Personality Assessment

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.

Disagree strongly

Disagree

a little

Neither agree nor

disagree

Agree a little

Agree

Strongly

1

2

3

4

5

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 (1884 - 1922).– 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.

InkblotsInterpretation 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


• Rational Method





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


• 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)


• Limitations:

• Only as good as the items

• Sometimes get “odd” factors

• Still must name the factor (not done by the computer)


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 MethodFactor 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)


• Rational Method





Basic Steps



• 3) Use the test

Statistics

Correlation

Smile Talk

Jerry 10 5

Elan 6 1

George 8 3

Newman 9 4

Kramer 7 2

Positive Correlation

Smile Talk

Jerry 10 5

Elan 6 1

George 8 3

Newman 9 4

Kramer 7 2


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1 2 3 4 5

Talk

Smil

e


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1 2 3 4 5

Talk

Smil

e

r = 1.00


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1 2 3 4 5

Talk

Smil

e

. .. .

r = .64

.

Frown Talk

Jerry 10 2

Elan 6 6

George 8 4

Newman 9 3

Kramer 7 5

Frown Talk

Jerry 10 2

Elan 6 6

George 8 4

Newman 9 3

Kramer 7 5

Negative Correlation


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2 3 4 5 6

Talk

Fro

wn

r = - 1.00


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

1 2 3 4 5

Talk

Fro

wn

.

.

. .. r = - .85

Gas in car Talk

Jerry 10 8

Elan 6 9

George 8 3

Newman 9 4

Kramer 7 3

Gas in car Talk

Jerry 10 8

Elan 6 9

George 8 3

Newman 9 4

Kramer 7 3

Zero Correlation

Zero Correlation

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Talk

Gas

in c

ar

.

... .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)

• 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

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

Alive Dead Total

Drug 50 50 100

No Drug 50 50 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .00

BESD



• At the end:


• What if the drugs effect was .40 – what does that look like?

BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 70 30 100

No Drug 30 70 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .40

BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 70 30 100

No Drug 30 70 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .40Thus, 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:



• At the end:


• Drugs effect was .30

BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 100

No Drug 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .30

BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 100

No Drug 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .30

1) Compute cell values if r = .00

BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 50 50 100

No Drug 50 50 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .30

1) Compute cell values if r = .00

BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 50 50 100

No Drug 50 50 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .30

1) Drop the decimal (30)

2) Divide by 2 (30 / 2 = 15)

3) Add to number in upper left cell (50 + 15 = 65)

BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 65 50 100

No Drug 50 50 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .30

1) Plug in value

2) Compute other cell values

BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 65 35 100

No Drug 50 50 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .30

1) Plug in value


BESD

Alive Dead Total

Drug 65 35 100

No Drug 35 65 100

Total 100 100 200

When r = .30

1) Plug in value


BESD Practice

• Create BESDs for the following

• r = .10

• r = .55

• r = .80

Correlations

• Small = .10

• Medium = .30

• Large = .50

Basic Steps



• 3) Use the test

Validating a Test

• Is a test measuring what it is suppose to measure? – Not a YES or NO answer

• Types of Validity

• 1) Predictive• 2) Concurrent• 3) Content• 4) Construct

Predictive and Concurrent

• Called “Criterion-orientated” validity

• Does the test predict some type of criterion?

• Predictive – criterion is in the future

• Concurrent – criterion is in the present

Content Validity

• Test items represent the entire “universe” of possible items

Group Activity

• What qualities does the trait of extraversion contain?– e.g., assertiveness– Come up with at least 6 qualities

• Create one item to measure each quality.

Content Validity

Extraversion

Content Validity

Extraversion

Positive Emotions

Gregariousness

Assertiveness

Activity

Excitement-Seeking

Warmth

Content Validity

Positive Emotions

Gregariousness

Assertiveness

Activity

Excitement-Seeking

Warmth

Make friends easily

Have a lot of fun.

Love large parties

Take charge.

Am always busy.

Love excitement.

Content Validity

• Not normally established empirically

• Established by experts in the field

Construct Validity

• The test actually gauges the personality dimension being measured.

• How can you do this?

• First need to determine if its internal structure is correct.

Content Validity

Extraversion

Content Validity

Extraversion

Positive Emotions

Gregariousness

Assertiveness

Activity

Excitement-Seeking

Warmth

Construct Validity

• Next, you need to create a “model” of the construct

Extraversion

Extraversion

Talking

Risk taker

Stimulation

Reliable

Eye-contact

Height

Extraversion

Talking

Risk taker

Stimulation

Reliable

Eye-contact

Height

Nomological Net

Contains both

*Criterion-orientated validity

*Discriminant validity

Extraversion

Talking

Risk taker

Stimulation

Reliable

Eye-contact

Height

.60

.54

.32.44

-.04

.11

Construct Validity

• Uses all types of validity to determine if a test actually gauges the personality dimension being measured– There is actually even more than can be done

to examine construct validity-e.g., “changes over time”

• Note: you NEVER get a single number that represents “construct validity”

Basic Steps



• 3) Use the test

Basic Steps

• 1) Create a test– Rational Method– Projective Tests– Factor Analytic Method– Empirical Method– Combination of Methods

• 2) Validate the test– Predictive– Concurrent– Content– Construct

• 3) Use the test

Personality Assessment

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