2. Person, Personality, and Assessment
Psikodiagnostik: Person, Personality, and Assessment
Purpose: Understand human behavior (normal/abnormal).
Psychologist's Qualification: Theoretical understanding, methodology, assessment skills, conclusion drawing.
Foundational View: Humans are social and biological beings.
Uses and Scope of Psikodiagnostik
Uses: Supports diagnosis, provides personality profiles (Personality Assessment).
Historical Figure: Herman Rorschach popularized methods for clinical assessment.
Scope Expansion: From clinical to education and employment.
Evolution: Early reliance on observation, later evolved into formal tests (psychotes).
Kegunaan (Uses) and Profesi yang Menggunakannya
Benefits: Helps understand individuals for tailored interventions/support.
Professions: Psychologists, psychiatrists, recruitment officers, social workers, educational professionals (guidance counselors).
Techniques to Describe Personality: Interview, observation, personal document analysis, psychological tests.
Activities in Psychodiagnostics
Main Activities for Personality Picture: Data collection (methods/techniques), data analysis (theoretical approaches), drawing conclusions.
Concept: Individuality in Personality Psychology
Gordon Allport: Personality's hallmark is individual uniqueness.
Idiographic: Focuses on individual uniqueness.
Nomothetic: Emphasizes universal laws.
Kluckhohn, Murray, and Schneider (1953): Three levels of description:
Universal: Shared with all others.
Group-level: Shared within a demographic/cultural group.
Idiosyncratic: Unique characteristics.
All three levels are typically addressed in personality assessment.
Components of Personality and Assessment
UNIVERSALS: Common human characteristics (e.g., learning, development).
GROUP-SPECIFICS: Group differences (e.g., ethnic values, age/sex variations).
IDIOSYNCRACIES: Unique patterns (e.g., life history, traits, self-concept).
Figure Reference: The Psychology of Personality and Personality Assessment (diagram).
Approaches to Classifying Personality
Three Approaches: Trait, Type, and Transactions.
Personality Fit: Alignment between person/environment (traits, contexts, demands).
Historical Type (Type) Approaches
Early Figures: Hippocrates (four elements/bodily humors), Galen (four temperaments: sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic).
Other Uses: Astrology, abnormality classifications (Kraepelin), Carl Jung (introversion vs. extroversion).
Problems: Oversimplification, many individuals don't fit neatly into one type.
Trait Approach: Definitions and Assumptions
Traits: Characteristics by which people differ in degree.
Allport's Definition: Relatively constant, long-lasting, predictable tendencies.
Implication: Each person has multiple attributes, avoiding rigid categorization.
Assumptions: Similar characteristics differing in degree, stable over time, inferred from behavior.
Criticisms of Type and Trait Approaches
Limited explanation of individual differences; case histories may be more informative.
Offer limited insight into personality dynamics and environmental influences.
Traits can be numerous, non-meaningful, and ignore temporary states.
Transactions Approach
Alternative: Behavior as transactions between person and environment.
Unit of Analysis: Individual and situation.
Status: Still developing, methods less settled than trait/type approaches.
Person and Systems Perspective (Sundberg and Allport)
Sundberg (1977): Personality as a system organizing biophysical/environmental inputs to produce behavior.
Emphasizes personality as an organized unit of interacting parts.
Miller (1971) & Allport: System as complex of interacting elements.
Diagrams: Illustrate internal/external system interaction, feedback loops.
Levels of Living Systems (Hierarchy of Systems)
Supra-national, Global societal, Organizational, Group, Personal (individual), Organ, Cell.
Assessment: Historical and Conceptual Foundations
Historical Notes: Han Dynasty (written exams for officials); interviews (2200 B.C.).
Gideon's 300 (WWI/WWII): Self-selection ("afraid?"), behavioral observation (drinking style).
Contemporary Need: Fast screening for military, space, business, etc.
Early Survival Logic: Quick judgments of friend/foe, affection/anger.
Definition of Assessment
Formal Definition (AERA, APA, NCME, 1999): Systematic procedure for collecting information to make inferences/decisions about a person's characteristics.
Scope: Broad array of data collection from multiple sources.
In Counseling: Continual information gathering.
Key Takeaway: Broader than testing; integrates information from multiple sources.
Sundberg (1977): Ties assessment to understanding personality in environment interactions.
According to him personality is viewed as a system that organizes biophysical and environmental inputs to produce behavior. He emphasized personality as an organized unit of interacting parts and tied assessment to understanding personality in the context of environment interactions.
