week 9 - personality assess

Question 1

Personality

Answer 1

traits or characteristics which are unique to an individual, and are relatively stable over time.

Question 2

Personality assessment:

Answer 2

the measurement and evaluation of psychological traits, states, values, interests, attitudes, worldview, acculturation, sense of humour, cognitive and behavioural styles, and/or other characteristics.

Personality assessment is simply a way that we can understand the characteristic ways that an individual behaves.

Question 3

So why assess personality?

Answer 3

Personality is predictive of real-world outcomes
Conscientiousness predicts academic performance
Sensation-seeking is predictive of engagement in risky behaviour

Organisations use personality assessment when recruiting – what type of people do we want for this role?

Assessment might inform clinical diagnosis for personality disorders

Question 4

Examples of relevance of personality

Answer 4

Aspects of personality could be explored in:

• Identifying determinants of knowledge about health
• Categorizing different types of commitment in intimate relationships
• Determining peer response to a team’s weakest link
• The service of national defense to identify those prone to terrorism
• Tracking trait development over time
• Studying some uniquely human characteristic such as moral judgment.

Question 5

Traits

Answer 5

Trait: “any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which one individual varies from another” (Guilford, 1959, pg. 6)

Question 6

Allport (1937) argued that people have cardinal, central, and secondary traits:

Answer 6

Cardinal – dominant and shape a person’s behaviour; ruling passions/obsessions
Central – characteristics found in some degree in every person (e.g., honesty, friendliness)
Secondary – seen only in certain circumstances (i.e., likes or dislikes that a close friend may know)

Question 7

Personality Traits

Answer 7

Traits are attributions made in an effort to identify threads of consistency in behaviour patterns.

Traits can be context-specific; behaviour exhibited in once situation can be labelled one way, but might be labelled differently in another situation.

Traits are often not consistent cross-situationally – how and when a trait manifests itself can be dependant on the situation.

Question 8

States

Answer 8

State: the transitory experience of some personality trait; a relatively temporary predisposition.
-e.g., anxious state vs. anxious disposition

Relatively short term/situation dependent.

Measuring states amounts to a search for, and an assessment of, the strength of traits that are relatively transitory or situation-specific.

Question 9

Personality types

Answer 9

Personality type: a constellation of traits that is similar in pattern to one identified category of personality within a taxonomy of personalities.

Types were first used by Hippocrates (melancholic, phlegmatic, choleric, and sanguine).

Jung (1923) typology: how people judge (thinking and feeling) and perceive (sensation and intuition) – later adapted into the MBTI.

John Holland argued that most people can be categorised as one of six personality types: artistic, enterprising, investigative, social, realistic, or conventional.

Question 10

Personality types

eg (a/b)

Answer 10

Cardiologists Friedman and Rosenman (1974) developed a two-category personality typology:

Type A personality: a personality type characterised by competitiveness, haste, restlessness, impatience, feelings of being time-pressured, and strong needs for achievement and dominance

Type B personality: a personality type that is completely opposite of type A personality, characterised as being mellow or laid back.

Question 11

Origins of Personality testing

Woodworth Personal Data Sheet

Answer 11

The Woodworth Personal Data Sheet
Developed in WWI for the US Army. Intent was to screen recruits for vulnerability to “shell shock”. Was not completed in time, but used for later research.

Arose for need to screen large number of individuals quickly – structured interviews with psychiatrists became too impractical due to time needed.

Recruits who scored high on the test would be referred onward for further evaluation

Measure contained 116 yes/no questions, covering content domains such as somatic symptoms, medical history, family history, and social adjustment.

Question 12

Origins of personality testing

example questions of the woodworth personality

Answer 12

Example Questions (Yes/No):

Do you usually feel well and strong?

Do you usually sleep well?

Do you have a great many bad headaches?

Do you ever have a queer feeling as if you were not your old self?

Question 13

Personality assessment: Who?

Answer 13

Who is being assessed and who is assessing?

