Personality Assessment, Measurement, and Research Design PDF

Personality Assessment, Measurement, and Research Design Chapter 2 Dr. Linden-Andersen PSY101 Winter © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 1 Learning Objectives 1. Identify the sources of personality data. 2. Explain how personality measures are evaluated by researchers. 3. Describe the different rese...

Personality Assessment, Measurement, and Research Design Chapter 2 Dr. Linden-Andersen PSY101 Winter © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 1 Learning Objectives 1. Identify the sources of personality data. 2. Explain how personality measures are evaluated by researchers. 3. Describe the different research designs in personality. © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 2 Sources of Personality Data 1. Self-Report Data (S-Data) 2. Observer-Report Data (O-Data) 3. Test-Data (T-Data) 4. Life-Outcome Data (L-Data) © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 3 Self-Report Data (S-Data) Information provided by a person, such as through a survey or interview Individuals have access to a wealth of information about themselves that is inaccessible to anyone else S-data personality tests Unstructured items—open-ended Structured items—response options provided Limitations of S-data People may not respond honestly People may lack accurate self-knowledge © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 4 Observer-Report Data (O-Data) Observer-report data capitalize on various sources for gathering information about a person’s personality Friends Families Teachers Strengths: Observers have access to information not attainable through other sources Multiple observers (i.e., inter-rater reliability) © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 5 Observer-Report Data (O-Data) 2 Selecting observers: Professional personality assessors People who actually know the target person Often in better position to observe target’s natural behaviours than professional personality assessors Allows for assessment of multiple social personalities Because of relationship to target, observer may be biased, however © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 6 Observer-Report Data (O-Data) 3 Naturalistic vs. Artificial Observation Naturalistic observation: Observers witness and record events that occur in the normal course of lives of the participants Has the advantage of being able to secure information in realistic context, but at the cost of not being able to control events witnessed © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 7 Observer-Report Data (O-Data) 4 Naturalistic vs. Artificial Observation Artificial observation: Occurs in artificial settings or situations Has the advantage of controlling conditions and eliciting relevant behaviour, but at the cost of sacrificing realism © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 8 Test-Data (T-Data) Participants are placed in standardized testing situation to see if different people react differently to an identical situation Classic example is Henry Murray’s bridge-building test Sam Edwards/AGE Fotostock Who takes the leadership role when people work together is often a function of personality. © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 9 Test-Data (T-Data) 2 Limitations Participants might try to guess what trait is being measured and then alter their behaviour to create certain impressions Difficult to know if participants define testing situation as intended by experimenter Researcher might influence how participants behave © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 10 Test-Data (T-Data) 3 Mechanical recording devices, e.g., “Actometer” used to assess children’s activity Activity level is stable over time and correlates with teacher ratings of vital, energetic, and active Strengths Not hampered by biases of human observer May be used in naturalistic settings Disadvantage Few personality dispositions lend themselves to mechanical assessment © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 11 Test-Data (T-Data) 3 Physiological data: Information about a person’s level of arousal, reactivity to stimuli Potential indicators of personality Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) Key benefit is that it is difficult to fake responses Disadvantages: Often used in artificial laboratory setting Accuracy of recording hinges on whether participant perceives situation as experimenter intended © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 12 Test-Data (T-Data) 4 Projective Techniques: Person presented with ambiguous stimuli Asked to describe what they see; assumption is that person “projects” personality onto ambiguous stimuli Strengths May provide useful means for gathering information about wishes, desires, fantasies that a person is not aware of and could not report Weaknesses Difficult to score, uncertain validity, and reliability © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 13 Life-Outcome Data (L-Data) Information can be gleaned from: Events, activities, and outcomes in a person’s life That are available in public record— Chris Knapton/Alamy Stock e.g., marriage, speeding tickets Can serve as important source of “real life” information about personality Photo Recognize that life outcomes may be The tendency to have influence by factors other than frequent temper outbursts in personality childhood has been linked with negative adult outcomes, such as increased likelihood of divorce. © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 14 Issues in Personality Assessment Links among different data sources – do all data sources correspond? Fallibility of personality measurement All sources of data have limitations Results that replicate through “triangulation” are most powerful © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 15 Evaluation of Personality Measures 1. Reliability 2. Validity 3. Generalizability © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 16 Reliability Degree to which measure represents “true” level of trait being measured Types of reliability 1. Test-retest reliability 2. Internal consistency reliability 3. Inter-rater reliability Response sets Tendency for people to respond to questions on a basis that is unrelated to the question content Extreme responding Social desirability © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 17 Validity Degree to which test measures what it claims to measure Types of validity 1. Face validity 2. Predictive or criterion validity 3. Convergent validity 4. Discriminant validity 5. Construct validity © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 18 Generalizability Degree to which measure retains validity across different contexts, including different groups of people and different conditions Generalizability subsumes reliability and validity Greater generalizability not always better What is important is to identify empirically contexts in which a measure is and is not applicable © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 19 Research Designs in Personality 1. Experimental Methods 2. Correlational Studies 3. Case Studies © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 20 Experimental Methods Used to determine causality—whether one variable causes another Two key requirements: 1. Manipulation of variables 2. Counterbalancing Randomization ensures that there are no predetermined patterns linked with condition People who study alone in a library are likely to be introverted, whereas those who do their studying in groups tend to be extraverted. © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 21 Correlational Studies Correlation is a statistical procedure for determining whether there is a relationship between two variables Designed to identify “what goes with what” in nature Not designed to identify causal relationships Major advantage It allows us to identify relationships among variables as they occur naturally © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 22 Correlational Studies 2 Correlation coefficient varies from –1.00 (perfect negative relationships) through 0 (no relationship) to +1.00 (perfect positive relationship) Correlation does not indicate causation Directionality problem Third variable problem © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 23 Case Studies In-depth examination of the life of one person Advantages Find out about personality in great detail Give insights into personality that is Useful to formulate a more general theory that is tested on a larger sample Provide in-depth knowledge about an outstanding figure, such as a political or religious figure Disadvantage Results based on the study of single person cannot be generalized to others © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 24 When to Use Experimental, Correlational, and Case Study Designs Each design has strengths and weakness; Strength of one is weakness of another A researcher’s design choice depends on The research question and the goal of research Taken together, three designs provide complementary methods for exploring personality © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 25 Summary and Evaluation Personality assessment and measurement start with identifying the sources of personality data Once sources of data have been selected, the researcher should evaluate their quality Researchers must select a particular design within which to use the measures There are no perfect methods or designs © 2023 McGraw Hill Limited 26