PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT

How Do Personality Psychologists Study Behavior? Descriptive methods Experimental Methods

Descriptive methods Naturalistic Observations Case Studies Archives Survey Methods Psychological Tests

Experimental Methods 2 Types of Experiments: Laboratory Field

What is Personality Assessment? Personality measurement. Different theories of personality use different assessment techniques.

Personality Assessment Types of tests used depends on: Objectives Perspective used (various theories) Several approaches is assessing: Self-report inventories Projective techniques Clinical interviews Behavioral assessment

3 Levels of Measurement 1. Instrument: A large personality inventory consisting of many scales or tests (e.g., the full Big 5 Inventory) 2. Test/Scale: Several items that measure one personality dimension (e.g., a trait scale on the Big 5, such as extraversion) 3. Measure/Item: A single item (or behavior) that assesses only one personality trait or dimension (e.g., one item of the Big 5)

Personality Assessment: Classification Schemes Different theoretical orientations tend to be associated with different assessment techniques: Projective Subjective Psychometric Objective/Behavioral

Personality Assessment: Projective Techniques Projective techniques are unstructured, disguised, and geared to assess broad themes in personality structure and functioning.

Personality Assessment: Psychometric Techniques Psychometric tests are structured (they have limited response options) & can be either disguised/non-disguised. Self-report statements

Examples of Psychometric Techniques Jackson’s Personality Research Form Inventory (MMPI)

Examples of questionnaire used to test self-concept Coopersmith’s Self-Esteem Inventory (1989) Michigan State Self-Concept of Ability Scale (Brookover et al., 1965) Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (Fitts, 1965)