Personality assessment...in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make Dr Niko Tiliopoulos Room 448, Brennan McCallum building

The final summary ApproachLevelCoverageCauseBiasFocus 1 st force Psychodynamic Idiographic- Nomothetic PartialDeterminedSubjective(observer)Negative 2 nd force Behavioural- Cognitive Nomothetic Minimal- Partial DeterminedObjective Positive- Negative 3 rd force HumanisticIdiographicPartial Non- determined Subjective(individual)Positive ExistentialIdiographicHolistic Subjective (individual) Positive- Negative Traits Idiographic- Nomothetic Nearly holistic Probable Subjective -Objective Positive- Negative

General types of personality assessment  Tests of performance Attempt to reveal the intent or internal mental state of a participant Attempt to reveal the intent or internal mental state of a participant E.g. Mental abilities tests, IQ tests, Psychomotor testsE.g. Mental abilities tests, IQ tests, Psychomotor tests The problem of ecological validity The problem of ecological validity  Behaviour observations Assessment of typical manifestations of an attribute within a specific content Assessment of typical manifestations of an attribute within a specific content E.g. (Semi- unstructured) Interviews, Participant-observations (ethnography)E.g. (Semi- unstructured) Interviews, Participant-observations (ethnography) The problem of replicability The problem of replicability  Self (peer)-reports Participants are asked to report elements of their (or their peers) feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values, etc. Participants are asked to report elements of their (or their peers) feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values, etc. E.g. Personality tests, Standardised (clinical) interviews, surveysE.g. Personality tests, Standardised (clinical) interviews, surveys The problem of dishonesty The problem of dishonesty  Psychophysiological assessment Measuring biological functions that relate to personality Measuring biological functions that relate to personality E.g. fMRI scans, EEG data, GSR data, PET scans, blood tests, gene sequencingE.g. fMRI scans, EEG data, GSR data, PET scans, blood tests, gene sequencing The problems of reductionism and practicality The problems of reductionism and practicality

Scoring (quantifying) your personality  Established rules for scoring & obtaining quantitative information from behaviour samples  Objective scoring E.g. Standardised (Clinical) Questionnaires E.g. Standardised (Clinical) Questionnaires  Subjective scoring (psychologist’s judgement) E.g. Vignette, Projective, and role-playing tests E.g. Vignette, Projective, and role-playing tests

Concerns regarding the interpretation of test results  Are the observed attributes real? (Cultural) test biases (Cultural) test biases Procedural /administrative biases Procedural /administrative biases Faking Faking Framing and observer biases Framing and observer biases  Are the observed attributes important? The difference between statistical and practical (psychological) importance The difference between statistical and practical (psychological) importance  Do tests help or hurt? The person as a number The person as a number The issue of labelling The issue of labelling

Psychometric properties of personality tests I: Validity  The degree to which a test measures what it claims to measure  The appropriateness or meaningfulness of test scores or interpretations  The degree to which measurements or observations are a true representation of reality

Psychometric properties of personality tests II: Reliability  The degree of consistency or stability of measurement scores across time or context  The absence of measurement fluctuations that are unaccounted by the measurement’s scope An individual should consistently produce similar responses to any test that measures the same personality elements An individual should consistently produce similar responses to any test that measures the same personality elements

Reliability vs. Validity  A valid measure always hits the target; a reliable measure always hits the same place on the target  Reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity  At the conceptual level, a valid measure is always reliable

Looking ahead  2 nd year PSYC2014: Personality & Intelligence I PSYC2014: Personality & Intelligence I In-depth presentation of specific theories, e.g. Freud, Jung, Maslow, Bandura, Allport, etc.In-depth presentation of specific theories, e.g. Freud, Jung, Maslow, Bandura, Allport, etc.  3 rd year PSYC3015: Personality & Intelligence II PSYC3015: Personality & Intelligence II Cross-cultural theories, evolutionary theories, genomic theoriesCross-cultural theories, evolutionary theories, genomic theories PSYC3018: Abnormal Psychology PSYC3018: Abnormal Psychology Personality disorders and other fantastic cuckoo stuffPersonality disorders and other fantastic cuckoo stuff  4 th year Psychometric Assessment Psychometric Assessment Religion & Spirituality Religion & Spirituality Personality Dynamics & Philosophy Personality Dynamics & Philosophy

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