• Some methods of personality assessment rely on the assesse’s own self-report (S-data).
• Assessees may respond to interview questions, answer questionnaires in writing or on a computer (S-data).
• Some forms of personality assessment rely on informants such as parents, teachers, or peers (I-data)

Question 14

Personality assessment: Who?

self concept (differentiation)

Answer 14

Self-report methods are very common when exploring an assesse’s self-concept
Self-concept: one’s attitudes, beliefs, opinions, and related thoughts about oneself.
Some self-concept measures are based on the notion that states and traits related to self-concept are to a large degree context dependent (the result of a situation).

Self-concept differentiation: the degree to which a person has different self-concepts in different roles.

Question 15

Personality assessment: What?

Answer 15

What is assessed when a personality assessment is conducted?

Some tests are designed to measure particular traits (e.g., reward sensitivity) or states (e.g., test anxiety), other build profiles (e.g., ENFJ).

Other test focus on descriptions of behaviour, usually in particular contexts.

Question 16

What gets in the way?

Answer 16

Response style: a tendency to respond to a test item/question in some characteristic manner, regardless of the content of the item/question.

Impression management: the attempt to manipulate other’s impression of self – how do they want to appear? (e.g., socially-desirable responding)
–Response styles can affect the validity of the outcome and can be countered through the use of a validity scale.

Validity scale: a subscale designed to assess the honesty of the test-taker, and whether responses were products of response style, carelessness, deception, or misunderstanding.

Question 17

Test response styles

Answer 17

slide 21

socially desirable responding

acquiescence

nonacquiescence

deviance

Extreme

gambling/Cautiousness

overly positive

Question 18

Personality assessment: Where?

Answer 18

Where are personality assessments conducted?

Traditional sites include schools, clinics, hospitals, academic research labs, employment counselling, vocational selection centres, and the offices of psychologists and counsellors.

Personality assessors can also be found observing behaviour and making assessments in natural settings (B-data).

Question 19

Personality assessment: How?

Answer 19

How are personality assessments structured and conducted?

The scope of an evaluation may be very wide, aiming to build a general profile/inventory of an individual’s personality
–The California Psychological Inventory (CPI 434) is an example of a broad-spectrum measure which provides information on many personality-related variables such as responsibility and dominance.

Not all instruments provide such a broad picture – some may measure a narrower scope (i.e., reward sensitivity).

Question 20

Personality assessment: How?

Answer 20

Personality can be assessed through many different methods!
E.g., face to face interviews, computer-administered tests, behavioural observation, paper and pencil tests, evaluation of case history/portfolio data, and recording of physiological responses.

Measures of personality vary in terms of their structure, from very structured to relatively unstructured.

Instruments used in personality assessment vary in the extent to which they are based on a theory of personality.

• -An example of a theory-based instrument is the NEO-PI-R or the EPQ-R.
• -An atheoretical test example is the MMPI-2.

Question 21

Personality assessment: How?

Answer 21

Frame of reference: aspects of the focus of exploration, such as time frame (the past, present, or the future), as well as other contextual issues that involve people, places, and events.
e.g., how many times in the past week; how would your peers rate X.

Q-sort technique: an assessment technique in which the task is to sort a group of statements, usually in perceived rank order ranging from most to least descriptive.
–Carl Rogers utilised this technique to identify the discrepancy between the perceived actual self and the ideal self.

Question 22

Types of response formats

Answer 22

see slide 26

Semantic differential
Use of ambiguous stimuli

(eg roscharch )

Question 23

Personality Assessment: Four Approaches

Answer 23

Personality measures differ with respect to the way conclusions are drawn from the data they provide.

Shared traits vs. individuality
Nomothetic approach: how a limited number of personality traits can be applied to all people (e.g., Catell’s 16PF and “Big Five”.

Idiographic approach: learning about each individual’s unique constellation of personality traits (e.g., use case studies and personal records).

