Personality Assessment DAPT

Barnum Effect People’s willingness to interpret vague, general statements as personally meaningful interpretations of their personality

Why do we test? Tell us “how much” of a trait you have. Why do we test? 1) Clinical 2) Employment 3) Curiosity

How do we test? 1) Create a test 2) Validate the test 3) Use the test

Methods for creating a test Rational Method Projective Tests Factor Analytic Method Empirical Method Combination of Methods

Rational Method Questionnaire

1) Enjoy being reckless. 2) Take risks. 3) Avoid dangerous situations. 4) Seek danger. 5) Know how to get around the rules. 6) Would never make a high risk investment. 7) Am willing to try anything once. 8) Seek adventure. 9) Would never go hang-gliding or bungee-jumping.

1) Enjoy being reckless. 2) Take risks. 3) Avoid dangerous situations. 4) Seek danger. 5) Know how to get around the rules. 6) Would never make a high risk investment. 7) Am willing to try anything once. 8) Seek adventure. 9) Would never go hang-gliding or bungee-jumping.

Rational Method Straight forward and obvious items Most common method of test construction For this to work: 1) Items must mean the same thing to subjects as it does to the test creator 2) Person must be able to self-assess 3) Person must be willing to self-assess 4) Items must be valid indicators of characteristic

Projective Tests

Inkblots as projective stimuli The Rorschach: –Hermann Rorschach ( ). –10 bilaterally symmetrical inkblots on separate cards: 5 black and white. 2 black, white, and red. 3 multicolor.

Inkblots: Initial administration “What might this be?” Record response verbatim: –Include time until first response. –Position of card, spontaneous statements, nonverbal gestures or body movements.

Inkblots Interpretation of scores Generate hypotheses based on patterns of response, recurrent themes and interrelationships among scoring categories

Assumptions of Projective Tests Assumptions: –The more unstructured the stimuli, the more examinees reveal about their personality. –Every response provides meaning for personality analysis. –There is an “unconscious.” –Subjects are unaware of what they disclose.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Morgan and Murray (1935). Elicit fantasy material from patients in psychoanalysis. 31 cards: –30 black & white with scenes: Describe story. –1 blank: Imagine picture on card and tell related story.

TAT: Conclusions Based on: –Stories told by examinee. –Clinician’s notes: Examinee’s response to the cards. Analysis of story requires special training.

TAT Interpretation (cont.) Basic assumption: –Examinee is identifying with protagonist in the story. –Examinee’s concerns, hopes, fears, and desires are reflected in the protagonist’s needs, demands, and conflicts. –That is, the examinee’s personality is projected onto the protagonist.

Projective Tests for Children “The Adventures of Blacky the Dog”

Blacky Test

Other Projective Tests Draw a person test Draw a house test Word association

Factor Analytic Method 1) Name different makes of cars 2) In groups: –Imagine you work in a car lot and you must organize these cars in some manner into 4 different groups 3) Organize the cars and name the groupings

Factor Analytic Method Done in 5 steps 1) Create many items 2) Give these items to many people 3) Correlate items together 4) Look for “groupings” of items 5) Name the “groupings” (i.e. factors)

Factor Analytic Method Limitations: Only as good as the items Sometimes get “odd” factors Still must name the factor (not done by the computer)

Factor Analytic Method 1) Automatically take charge. 2) Joke around a lot. 3) Turn plans into actions. 4) Stick up for myself. 5) Act wild and crazy. 6) Am always busy. 7) Follow a schedule. 8) Laugh my way through life. 9) Let myself go. 10) Express childlike joy. 11) Do a lot in my spare time. 12) Disclose my intimate thoughts. 13) Know what I want. 14) Like harmony in my life. 16) Try to lead others. 17) Am open about myself to others. 18) Can easily push myself forward. 19) Am deeply moved by others' misfortunes.

