Week 13 Personality 2 Flashcards
Is projection idiographic or nomothetic?
idiographic
What do projective techniques assume?
that the client will project his/her characteristic thoughts, feelings etc. onto the material
What is the Freudian definition of projection?
unconscious defense against unacceptable impulses in self by ascribing them to individuals or objects external to self
What type of stimuli do projective techniques use?
ambiguous
What are the two stages of the projective hypothesis
- perception - what the person responds to
2. interpretation - how the person responds (the examiner examines responses for clues as to personality)
What is the general definition of projection?
normal processes in which inner states influence perception and interpretation of the external world
What type of theoretical development influenced the birth of the projective techniques?
psychoanalytic theories- they required tapping into the unconscious : Gestalt/holistic theories
What development of two traditions influenced the birth of the projective techniques?
psychometric vs clinical traditions.
Psychometric- standardized, reliability + characteristics, search for traits
Clinical- careful, detailed study of the individual, focus on disturbed individual
What do all projective techniques have in common? (5)
- stimuli are vague/ambiguous. Only brief general instructions are given
- unstructured task: unlimited variety of possible responses
- use disguised testing procedures
- global approach to assessment of personality
- primarily used as a clinical tool
What are the supposed advantages of projective techniques over self-report tests?
- bypass/circumvent conscious defenses of respondents
- allow clinicians access to important psych info. that respondents are unaware
What are four examples of projective techniques?
- inkblots (The Rorschach)
- Pictorial techniques (Thematic Apperception Test)
- Verbal techniques (word association tests)
- Performance techniques (drawing techniques, play techniques + toy tests)
What type of technique, (other than projective) is the Rorshach inkblot test?
association technique- the stimulus triggers an association between it and concepts, memories, already held
What does Rorschach use?
10 symmetrical inkblots on separate cards, 5 black and white, 2 contain red, 3 combine pastel shades
What are the two phases of the Rorschach test?
- association
2. inquiry (why and how the respondent answered the way they did)
What type of need was the Rorschach founded for?
the need to distinguish between normal and abnormal, between delusional and non-delusional
What are the two main approaches to score the Rorschach test?
- perceptual-cognitive processes
2. phenomenological (responses are fantasies-they reveal what the individual would like to see within themselves)
What are the common scoring categories for the Rorschach test?
location- where in the inkblot they look to
determinants- features of the blot that determine the response
content- does the content refer to humans, animals etc.
Discuss Exner’s comprehensive system
- It criticized the disparate approach to the Rorschach
- advocated for standardized administration, scoring + interpretation
What is the problem with Exner’s comprehensive system?
it is just a scoring system, it still doesn’t tell you how to interpret the responses
What are criticisms re norms of Exner’s comprehensive system?
- over-pathologising normal US adults
- insufficient representation of minorities
What are the positives/criticisms re reliability of Exner’s comprehensive system?
- adequate scorer reliability: Exner included no categories where interscorer reliability was less than .85
- test-retest reliability of coring ranged from .3-.9 (adequate is .8)-also only calculated for 40% of variables
What has been found re validity of Exner’s comprehensive system?
recent meta-analysis found that 40 variables had good to excellent support for their validity, whilst 13 had little to none
Discuss the Thematic Apperception Test
- contain pictures rather than inkblots
- two 1 hour session with 10 cards in each session
- construction technique: respondents construct a story, require complex cognitive activities
How do individuals chose what stimuli they use in the TAT?
choose what is of interest to them
What do the individuals describe when telling the story in the TAT?
what led up to the picture, what the character is thinking/feeling etc, the outcome of the story
What does the original interpretation technique proposed by Murray for the TAT focus on?
content analysis
What are the three elements of content analysis (interpretation technique) for the TAT? & what do they mean
- hero- who the individual has identified him/herself with in the stimulus
- needs- forces which organize perception/thought and action to resolve unsatisfactory situations e.g. achievement
- press
What scoring procedures are used for the TAT
a wide variety, lack of standardization. There is some normative info available but not really bc psychologists often use subjective norms to interpret the data
What are three things that influence the validity of the TAT?
- non-personality variables can influence the response/length of stories are told e.g. personal/situational variables
- impact of fantasy on interpreting themes- individual may be talking about something in the story bc they are fantasizing about it rather than that attribute being part of their personality
- interpreters tend to over-pathologise
What are need-based scoring schemes for the TAT
focus on one-need of the individual e.g. need for achievement- McClelland et al. (1953)
What is the reliability for need-based scoring schemes TAT
scorer reliability .8-.9
Internal consistency: rarely exceeds .3 to .4
test-retest generally .30
Discuss validity of need-based scorings schemes TAT
construct validity is questionable
Discuss sentence completion tests generally
- better at assessing attitudes, motives and conflicts rather than the general structure of personality
- respondents are provided with an opening part of a sentence (stem) and are asked to complete it
- are usually formulated to elicit responses relevant to a personality domain
- can focus on single or multiple variable
Discuss Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank test
- tests personal adjustment or emotional stability (neuroticism)
- 40 sentence stems
- each completion rated on a 7-point scale (1=no-maladjustment, 6= a lot of maladjustment)
What is the reliability of the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank test?
- good test-retest reliability
- good scorer reliability
- pretty good coefficient alpha
What is the validity of the Rotter Incomplete Blank test?
very little evidence available
Discuss Draw-a-Person Tests in general
ask respondent to draw one or more people
administered and scored relatively quickly
Discuss Machover draw-a-person test
a sign approach- draws inferences from isolated features of the drawings- NO EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THIS WHATSOEVER
Discuss Koppitz draw-a-person test
- a global approach for children and adolescents
- 30 emotional indicators that distinguish b/w children with/without emotional probs
- comes to a maladjustment score, but not diagnostic
Discuss norms for the Draw-a-person technique
some norms available
What is the reliability for draw-a-person technique
scorer reliability- mostly above .70
test-retest- bad for specific features, good for global features
internal- moderate to acceptable
Discuss validity for draw-a-person technique
- lots of research on validity
- conclusion is that it has negligible validity
- some evidence for modest validity re global scoring approaches
- questionable construct validity- open to influence of situational variable