Question 24

Personality Assessment: Four Approaches

Answer 24

Personality measures differ with respect to the way conclusions are drawn from the data they provide.

Inter-person vs. intra-person

Normative approach:
interpreting the strength of a measured traits in an individual relative to the strength of the trait in a sample of a lager population.

Ipsative approach: responses and the strength of measured trait are interpreted relative to strength of measures traits for that same individual.

Question 25

Developing personality measures

logic and reason

Answer 25

Logic and reason may dictate what content is covered by the items on a personality test.

-The use of logic and reason in the development of test items is sometimes referred to as the rational, content or content-orientated approach to test development.

A review of the literature on the aspect of personality that test items are designed to tap will frequently be very helpful to test developers.

E.g., the Woodworth Psychoneurotic Inventory

Question 26

Developing personality measures

Answer 26

Theory approach: personality measures differ in the extent to which they rely on a particular theory of personality in their development and interpretation.

Data reduction methods are another class of widely used tool on contemporary test development (e.g., factor analysis).
---Such methods are used to aid in the identification of the minimum number of variables or factors that account for the inter-correlations in observed phenomena.

Question 27

Eysenck’s Trait-Dimensional Approach

The two-dimension classification of personality – factor analysis and theory

Answer 27

emo unstable:
introverted - melancholic (worried, unhappy, sober, thoughtful)
extraverted - choleric: (egocentric, impulsive, excitable, active)

Emo stable:
introverted - Phlegmatic (passive, peaceful, persistent, calm)
extraverted - sanguine (sociable, carefree, hopeful, contented)

Question 28

NEO-PI-R

Answer 28

Data reduction methods
The Big Five Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992) is a measure of five personality dimensions, and 30 facets that define each dimension.

Dimensions are Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness.

Question 29

Criterion Groups

Answer 29

Criterion: a standard on which a judgement or decision can be made.

Criterion group: a reference group of test-takers who share specific characteristics and whose responses to tests serve as a standard according to which items will be included or discarded from the final version of the scale.
–Empirical criterion keying: the process of using criterion groups to develop test items. The shared characteristic of the criterion group to be research (e.g., a diagnosis, a unique skill or ability etc.) will vary as a function of the nature and scope of the test.

Question 30

Test development using criterion groups

Answer 30

1) Create a large, preliminary pool of test items from which the test items for the final form of the test will be selected.
2) Administer the preliminary pool of items to at least two groups of people: Group 1: a criterion group composed of people known to possess the trait being measure. Group 2: a randomly selected group of people (who may or may not possess the trait being measured.
3) Conduct an item analysis to select items indicative of membership in the criterion group. Items in the preliminary pool that discriminate between membership in the two groups will be retained and incorporated in the final form.
4) Obtain data on test performance from a standardised sample of test-takers who are representative of intended future test-takers.

Question 31

The MMPI clinical criterion groups for mmpi scales

Answer 31

Slide 41

scale:
1 hypochondriasis (Hs)
2 Depression (D)
3 Hysteria (Hy)
4 Psychopathic Deviate (Pd)
5 Masculinity-femininity (Mf)
6 Paranoia (Pa)
7 Psychasthenia (Pt)
8 Schizophrenia (Sc)
9 Hypomania (Ma)
10 Social Introversion (Si)

Question 32

The MMPI

Answer 32

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is frequently discussed in terms of the patterns of scores that emerge, referred to as a profile.

Personality profile: a narrative description of the extent to which a person demonstrates certain personality traits, states, or types.
Following publication it was found that the MMPI could not be scored into neat diagnostic categories – a configural interpretation of scores was suggested by Hathaway and McKinley (1943).

Question 33

The MMPI - three built in scales to combat issues inherent in S-R methods

Answer 33

The L (Lie) scale calls into question the examinee’s honesty.

The F(frequency) scale contains items that are infrequently endorsed by non-psychiatric populations and do not fall into any known pattern of deviance, which can help determine how serious an examinee takes the test, as well as identify malingering.

