
- Use of Pattern Analysis was used to identify profiles that would
true response inconsistency scale
examination of selecting true too often
EPPS
formed pairs of item sthat would have equally likely social desirability
- subjects select which pair represents their likes and feelings
self concept
a set of assumptions a person has about him or herself
- what u believe is true about yourself will impact your behaviours
- often research used a form of checklists
self-esteem
overall sense of self worth or value a person places on themselves
- measured by tools like the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale
Big Five- describe each component
neuroticism: a tendency toward anxiety and emotional instability
extraversion: sociability & enthusiasm
openness: creativity & curiosity
agreeableness: cooperation & kindness
conscientiousness: organization & responsibility
NEO-PI-R (predictions/correlation)
- Conscientiousness has been found to positively predict job performance, coping, and is positively correlated with
satisfaction with life. - Conscientiousness is argued to be a fundamentally important
personality trait. - Neuroticism has been found to predict the opposite as
conscientiousness. - Openness has been positively correlated with crystalized intelligence.
Positive and Negative Affect
Schedule (PANAS) and why is it valuable
- Measures positive and negative emotions separately, helping assess emotional well-being
- emotional well being is the center
- It includes adjectives like “distress” or “joy,” rated on their relevance to current feelings
- Two scales: positive & negative
valuable: strong psychometric properties, used in research
