Personality: Measuring Personality

Measuring Personality

Learning Goals

• Describe various personality tests.

• Understand the development of personality tests.

• Understand how validity is measured and its importance.

Contextual Overview

• Igor is reserved with low self-confidence, often follows others.

• Sophie is outgoing, a leader but may be impulsive.

• Lucas is trustworthy but struggles with quick decision making.

• Evaluation of who might excel in managing a hotel depends on personality traits.

• The hospitality industry requires specific traits and skills, often assessed with personality tests.

Types of Personality Tests

Self-Report Inventories

• Objective tests assessing personality through multiple-choice items or Likert scales (1-5 scale).

• Named after Francis Likert (1932).

• Pros: Easy administration and cost-effective; Cons: Subject to social desirability bias (test takers may present themselves more favorably).

• Example: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

  • First published in 1943, updated to MMPI-2 in 1989.

  • Consists of 567 true/false questions, originally based on a limited, specific sample.

  • Completed in 1-2 hours and produces a clinical profile across 10 scales (e.g., depression, anxiety).

  • Revised to MMPI-2-RF in 2008 for reduced length (338 questions) and quicker administration.

  • Utilized for psychological diagnosis, occupational screening, marital counseling, and risk assessment for alcohol abuse.

Validity and Reliability of Tests

• Validity: Accuracy of the test in measuring what it aims to measure.

• Reliability: Consistency of test scores over time.

  • Lies scale (L scale): Detects faking good or underreporting issues.

• Example study found shifts in police officers' scores indicated higher risks of alcoholism over time.

Projective Testing

• Based on Freud’s defense mechanism of projection; assesses unconscious processes.

• Examples:

  • Rorschach Inkblot Test: Created by Hermann Rorschach in 1921; measures psychological states through interpretation of inkblots.

  • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Developed by Henry Murray and Christina Morgan; involves storytelling about ambiguous images to reveal social insights.

  • Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB): Participants complete sentences to express fears and desires, utilized for college screening and adjustment counseling.

Cultural Sensitivity in Testing

• Traditional tests often showed cultural biases and were less effective across diverse populations.

• Tools like the Contemporized Themes Concerning Blacks (CTCB) and Temas Multicultural Thematic Apperception Test cater to specific cultural groups, reflecting their unique life experiences.

Creating and Developing Personality Questionnaires

Self-Reported Inventories

• Developed for a narrow focus; e.g., the TP assesses the Big Five personality traits.

• Requires careful construction and validation; tests undergo continuous revision and critique.

• Example of a new scale: BLURT scale, measuring self-disclosure propensity.

Scale Construction Process

• Define what is being measured and write suitable questions.

• Use Likert formats for clear measurement of agreement levels.

• Use reverse scoring for diverse question styles in data analysis.

• Ensure the scale’s reliability and validity through statistical methods.

Validating Personality Tests

• To establish validity, various comparisons are used:

  • Convergent Validity: Comparing scores with similar traits, example: tease association with assertiveness.

  • Discriminant Validity: Ensuring weak relations with unrelated traits.

  • Criterion Validity: Assessing real-world behaviors based on test results.

  • Predictive Validity: Testing the ability to foresee behavior in various situations; for example, higher blurt scores indicate more engaging first impressions.

Conclusion

• Personality tests, including the BLURT scale and MMPI, serve crucial roles in various sectors like clinical psychology, hiring, education, and personal development.

• Understanding the rigorous process behind test creation highlights its significance in accurately measuring personality traits and predicting behaviors.

Measuring Personality

Learning Goals

• Describe various personality tests.

• Understand the development of personality tests.

• Understand how validity is measured and its importance in psychological assessments.

Contextual Overview

• Igor: A reserved individual displaying low self-confidence, often deferring to others' opinions and decisions. This behavior might suggest potential challenges in leadership roles.

• Sophie: Outgoing and assertive with a natural ability to lead, yet can be impulsive in her decision-making, indicating a risk of hasty choices that may affect groups or projects.

• Lucas: A trustworthy individual who values relationships, but faces difficulties in making quick decisions. This trait might be advantageous for roles requiring thoughtful deliberation yet disadvantageous in fast-paced environments.