Factor Analytic Method Factor 1 Automatically take charge. Can easily push myself forward. Try to lead others. Turn plans into actions. Stick up for myself. Am always busy. Do a lot in my spare time. Know what I want. Factor 2 Act wild and crazy. Let myself go. Disclose my intimate thoughts. Laugh my way through life. Express childlike joy. Joke around a lot. Am open about myself to others. Factor 3 Follow a schedule. Like harmony in my life Am deeply moved by others' misfortunes.

Empirical Method I prefer a shower to a bath I sometimes tease animals I will sometimes wear a dress I like watching football I am happy I typically open doors for others As a child I liked playing with dolls

Empirical Method Done in 3 Steps: 1) Create items –Items can be anything!

Empirical Method 2) Administer the items to two groups –Criterion Group Composed of people that possess the trait –Control Group Composed of people that do not possess the trait

Empirical Method 3) Select items that the two groups answered differently

Empirical Method Basic Logic: Different kinds of people have distinctive ways of answering certain questions. If you answer questions the same way that members of a diagnostic group did, you might belong to that group too!

Empirical Method Thus, the content of empirical items does not matter “I sometimes tease animals” –Not depressed “I have a great fear of snakes” –Prejudiced “I do not enjoy detective stories” –Hospitalized hysterics “I like tall women” –Impulsive males “I gossip a little at times” –High IQ

Empirical Method Difficult to “fake” Only as good as the groups they were created with –Do other things make the groups different? May not generalize to other people in other areas

Combination of Methods Commonly used Combine together 1) Rational method (come up with items that make sense) 2) Factor Analytic (select items that group) 3) Empirical Method (determine if items can predict types of people)

Methods for creating a test Rational Method Projective Tests Factor Analytic Method Empirical Method Combination of Methods

Basic Steps 1) Create a test 2) Validate the test 3) Use the test

Statistics

Correlation

Positive Correlation

r = 1.00

Positive Correlation.... r =.64.

Negative Correlation

r =

Negative Correlation..... r = -.85

Zero Correlation

..... r =.00

Correlation Coefficient The sign of a correlation (+ or -) only tells you the direction of the relationship The value of the correlation only tells you about the size of the relationship (i.e., how close the scores are to the regression line)

EXCEL

Which is a bigger effect? r =.40 or r = -.40 How are they different?

Practice Do you think the following variables are positively, negatively or uncorrelated to each other? Alcohol consumption & Driving skills Miles of running a day & speed in a foot race Height & GPA Forearm length & foot length

STOP

Interpreting a Correlation What does it actually mean in “people words”? Binomial Effect Size Display (BESD)

BESD 200 subjects (all sick) Drug given to 100 of them At the end: 100 live and 100 die If the effect of the drug was.00 – what does that mean?

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug No Drug Total When r =.00

BESD 200 subjects (all sick) Drug given to 100 of them At the end: 100 live and 100 die What if the drugs effect was.40 – what does that look like?

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug No Drug Total When r =.40

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug No Drug Total When r =.40 Thus, if you take the drug you have a 70% chance of living compared to only 30% if you do not take the drug!

BESD How to compute: 200 subjects (all sick) Drug given to 100 of them At the end: 100 live and 100 die Drugs effect was.30

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug100 No Drug100 Total When r =.30

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug100 No Drug100 Total When r =.30 1) Compute cell values if r =.00

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug No Drug Total When r =.30 1) Compute cell values if r =.00

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug No Drug Total When r =.30 1) Drop the decimal (30) 2) Divide by 2 (30 / 2 = 15) 3) Add to number in upper left cell ( = 65)

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug No Drug Total When r =.30 1)Plug in value 2)Compute other cell values

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug No Drug Total When r =.30 1)Plug in value 2)Compute other cell values

BESD AliveDeadTotal Drug No Drug Total When r =.30 1)Plug in value 2)Compute other cell values

BESD Practice Create BESDs for the following r =.10 r =.55 r =.80