Assessment of Personality PSY 614 Instructor: Emily E. Bullock, Ph.D.

Measuring Personality History of Personality Measurement Is it traits or situations (states)? Are you assessing personality to promote healthy development or diagnose pathology? Taxonomies

Defining Personality Merriam-Webster online: the complex of characteristics that distinguishes an individual or a nation or group; especially : the totality of an individual's behavioral and emotional characteristics b : a set of distinctive traits and characteristics Text Definition pg 43: “…set of characteristics of a person or of people that account for consistent patterns of response to situations.”

Measuring Personality Objective vs Projective The Interview, Their Portfolio, Case history Data, Behavioral observation, Informants How do we know we are measuring the personality trait we are interested in? Characteristics of a Good Personality Measure Interpretability Stability

Objective Testing The Theory of the Big Five Personality Factors The NEO-PI-R Other Objective Measures

The Theory of the “Big Five” Known as the Five Factor Model or the Big Five Theory Tupes and Christal (1961) first identified five recurrent, strong personality factors through an analysis of 35 researched personality factors Various names for the 5 factors have emerged Most commonly used names were coined by Costa & McCrae (1980). They refer to the five factors as Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience. OCEAN

Criticisms of the Five Factor Model Criticized for having too few AND too many factors Only represents how we see ourselves, not how others see us Represents our projection of cognitive biases Failure to provide compelling casual explanations for human behavior and experience Disregard of the contextual and conditional nature of human experience Failure to offer an attractive program for studying personality organization and integration Reliance on simple, noncontingent, and implicitly comparative statements about persons. McCrae & John (1992); McAdams (1992)

The NEO-PI-R Costa and McCrae (1992) noted that “by describing the individual’s standing on each of the five factors, we can provide a comprehensive sketch that summarizes his or her emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational styles” Item examples “I often enjoy playing with theories or abstract ideas”-Openness “I like to be where the action is” - Extroversion

NEO-PI-R Designed to “measure five major dimensions or domains of normal adult personality” For ages 17 and over with norms for 10 and up under development (NEO-PI-3) Latest version released in 1992 (1st version 1985) 240 items on the NEO-PI-R Takes 30-40 minutes to complete Norms based on 1,000 people and stratified based on the 1995 US Census

NEO-PI-R Reliability Internal consistency estimates range from .56-.81 in self-reports and .60-.90 in observer ratings. Test-retest reliability for the facet scales range from .66-.92.

NEO-PI-R Construct validity has been demonstrated between many of the NEO-PI-R scales and a variety of external criteria such as psychological well-being coping and defenses needs and motivation Jungian types interpersonal traits creativity and divergent thinking vocational interests

Uses of the NEO-PI-R Basic research Assessing Employee variables (i.e., Consciousness scale) Vocational Counseling General developmental counseling Within a battery used to assess psychopathology

The Big 5: Neuroticism (N) Represents the contrast between adjustment or emotional stability and maladjustment or neuroticism. High Scorers- prone to have irrational ideas, less able to control impulses, and poor when coping with stress. Low Scorers- typically calm, relaxed, and able to face stressful situations without becoming upset Note that the definitions presented for the Big Five are by Costa & McCrea (1992) rather than any other Big 5 theorists

The Big 5: Extraversion (E) Measures the extrovert/introversion tendency in people High Scorers- the prototypical assertive, active, and talkative salesperson Low Scorers- are those that lack extraversion in their personalities

The Big 5: Openness to Experience (O) Includes such elements as active imagination, aesthetic sensitivity, attentiveness to inner feelings, preference for variety, intellectual curiosity, and independence of judgment. High scorers- lead experientially richer lives, entertain unconventional ideas, and experience emotions stronger than do “closed” individuals Low scorers- have a narrower scope and less intense interests

The Big 5: Agreeableness (A) Associated with interpersonal tendencies High scorers- altruistic, sympathetic, and eager to help. Low scorers- antagonistic, egocentric, skeptical of others, and competitive

The Big 5: Conscientiousness (C) Attempts to assess one’s tendency toward planning, organizing, and carrying out tasks. Associated with the common descriptor, character. High scorers- indicative of a person that is scrupulous, punctual, and reliable. Low scorers- typical of those that are not as reliable in how they apply their moral standards and are less exact in goal seeking

NEO Facet Scales Neuroticism Extraversion N1: Anxiety N2: Angry Hostility N3: Depression N4: Self-Conscientiousness N5: Impulsiveness N6: Vulnerability Extraversion E1: Warmth E2: Gregariousness E3: Assertiveness E4: Activity E5: Excitement Seeking E6: Positive Emotions

NEO Facet Scales Openness Agreeableness O1: Fantasy O2: Aesthetics O3: Feelings O4: Actions O5: Ideas O6: Values Agreeableness A1: Trust A2: Straightforwardness A3: Altruism A4: Compliance A5: Modesty A6: Tender-Mindedness

NEO Facet Scales Conscientiousness C1: Competence C2: Order C3: Dutifulness C4: Achievement Striving C5: Self-Discipline C6: Deliberation

Interpreting Profiles Most extensively researched profiles Affective Plane: (defined by N & E); represents the individual’s basic emotional styles Interpersonal plane: (defined by E & A) Vocational Interests (Costa, McCrae, & Holland, 1984) and selection of optimal forms of therapy (Miller, 1991): (most strongly linked to E & O)

Interpreting Profiles Other possible scale combinations Pattern of Activity: (defined by E & C) Relevant to attitudes: (defined by O & A) Academic performance: (defined by O & C) Related to character: (defined by A & C)

Interpreting Profiles Other Scale Combinations found in the interpretive report Style of Defense: (defined by N & O) Style of Anger Control: (defined by N & A) Style of Impulse Control: (defined by N & C)

NEO-PI-R Weakness: Strengths: Lack of sophisticated validity scales Reviewers identify some item construction and reading-level inconsistencies Strengths: Based on over 50 years of reputable research Ratings are given in likert-type language rather than the extremes

Other NEO Measures NEO-PI-R observer version NEO-FFI NEO-4 NEO-PI-3

Other Objective Personality Tests 16PF Adolescent Personality Questionnaire Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescents (MMPI-A) Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III)

Projective Testing Rationale: Ambiguous stimuli will elicit projections of one’s personality Common Characteristics Relatively unstructured task Brief, general instructions that often can not be repeated Ambiguous stimuli Low Face Validity Results consist of a composite picture of personality Thought to reveal unconscious aspects

The Rorschach Projective test with the overall goal to assess the structure of personality Consists of 10 symmetrical inkblots on cards Administration time: 20-30 minutes Provides information on variables such as motivation, response tendencies, cognitive operations, affectivity, and personal and interpersonal perceptions Age 5 and up (Exner 5-69)

Rorschach Administration Introduce respondent to technique Giving the Test Instructions “What might this be?”; “People see all sorts of things in the inkblots.” Response Phase Get at least 15 responses for Exner system Allow test-taker to free associate for each card Inquiry Test User attempts to see what the test taker saw in the inkblots

Rorschach Selected Assets and Limitations Bypasses a person’s conscious resistance and assesses a person's underlying unconscious structure of personality Limitations Variable reliability and validity estimates Time required for scoring and interpretation Extensive time required for training

Other Projective Techniques Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Sentence completion tasks Rotter’s Incomplete Sentence Blank House-Tree-Person Roberts Apperception Test for Children Kinetic Family Drawing Test