Purposes of Personality Assessment (Sundberg, 1977)
Three Main Purposes: Image making (forming impression), decision making (guiding actions), theory building.
Practical Implications: Build models, avoid stereotyping/labeling, prevent biased thinking.
Sampling, Correlates, and Significance in Assessment
Core Interpretation Questions: What is the behavior (type/context)? Is it generalizable? Does it relate to other behaviors? Is it a sign of a personality characteristic?
Practitioners' Guiding Questions: Behavior type (common/unusual?), generalizability, correlation with other behaviors/traits.
Cautions: Beware of overgeneralization; ground interpretations in multiple observations.
Level of Interpretation and Theoretical Balance
Level 1: Focus solely on test scores for decisions.
Level 2: Clinical integration of data (behavior, feelings, history) to form hypotheses/theory of the person.
Meehl (1954) Argument: Excessive reliance on clinician intuition yields complex/questionable inferences; statistical formulas often outperform clinical judgment but are often unavailable.
Practical Takeaway: Use statistical methods/empirical data when possible; supplement with clinical judgment when data is limited.
Assessment for Decision-Making
Guided by: Institutional and/or individual values.
Individual Decisions: Evaluate costs/benefits of alternatives based on observed behaviors.
Decision Types: Selection (admission/exclusion), Classification (placement, assignment).
Decision-making: Can be single-stage (one-time, maximize reward/minimize costs) or multi-stage (sequential, dynamic).
Typical Assessment Decisions: Process Overview
Sequence:
Step 1: Admission decision;
Step 2: Select assessment strategy;
Step 3: Decisions during data collection;
Step 4: Organize information;
Step 5: Present results/accept feedback.
Revisit decisions to adapt to new information.
Psychological Assessment Process: Common Stages
1) Identify Problem: Clarify objectives, reasons for referral.
2) Select/Implement Methods: Use knowledge/skills, collect data beyond test admin/scoring.
3) Interpret/Evaluate Info: Document findings, identify observations, formulate hypotheses.
4) Report Results/Recommendations: Relate to goals, describe client/situation, present hypotheses, offer recommendations.
Model Konseptual Menginterpretasi Data (Conceptual Model for Data Interpretation)
Phases 1-7: Develop/integrate hypotheses and inferences.
Emphasizes: iterative refinement, situational influences, multiple data sources.
Purpose of Assessment (Expanded)
Screening: Quick risk/need determination, single instrument.
Identification/Diagnosis: Detailed analysis of strengths/weaknesses for classification.
Intervention Planning: Decide actions for client change.
Progress/Outcome Evaluation: Monitor progress, assess intervention results.
Assessment vs. Testing: Intertwined but Distinct
Testing: Administration and scoring of tests.
Assessment: Broader, integrates info from multiple methods (interviews, tests, observations).
Cohen & Swerdlik (2005): "Testing" historically dominant, but assessment encompasses more.
Methods of Collecting Assessment Information
Main Methods: Test, Interview, Observation.
Forms: Informal/formal instruments (unstructured interviews, rating scales, standardized tests, projective drawings, checklists, questionnaires).
Information Sources: Client, family, spouses, teachers, physicians, other professionals.
Taxonomy of Psychological Assessment
Measurement-based Concepts: Psychological assessment (broader), tests (correct/incorrect items).
Non-measurement Approaches: Interviews, observations, portfolios, questionnaires, inventories, qualitative measures.
Competencies Required for Assessment
Understand basic statistical concepts (central tendency, variability, relationship).
Understand basic measurement concepts (scales, reliability, validity, norms).
Compute/apply measurement formulas
Read, evaluate, understand instrument manuals/reports.
Follow precise administration, scoring, interpretation procedures.
List/describe major assessment instruments.
Identify/locate info sources about instruments.
Present data in tabular/graphic forms.
Compare/contrast score types, discuss strengths/weaknesses.
Explain norm-referenced interpretation for individual scores.
Help clients use tests as exploratory tools.
Present results verbally/written, tailor feedback to audience.
Pace feedback sessions for client understanding.
Use strategies to prepare clients for testing.
Explain results in client-understandable language.
Use effective communication skills.
Shape client reactions, encourage appropriate use of info.
Be alert to verbal/nonverbal cues.
Use appropriate strategies for clients perceiving negative results.
Be familiar with preparation/computerized report forms.
Be familiar with legal, professional, ethical guidelines.
Be aware of client rights and professional responsibilities.
Have knowledge of current issues/trends in assessment.