Wk 9 - Personality Flashcards
The theoretical basis of Eysenck’s personality theory is at the _________ level (x1)
Biological
According to Eysenck’s personality theory, what is the underlying basis for individual differences in neuroticism? (x1)
Differences in activation thresholds in the limbic system
What is one major criticism of the MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)?
The MMPI-2 scales are related to demographic variables as well as personality dimensions.
What would be the modern clinical diagnosis of someone who scores high on the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) scale known as psychasthenia?
They have obsessive compulsive disorder
True or false?
Cattell’s 16 PF test is an example of a comprehensive personality measure designed for normal populations
True
True or false?
The NEO-PI-R test is an example of an atheoretical comprehensive personality measure designed for normal populations
True
The Big Five personality traits are…
Extroversion Neuroticism Openness to experience (or culture) Conscientiousness Agreeableness
The theoretical basis of Gray’s model of personality is at the _________ level.
Biological
What did Eysenck argue to be a critical component of the mechanism underlying individual differences in extraversion-introversion?
Arousal
Give three example of how personality tests can be practically useful.
Predicting job performance and leadership
Clinical use in diagnosing disorder
Outline the person-situation debate in your own words (x5)
Are consistencies in people’s behaviour pervasive or broad enough to be meaningfully described in terms of personality traits?
People’s behaviour does change with situations,
e.g. extroverts keeping it down at a civilised gathering, over raucous party
But, behaviour in one situation typically correlates at least .4 with behaviour in another -
But, theoretical standpoint will inform whether you think .4 is big/small…
What are the three dichotomous types of personality-type test?
Comprehensive vs specific
Normal - gen pop, vs Abnormal - specific disorders
Descriptive (atheoretical) vs Explanatory (theoretical)
Name four methods that can be used to construct personality tests.
Content constructed
Factor analysis approaches
Criterion groups
Theory
What is empirical criterion keying?
Developing a questionnaire to maximise discrimination between the groups
How did Cattell develop his 16 personality trait test? (x5)
Lexical approach -
Reduced 18K personality trait words in English to 171 through testing JND
Factor analysis reduced it to 36
Further research got it down to 16 - but some intercorrelated
Note - no overall ‘g’…
Describe the “Big Five” personality theory (x4)
Another factor analytic approach, a modern version of Cattell (although his test can be scored to give the 5)
That gets away from his intercorrelation issues, to give
Neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experience (or culture), agreeableness, conscientiousness
But each five goes down into 6 facets (30 factors of personality?)
What is the “lexical hypothesis” in the context of personality tests? (x2)
The assumption that all individual differences are encoded in language
(Probably is true, but it’s an untestable assumption)
What are four criticisms of factor analytic approaches to personality?
They require the lexical hypothesis to be correct
May produce descriptions of personality but have no explanatory power.
• So we can describe, but we get no insight into what makes them that way
Near total reliance on factor analysis
• Reliance on correlations, no causation etc
Totally atheoretical
Describe Eysenck’s Personality Inventory, including the proposed biological underpinnings (x4)
Detailed biologically-based theoretical model:
o Extraversion – differences in cortical arousal
o Neuroticism – differences in activation thresholds in the limbic system.
o Psychoticism - antisocial tendencies. (Note “psychoticism” is not the same thing as saying someone is psychotic or experiences psychosis)
Give three criticisms of Eysenck’s model?
Costa & McCrae (1992) - not possible to propose a detailed biological model given the current level of knowledge in this field - said he was speculating
o Also argued there’s no proof that Eysenck’s model is better than the Big 5 psychometrically
Gray (1970, 1981) - Eysenck’s doing factor analysis, then trying to map on biological explanations afterwards.
o Making stuff up to fit existing in data – more scientific/compelling to go other way
Describe Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (x6)
Used animal-based research to say there’s
Two anatomically different parts of the brain, on which people differ, and this determines personality
1. Behaviour Inhibition System (BIS) – reactivity/sensitivity to punishment = ANXIETY
o When something negative happens, do you react negatively or brush it off?
2. Behaviour Activation System (BAS) – reactivity/sensitivity to reward = IMPULSIVITY
o When good things happen, jump around, or take it in stride?
How was the MMPI developed?
Used the “criterion groups” method of development, also known as “empirical criterion keying”
- They created a large pool of items (logic, reason, literature reviews, expert opinion) - Huge pool to allow for lots of discarding
- They gave the preliminary questionnaire to several groups of psychiatric in-patients and a control group.
- They used item analysis to choose the items that could discriminate the best between the groups - eg item discrimination indices, to see how in this case, whether the questions are discriminating between those with/out the disorder
- They standardised the test using a control group.
