Week 7: Testing personality

Question 1

Personality assessment

Answer 1

The process of evaluating individual differences among people by using tests, interviews, observation and physiological recordings

Question 2

What are the purposes of personality assessment?

Answer 2

• pure explanation or prediction of behaviour
• aiding diagnosis and treatment in mental health settings
• assisting decisions on community placement
• psychotherapy and treatment plan evaluation
• personnel selection
• predicting task/job performance

Question 3

Psychoanalytic testing

Answer 3

Seeks underlying personality structure with projective techniques

Question 4

Behaviourist testing

Answer 4

Seeks person/situation interaction with checklists and situational assessment

Question 5

List some unscientific personality tests

Answer 5

• Galen’s bodily fluids
• Sheldon’s somatotypes
• Freud: oral, anal, phallic
• palmistry
• graphology
• numerology

Question 6

What are three types of self report test?

Answer 6

• direct subjective
• structured clinical interview
• indirect/projective

Question 7

What are some examples of self report personality assessment?

Answer 7

• empirical normed scales e.g. MMPI

- factorial scales EPI/16PF

Question 8

What information can be collected from a clinical interview?

Answer 8

• info about the individual and their relationships
• antecedents triggers
• problem behaviours isolated and therapy goals selected

Question 9

Examples of neuropsychological personality tests

Answer 9

• EEG
• x rays
• MRI
• galvanic skin response, heart rate

Question 10

Describe behavioural assessment

Answer 10

Involves sampling what a person does in a given situation

Question 11

List all of the self report projective techniques

Answer 11

• association
• construction
• thematic apperception test
• expression
• completion

Question 12

Inkblot techniques

Answer 12

• person draws on their unconscious to give ambiguous stimuli meaning

Question 13

References to moving animals

Answer 13

Indicate impulsiveness

Question 14

References to blot’s blackness

Answer 14

indicate depression

Question 15

Thematic apperception test

Answer 15

32 cards displaying pictures of ambiguous situations of which respondents construct a story about

Question 16

Impression tests

Answer 16

• draw a person
• draw a house
• draw a tree
• interpret the sketches by relating specific signs, such as features of the body to facets of personality or disorders

Question 17

Completion

Answer 17

Finish this sentence

Question 18

Self-report item response formats

Answer 18

• true/false
• two choice
• semantic differential
• forced choice
• adjective checklist

Question 19

MMPI

Answer 19

• 543 questions about the individual
• personality profile about current functioning and ways of responding
• screening device for maladjustment
• doesn’t matter how items are answered, as long as they can be grouped

Question 20

List the MMPI clinical scales

Answer 20

• hypochondriasis
• depression
• hysteria
• psychopathic deviate
• masculinity-femininity
• paranoia
• schizophrenia
• hypomania
• social introversion
• psychasthenia
• psychopathic deviant

Question 21

Other self report inventories

Answer 21

• millón clinical multiaxial inventory
• california psychological inventory
• cattell’s 16PF
• NEO-PI-R
• Eysencks personality assessment

Question 22

Millon clinical multiaxial inventory

Answer 22

• self report for psychiatric populations
• personality disorders
• 175 items
• good reliability and validity

Question 23

California psychological inventory

Answer 23

• self report ages 12-70
• focuses on behaviour, feelings and attitudes
• employed in vocational guidance, personnel selection etc
• 462 true/false items
• good reliability, but limited validity studies

Question 24

16PF groups 16 factors into 5 themes

Answer 24

• extraversion
• anxiety
• will
• independence
• self control

Question 25

NEO-PI-R

Answer 25

• based on five factor model

- neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness

Question 26

Briefly describe someone high on psychoticism (Eysenck’s assessment)

Answer 26

• insensitive
• unconcerned about others
• solitary and against social custom
• lacking in feeling and empathy

Question 27

Limitations/difficulties with personality assessment

Answer 27

• depends on definitions and assumptions of personality
• debate regarding personality stability
• behavioural consistency?
• self report is problematic
• employers use to discriminate
• socially desirable responding

Question 28

Acquiescence

Answer 28

Agreeing with everything

Question 29

Non-acquisence

Answer 29

Disagreeing with everything

Question 30

Deviance

Answer 30

Making unusual or uncommon responses

Question 31

Extreme

Answer 31

Make extreme, as opposed to middle ratings

Question 32

Gambling cautiousness

Answer 32

Guess or not guess when in doubt

Question 33

Overly positive

Answer 33

Claim extreme virtue through self presentation superlatively

Question 34

Hypochondriasis

Answer 34

Unrealistically concerned with physical complaints

Question 35

Depression

Answer 35

Unhappy, depressed and pessimistic

Question 36

Hysteria

Answer 36

Focuses on vague physical symptoms to avoid dealing with severe psychological stress

Question 37

Psychopathic deviate

Answer 37

Social interactions indicate emotional shallowness, rebelliousness, and disregard for law and morale

Question 38

Masculinity-femininity

Answer 38

Shows interests and behaviours usually associated with opposite sex role

Question 39

Paranoia

Answer 39

Tense, rigid, anxious and may have obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours

Question 40

Schizophrenia

Answer 40

Withdrawn, experienced distortions of reality and acts bizarrely

Question 41

Hypomania

Answer 41

Outgoing, impulsive, overly active and excited

Question 42

Social introversion

Answer 42

Withdrawn, shy, inhibited

Question 43

Psychasthenia

Answer 43

Obsessive compulsive symptoms

Question 44

Psychopathic deviate

Answer 44

Anti social personality disorder