Week 8; Personality Measures

Question 1

Uses of Personality Tests

Answer 1

• Clinical diagnosis
• Personelle Selection
  -Psychological Research

Question 2

Personality Tests in Clinical Diagnosis

Answer 2

• Assist in counselling i.e. making career/ educational decisions

Question 3

Personality Tests in Personelle selection

Answer 3

• The government or military may use tests to determine if an individual would fit into a group.
• i.e. a company hiring a person in sales may do a personality test on extraversion to determine if they would be suited for a public facing job
• 5-factor approach commonly used

Question 4

Personality Tests in Psychological Research

Answer 4

• Intercorrelations between different factors
• i.e. what types of factors are associated with anxiety/ depression

Question 5

Self Report Inventories

Answer 5

• Ask people to answer a series of questions about their characteristic behaviours
• Tester carries out factor analysis
• Builds up a snapshot of personality

Question 6

Peer Report Inventories

Answer 6

A friend or someone close to you fills out a questionnaire on your behalf

Question 7

Projective Tests

Answer 7

Ask people to respond to vague, ambiguous stimuli in ways that may reveal their needs, feelings and personality traits

Question 8

Rationale of Self Report Tests

Answer 8

You know yourself best and thus are more reliable

Question 9

Single- Trait self- report tests

Answer 9

• Aimed at one specific part of personality
• Useful in research
• i.e. locust of control

Question 10

Multi-trait self report tests

Answer 10

-Supposed to capture one’s full personality
- Have very goof predictive power

Question 11

MMPI

Answer 11

• Originally designed to aid clinicians in the diagnosis of psychological disorders.
• Now used for general personality as only extreme responses are indicative of disorder
• 567 yes/ no statements
• 10 clinical scales and 4 validity scales

Question 12

Clinical Scales

Answer 12

Major scales of the personality measure

Question 13

Validity Scales

Answer 13

Tells clinician if the person is answering honestly and thus eliminates bias

Question 14

16- personality factor

Answer 14

• Raymond Cattell
• 187 item scale that assesses people’s scores on the 16 basic personality dimensions
• Criticism that it is not organised enough

Question 15

NEO-PI

Answer 15

• Widely used in research, clinical and occupational psych
• Factors divided into 6 facets
• Facets reduced into 8 items

Question 16

Strengths of Self Report Measures

Answer 16

• Objective
• Relatively valid and reliable

Question 17

Weaknesses of Self Report Measures

Answer 17

• Say nothing about the psychological processes that give rise to particular scores
• Can be prone to error

Question 18

Sources of Error in Self- Report Measures

Answer 18

• Deliberate Deception
• Social Desirability
• Response Sets

Question 19

Rorschach Test

Answer 19

• Subject is shown 10 cards; each with a bilaterally symmetric inkblot and is asked to say what it is
• Response to stimulus can give tester an insight into your inner psyche

Question 20

Thematic Apperception Test

Answer 20

• Subject is shown 10-12 out of 30 cards depicting simple, ambiguous scenes
  Tester wants to discover the unconscious elements behind what you are saying

Question 21

Strengths of Projective Tests

Answer 21

• Not transparent to subjects
• May tap into the unconscious

Question 22

Weaknesses of Projective Tests

Answer 22

• Inadequate evidence for reliability and validity