Describe the psychometric properties of the MMPI (x7)
Test-retest & internal consistency .58-.92 (control).
o Some questions turn up in more than one criterion group
o Lower reliability, validity than you get with mainstream intelligence testing…
o Despite antiquated terms etc, so well established and supported that positives far outweigh the negatives in use
Construct validity: >10,000 studies have mapped specific MMPI profiles onto specific behaviours (e.g. alcoholism, eating disorders, posttraumatic stress, delinquency, neurological disorders
Criterion validity: scores for a non-clinical sample mapped onto ratings by their spouses. Also, scores for psychiatric patients mapped onto ratings by treating professionals
What are psychasthenia, hypomania, and hypochondriasis?
OCD
Manic-depression
Exaggerated health problems
List five methods we can use to spot faked responses to personality questionnaires.
Look for outliers/extreme empirical frequencies - e.g. people not willing to say anything negative about themselves
Look for inconsistency in responses between pairs of similar questions
• Ideally where one question is reversed
Get participants to choose which of two alternative statements best describes them when the statements are balanced for social desirability
• Eg, things w should admit to – some socially undesirable, slightly embarrassing thing that we all do nonetheless…
Include questions that everyone who is being honest should admit to
• Someone might have reason to try and fake a psychiatric disorder, eg in a court case – most people’s impression of madness is from the media, which doesn’t actually map onto real cases
Look for people who leave a high number of items blank or choose ‘don’t know’ option
• Raises questions as to what they’re hiding in the items they did respond to…
What are validity scales?
Name all 7
NOT psychometric - lie scales used in the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)
? Cannot say – a count of missing responses or double-marked responses.
L (lie) scale - negative statements that apply to most people (e.g. “I do not always tell the truth”)
F (infrequency) scale - “eccentric” statements with low endorsement rates (e.g. “it would be better if all laws were thrown away”)
K (correction) scale - willing to admit deviancy/defensiveness (statements that may be considered embarrassing but are actually normal)
TRIN (True Response Inconsistency) – items which ought to yield opposite responses but don’t
VRIN (Variable Response Inconsistency) – another measure of response consistency across items.
FB (Back F) – are later responses similar to earlier responses?
Is there any evidence to suggest that the lie scales in the MMPI actually work? (x1)
Describe (x2)
Yes
People without mental disorders were asked to fill in the MMPI as if they had a mental disorder (i.e. they had to fake bad).
The lie scales successfully detected them
Describe some ways of measuring personality that are not questionnaire based.
Direct observation of behaviour - e.g. roadside observation of drivers, in-car observations, checklist ratings of patient behaviour.
Self-report (doesn’t have to be a questionnaire).
Ratings from others
Simulations/role-play - observe behaviour in a simulated environment - e.g. driving simulator, assessing psychiatric patients ability to cope in real world.
Projective personality tests (inkblots, pictures, word association, sentence completion, drawing)
• “The psychometric soundness of many widely used projective instruments has yet to be demonstrated.” Cohen & Swerdlik, 2010, p.451.
Physiological measures:
• Galvanic skin response
• Heart rate
• Penile plethysmograph (generates phallometric data)
• Polygraph/lie detector (not reliable - high false-positive rate in detecting liars)
• Pupillometrics (pupil size indicates preferences - e.g. detecting recidivism in alcoholics)
Give two definitions of personality
The most adequate conceptualisation of a person’s behaviour in all its detail (David McClelland, 1951)
Dimensions of individual differences in tendencies to show consistencies in patterns of thoughts, feelings and actions” (McCrae & Costa, 1990) - more operationalisable
What are the critical componenets of McCrae and Costa’s def of personality? (x3)
Dimensions – multiple, as tests don’t correlate (as they do in intelligence)
Individual diffs – a thing might be true and real, but if people don’t vary on it, we don’t much care; the point is to be able to differentiate
Consistencies – people’s behaviour different across situations; to be personality, a thing must be consistent across them
Describe the scope (x1) and findings (x2) of Judge et al’s 2002 meta-analysis of the Big Five and leadership
222 correlations from 73 samples
Correlations between five individual traits and leadership never huge (.08 to .31),
But when traits were combined in a five factor model, predicted leadership effectiveness with a multiple correlation of .48
Explain the difference between comprehensive and specific personality-type tests (x2 plus e.g. of each)
Comp look for all points of difference, e.g. the TIPI
Specific - narrow it down to one factor, e.g. driving speed questionnaire
Explain the difference between normal and abnormal population personality-type tests (x2 plus e.g. of each)
Normal - general population, e.g. Big Five
Abnormal - to find specific disorder, e.g. dental phobia questionnaire
Explain the difference between descriptive (theoretical) and explanatory (theoretical) personality-type tests (x2)
Desc. tells score on dimension, but attempts no explanation of why
Exp. tests on theoretical basis for why people differ in this way
Give two examples of comprehensive theoretical personality type tests designed for normal populations
Eysenck’s Personality Inventory (1991)
Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
Give two examples of comprehensive atheoretical personality type tests designed for normal populations
Big Five
Cattell’s 16 personality traits
Give one example of comprehensive atheoretical personality type tests designed for abnormal populations
MMPI (Minnesota Multi-phasic Personality Inventory)
Give two examples of specific personality type tests designed for normal populations
Assignment 2 questionnaires
Driving speed questionnaire
Give three examples of specific personality type tests designed for abnormal populations
Dental phobia
State-trait anxiety
Beck depression inventory
Describe the ‘content constructed’ method of personality test construction (x2 plus e.g. x3)
Review literature for inspiration, interview people with insight
Other approaches are more empirically based…
e.g. checklist of psychiatric symptoms, common sense, assignment two
Describe the ‘criterion groups’ method of personality test construction (x2)
And name one test based on this approach
Compare a group of people known to have your trait with a control group
Develop questionnaire to maximise discrimination between the groups: “empirical criterion keying”.
