Problem 1: Methods of Measuring Personality

Question 1

Self-reports

Answer 1

asking people directly for information relating to a particular construct
–> questions containing what people like, dislike, or how they behave

–> built on the assumption that individuals have access to the psychological property that the researchers wishes to measure

Question 2

Advantages of Self-reports

Answer 2

–> practical and efficient
–> easy to administer
–> inexpensive
–> direct insight into unique personal information

–> most commonly used method

Question 3

Disadvantages of Self-reports

Answer 3

Response biases
- Socially Desirable Responding: responding in a
favorable light
- Acquiescent Responding: agreeing with the response
without considering the intention of the question
- Extreme Ratings

Fallible source of data –> minor changes in e.g., question-wording, and question format can change obtained results

Cultural Limitations (e.g., language)

Question 4

Do people know themselves?

Answer 4

1. Self-perceptions come close to reality
2. People’s self-views are somewhat similar to those of their closest friends/family
3. People have some insight that others see them differently than they see themselves

Question 5

self-knowledge of personality

Answer 5

accurate self-perceptions about how one typically thinks, feels, and behaves, and awareness of how those patterns are interpreted by others

Question 6

How can self-knowledge be studied?

Answer 6

1. Self-perceptions can be compared to objective criteria
2. Self-perceptions can be compared to the perceptions of others who know the person well
3. We can ask whether people know how they are seen by others –> reputation

Question 7

self-other agreement

Answer 7

increases with the other’s level of acquaintance

–> self-knowledge exists but leaves something to be desired

Question 8

meta-accuracy

Answer 8

the capacity to know how others see us

–> reflects the correspondence between people’s beliefs about the impressions they make and others’ actual impressions

Question 9

generalized meta-accuracy

Answer 9

reflects people’s awareness of their reputation

Question 10

dyadic meta-accuracy

Answer 10

reflects people’s awareness of the impressions they make on specific individuals

Question 11

Informant/Observer Reports

Answer 11

inventories on which a target’s friends, acquaintances, spouses, and the like, provide ratings that are based on their overall conception of the individual or judgments by peer observers

Question 12

Advantages of Observer Reports

Answer 12

–> provide objective information about a target
–> practical, inexpensive, convenient
–> ‘principle of aggregation’ - multiple raters aggregation of data can lead to reliable results
–> insight across situations

Question 13

Disadvantages of Observer Reports

Answer 13

–> expensive in terms of money and time
–> response biases
–> ‘fundamental attribution error’ - emphasize dispositions of others over situational factors in explaining behavior
–> situation-specific

Question 14

Preconception - Informant methods are time-consuming

Answer 14

False:
Use of Internet
–> fast to create, distribute, and answer
–> require less effort to answer

Question 15

Preconception - Informant methods are expensive

Answer 15

False:
Use the internet

Do no compensate informants –> saves money, high response rate, no incentive to cheat

Question 16

Preconception - Informants will not cooperate

Answer 16

False:
Avoid spam filters

Keep the questionnaire simple and brief

Send reminders

Interesting to complete

Short time effort

Question 17

Preconception: Informant data are not valid

Answer 17

False:
Emphasize confidentiality

Online questionnaires

Question 18

Behavioral Measures/Direct Observations

Answer 18

external judges view and code an individual’s actions, either in a laboratory or naturalistic setting

Question 19

Advantages of Behavioral Measures/Direct Observations

Answer 19

–> directly examined behavior which is central to examining personality
–> situation-specific information
–> fewer response biases

Laboratory setting:
–> stimulate a particular situation
–> assesses situation-specific traits

Naturalistic setting:
–> high ecological validity - the extent to which the research setting matches/resembles a real-life situation
–> ‘EAR’ (Electronically Activated Recorder) - captures short auditory snapshots of what the individual is doing at numerous times over a couple of days

Question 20

Disadvantages of Behavioral Measures/Direct Observations

Answer 20

–> least practical and convenient method
–> expensive in time and money
–> ethical concerns

Laboratory setting:
–> artificial
–> lack representativeness of general behavior
–> socially desirable responding

Naturalistic setting:
–> expensive and time-consuming for the researcher

Question 21

Interactionist theories

Answer 21

individuals select and create their social environments to match and reinforce their dispositions, preferences, attitudes, and self-views

Question 22

Brunswik’s lens model

Answer 22

Elements in the environment can serve as a kind of lens through which observers indirectly perceive underlying constructs

Question 23

Cue utilization

Answer 23

the link between the observable cue and an observer’s judgment –> Meaning system

Question 24

Cue validity

Answer 24

the link between the observable cue and the occupant’s actual level of the underlying construct –> Good information

Question 25

Observer accuracy

Answer 25

if both links are intact, then observer judgments should converge with the underlying construct being observed –> functional achievement

Question 26

Self-directed identity claims

Answer 26

symbolic statements made by occupants for their own benefit, intended to reinforce their self-views

Question 27

Other directed identity claims

Answer 27

symbols that have shared meanings to make statements to others about how they would like to be regarded - it may be strategic and even deceptive

Question 28

Interior behavioral residue

Answer 28

physical traces of activities conducted in an environment –> traces of behavior inside an environment (e.g., painting in an apartment)

Question 29

Exterior behavioral residue

Answer 29

physical traces of activities conducted in an environment –> traces of behavior conducted outside e.g., an apartment (e.g., flight ticket, sports)

Question 30

Multiple Methods Approaches

Answer 30

different methods should be applied for different purposes

–> accuracy might be improved by applying multiple methods in combination with one another

–> to obtain different but complementary data on the same topic and to increase understanding of the research topic

Question 31

Mixed Methods Research

Answer 31

focuses on collecting, analyzing, and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of studies

Question 32

Advantages of Multiple Methods Approaches

Answer 32

–> improvement of construct validity
–> improved accuracy
–> address new questions that cannot be examined with another approach alone
–> richness of data

–> all advantages from the different methods

Question 33

Disadvantages of Multiple Methods Approaches

Answer 33

–> require more effort, money, resources, time, and training to implement

–> all disadvantages from the different methods

Question 34

Biodata (Life Outcome Data)

Answer 34

obtaining biodata (records of a person’s life) such as cell phone bills (sociability), GPA (industriousness) or speeding tickets (recklessness)

Question 35

Advantages of Biodata

Answer 35

–> represent important outcomes in a person’s life

–> objective indicators of behavior

Question 36

Disadvantages of Biodata

Answer 36

–> it is not clear that particular information is an accurate indication of the level of the personality trait being assessed because it might be influenced by other traits