Assessment of personality

Question 1

List five ways of measuring personality.

Answer 1

1. Self-report surveys.
2. Observer-rating scales.
3. Projective measures.
   
   • Rorschach inkblot test.
   • Thematic apperception test.

Question 2

Describe a self report survey. (3)

Answer 2

• These are structured as respondents are given a pre-determined set of options for responding to the items.
• Answer options may include yes/no, or agreement indicated using a 1 to 5 scale.
• Responses are added up to produce an overall score.

Question 3

List and describe three types of reliability.

Answer 3

1. Test-retest reliability – consistency over time.
2. Internal consistency – consistency across items.
3. Inter-rater reliability – consistency across different researchers.

Question 4

List and describe three types of validity.

Answer 4

1. Face validity – does it seem to measure the variable of interest.
2. Content validity – does it cover the variable of interest.
3. Criterion validity – does it predict a meaningful outcome as expected.

Question 5

What is a projective measure?

Answer 5

An unstructured measure of personality.

Question 6

Describe the Rorschach inkblot test.

Answer 6

• Contains a series of inkblot patterns and for each inkblot the individual is asked explain what they see in the pattern.
• Scoring varies between psychologists.
• Limited validity for predicting behaviour.

Question 7

Describe the themantic apperception test. (4)

Answer 7

• The stimuli involve either a picture of people interacting or a paragraph that describes the start of a story.
• Respondent is asked to tell a story about the picture or complete the story.
• Responses describes things such as goal-setting or need for achievement.
• Not widely used in personality research as it is long and time-consuming.