MMPI - Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
Give an example of a ‘factor analytic approach’ to the construction of personality tests
And two tests based on factor analysis
Lexical approach
Cattell’s 16 traits
Big Five
Describe the ‘theoretical’ method of personality test construction (x2)
And name two tests/theories built around this approach
If you have a theory about why people behave in a certain way,
Then your test items might ask about aspects of it
Eysenck’s Personality Inventory
Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
The 6 facets of the Big Five trait neuroticism are…
Anxiety Hostility Depression Self-consciousness Impulsiveness Vulnerability to Stress
The 6 facets of the Big Five trait extraversion are…
Warmth Gregariousness Assertiveness Activity Excitement Seeking Positive Emotion
The 6 facets of the Big Five trait openness are…
Fantasy Aesthetics Feelings Action Ideas Values
The 6 facets of the Big Five trait agreeableness are…
Trust Straightforwardness Altruism Compliance Modesty Tendermindedness
The 6 facets of the Big Five trait conscientiousness are…
Competence Order Dutifulness Achievement Striving Self-Discipline Deliberation
What are two common measures of The Big Five
NEO-PI-R (Neuroticism, Extroversion, Openness - Personality Inventory - Revised) by Costa and McCrae
o 240 items, 30-40 minutes, T scores, different self-report and observer rating versions
Goldberg (the International Personality Item Pool) - free open-source version
Describe the validity (x2 plus e.g.) and generalisability (x2) of the Big Five
5 factors correlate with many other personality factors and established personality tests,
As well as social outcomes and behaviours (McCrae & Costa, 1999).
Eg conscientiousness found to predict GPA of University Students (beyond entrance exam mark)
Robust across different languages and cultures (McCrae & Allik, 2002).
Described as “latitude and longitude” against which other personality traits should be mapped
Describe three criticisms (x2, x1, x4) of Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory
Model has been notoriously difficult to demonstrate in humans
o Can’t rip people’s brains out to test the model – great theoretical sense, but doesn’t hold together like big five does
Based upon evolutionarily old learning systems which control only very basic processes in the brains - and similarities between rat and people brains
Argued to have revolutionised theoretical approaches to personality
o But practically, model is incomplete: no agreed upon method for measuring
o Great for explaining personality, but in practical terms, like testing and predicting outcomes, it’s still being argued over
o Tricky to show that social anxiety maps onto neuroticism as the model predicts…
What are some of the uses of the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory) (x4)
Most frequently used test by neuropsychologists…
Differentiating between “organic” and psychiatric disorders.
Detecting personality changes following head injury.
Assessing validity of patient’s self-report (includes “lie scales” to weed out cheaters)
Describe the characteristics/structure of the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) (x4 plus 10 clinical scales)
Raw scores converted to T scores (mean 50, s.d. 10).
Standardisation sample = 2600 people.
567 True-False questions, 10 clinical scales (10 criterion groups):
(1) hypochondriasis (exaggerate health problems),
(2) depression,
(3) hysteria,
(4) psychopathic deviate,
(5) masculinity/femininity,
(6) paranoia,
(7) psychasthenia (obsessive-compulsive disorder),
(8) schizophrenia,
(9) hypomania (as in manic-depressive disorder),
(10) social introversion.
Current version MMPI-2; adolescent version also available (MMPI-A).
Describe 4 weaknesses (x2, x2, x3, x1) of the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory)
Item overlap (leading to artificially high correlations between the different scales) - Disorders have symptoms in common, so reasonable to expect items to show up in different scale
Response style (e.g. acquiescence – the willing to choose “True”) affects scores (could do with more reversed items) - Some people just have a preference for being agreeable, or argumentative
Many demographic variables correlate with MMPI scales (age, gender, socio-economic status, race, intelligence, education) - which has implications for interpretation/ throws up confounds you need to control for
• Eg if your scale correlates with age, you need to decide whether it’s score or age that’s determining it
Clinical samples are not nationally representative.
What does phallometric data reveal about homophobic men?
They get larger erections when watching gay porn than men who score lower on measures of homophobia