Evaluating who might excel in managing a hotel involves analyzing personality traits that align with key responsibilities such as leadership, decision-making, and customer service in the hospitality industry. Managers need to possess resilience, adaptability, and an ability to engage with diverse clients and staff.

Types of Personality Tests

Self-Report Inventories

• Definition: These are objective tests that assess individual personality traits through the use of multiple-choice items or Likert scales (typically a 1-5 scale).

• Historical Context: Named after Francis Likert, who developed the scale format in 1932, these surveys have evolved to include various adaptions for different populations.

• Pros and Cons:

  • Advantages: Easy administration, cost-effective, and can gather large amounts of data quickly.

  • Disadvantages: Vulnerable to social desirability bias where test takers may answer in ways they believe are favorable rather than truthful.

• Example: The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), first published in 1943 and updated to MMPI-2 in 1989, is a widely used self-report inventory.

  • Structure: Consists of 567 true/false questions, originally developed with a limited sample. It takes approximately 1-2 hours to complete and analyzes responses to create a clinical profile across 10 scales (e.g., depression, anxiety, paranoia).

  • Revisions: The MMPI-2-RF was released in 2008, reducing the test length to 338 questions, allowing for faster administration.

  • Applications: Utilized in psychological diagnoses, occupational screening, marital counseling, and assessing risks such as alcohol abuse.

Validity and Reliability of Tests

• Validity: Refers to the accuracy of the test in measuring what it purports to measure, ensuring that it captures the intended traits effectively.

• Reliability: Involves the consistency of test scores over time, vital for trustworthy psychological evaluation.

• Lies Scale (L scale): A tool designed to detect instances of participants faking good or underreporting issues to present themselves more favorably.

  • Example Study: Research illustrated shifts in police officers' MMPI scores over time that indicated escalating risks of alcoholism, suggesting the importance of ongoing personality assessments in certain professions.

Projective Testing

• Concept: Rooted in Freud's defense mechanism of projection, these tests aim to uncover unconscious processes, motives, and desires.

• Examples:

  • Rorschach Inkblot Test: Developed by Hermann Rorschach in 1921, this test evaluates psychological states through participants' interpretations of ambiguous inkblots.

  • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): Created by Henry Murray and Christina Morgan, it requires individuals to create narratives about ambiguous images, offering insight into their social perceptions and needs.

  • Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB): Participants finish incomplete sentences, allowing expression of fears and desires. It is often utilized for college screening and adjustment counseling.

Cultural Sensitivity in Testing

• Concerns: Traditional personality tests, often designed without regard for cultural context, showed significant biases and reduced effectiveness across diverse populations.

• New Tools: Instruments like the Contemporized Themes Concerning Blacks (CTCB) and the Temas Multicultural Thematic Apperception Test have been developed to cater to specific cultural groups, respecting and reflecting their unique experiences and worldviews.

Creating and Developing Personality Questionnaires

Self-Reported Inventories

• Framework: These inventories typically focus on evaluating specific personality dimensions, such as the Big Five personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism).

• Process:

  • Defining the core constructs to measure and formulating relevant questions.

  • Using likert format allows for precise measurement of agreement or disagreement with each statement.

  • Implementing reverse scoring can add variety to response options, providing richer data sets for analysis.

  • The scale undergoes rigorous reliability and validity testing through statistical methods to ensure accuracy in results.

Validating Personality Tests

• Validation Methods:

  • Convergent Validity: Involves correlating scores with similar traits. An example could be assessing the relationship between teasing tendencies and assertiveness.

  • Discriminant Validity: Ensures minimal correlation with traits assumed to be unrelated, confirming the distinctiveness of constructs.

  • Criterion Validity: Examines real-world behaviors that align with test scores, reinforcing the test's relevance in practical scenarios.

  • Predictive Validity: Tests the predictive power of the assessment regarding future behaviors; for instance, individuals with higher scores on the BLURT scale may make stronger first impressions in social settings.

Conclusion

Personality tests, encompassing instruments like the BLURT scale and MMPI, play a vital role across various domains such as clinical psychology, recruitment, educational settings, and personal growth. An understanding of the rigorous methodologies and considerations involved in the development and administration of these tests is essential for accurately assessing personality traits and anticipating behaviors in challenging or supportive environments.