The K(correction scale)( score is associated with defensiveness and social desirability.

Question 34

MMPI 4th scale

cannot say

Answer 34

The MMPI has a fourth scale, the Cannot Say scale (denoted with ?), which functions as a frequency count of the number of items to which the examinee responded cannot say or failed to mark any response
—If cannot say count is 30 or higher, validity of the answer sheet is called into question.

Harris-Lingoes subscales are groupings of items into subscales (with labels such as Brooding) that were designed for internal consistency.

Paul Meehl (1951) proposed a 2-point code derived from the numbers of clinical scales on which the test-taker achieved the highest scores.

Question 35

The MMPI-2

Answer 35

Development of the MMPI – quite similar to the MMPI, but some important differences.

• The MMPI-2 was normed on a more representative standardisation sample.
• Some content was rewritten to correct grammatical errors and to make the language more contemporary and less discriminatory.
• Items were added that addressed topics such as drug abuse, suicidality, marital adjustment, attitudes towards work, and Type A behaviour patterns.
• Three additional validity scales were added: Back-Page Infrequency (Fb), True Response Inconsistency (TRIN), and Variable Response Inconsistency (VRIN).

Question 36

The MMPI-2 (RF)

Answer 36

The MMPI-2 RF was devised in response to two basic problems with the MMPI-2:

• -Overlapping items: per pair of clinical scales, there was an average of more than six overlapping items in the MMPI-2.
• -A pervasive factor (referred to anxiety, despair, malaise, and maladjustment) that was common to most forms of psychopathology but unique to none.

One goal of restructuring the MMPI-2 into the MMPI-2 RF was to make the clinical scales more distinctive and meaningful.

Question 37

The MMPI-A

Answer 37

The MMPI-A was developed in response to scepticism about the applicability of the MMPI to adolescents.

Contains 16 basic scales, including 10 clinical and 6 validity scales.
Also contains six supplementary scales (dealing with areas such as drug use and immaturity), 15 content scales (such as addressing conduct problems), 28 Harris-Lingoes scales, and three scales labelled Social Introversion.

Question 38

Personality Assessment and Culture

Answer 38

Before any personality assessment measure is used, and data is interpreted, we should consider important issues with regard to individual characteristics (i.e., cultural background) of the assesse.

Acculturation: ongoing process by which an individual’s thoughts, behaviours, values, worldview, and identity develop in relation to the thinking, behaviour, customs, and values of a particular cultural group.
–Acculturation begins at birth, and proceeds throughout development.

Question 39

Personality Assessment and Culture

Answer 39

Understanding values is important when considering acculturation.

Instrumental values: guiding principles to help one attain some objective (e.g., honesty and ambition).

Terminal values: guiding principles and a mode of behaviour that is an endpoint objective (e.g., comfortable life and a sense of accomplishment).

Kluckhohn (1954; 1960) conceived values as answers to key questions which civilisations must grapple.
E.g., idealised collectivism in some countries vs. idealised individualism in others.

Question 40

Personality Assessment and Culture part2

Answer 40

Also important to a discussion of acculturation is the concept of personality identity, or one’s sense of self.
—Levine and Padilla (1980) defined identification as the process by which an individual assumes a pattern of behaviour characteristic of other people.

An assessee’s worldview must be considered when examining their personality, their unique way of interpreting their perceptions as a result of their experiences, cultural background, and related variables.

Question 41

Take Home messages

Answer 41

Personality measures can vary dependent on the focus of the measure (e.g., trait, state, or type).

Need to consider who you are testing, what you are measuring, how you are testing them, and where/why you may conduct personality assessment.

Personality measures differ based on the approach to personality they take.

The NEO-PI-R and the MMPI demonstrate key characteristics of good personality measures.

Cultural implications exist when assessing someone’s personality.

Question 42

Next Week

Answer 42

Will cover and review:

• Objective measures of personality
• Projective measures of personality
• Behavioural assessments.