Personality and Personality Assessment

A collection of vocabulary flashcards related to concepts in personality and personality assessment.

Personality

Individual’s unique constellation of psychological traits that is relatively stable over time.

Personality Assessment

The measurement and evaluation of psychological traits, states, values, interests, attitudes, worldview, and related individual characteristics.

Personality Traits

Real physical entities that are bona fide mental structures in each personality, guiding consistent forms of adaptive behavior.

Personality Type

Constellation of traits that is similar in pattern to an identified category of personality within a taxonomy.

Type A Personality

Characterized by competitiveness, impatience, high achievement need, and feelings of time pressure.

Type B Personality

Characterized as mellow, relaxed, and laid-back.

Profile

Narrative description or representation of the extent to which a person has demonstrated certain targeted characteristics.

Personality State

Inferred psychodynamic disposition indicating a temporary predisposition.

Self-Report

Process wherein information about the assessment is supplied by the examinee himself.

Self-Concept Measure

Instrument designed to yield information relevant to how an individual sees themselves.

Acquiescence

Tendency to agree with whatever is presented in a test.

Nonacquiescence

Tendency to disagree with whatever is presented in a test.

Empirical Criterion Keying

Process of using criterion groups to develop test items.

MMPI

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, designed to aid psychiatric diagnosis.

NEO PI-R

Revised NEO Personality Inventory measuring five dimensions of personality.

Cultural Acculturation

Ongoing process by which an individual’s identity develops in relation to a particular cultural group.

Objective Methods

Methods that employ standardized forms and score according to set procedures.

Projective Method

Technique in which personality is assessed based on performance on tasks involving unstructured stimuli.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

Development by Hermann Rorschach using inkblots to uncover individual perception patterns.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Projective test designed to elicit narrative responses from individuals based on images.

Behavioral Assessment

Focus on what a person does rather than inferring global attributes.