Chapter 11 Personality - Personality Psychology PDF

JAHNAVI PANDYA CH. 12 PERSONALITY  11.1 WHAT IS PERSONALITY? 11.2 FREUD AND THE PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE 11.3 NEO-FREUDIANS: ADLER, ERIKSON, JUNG, AND CLASS HORNEY OVERVIE 11.4 LEARNING APPROACHES 11.5 HUMANISTIC APPROACHES W 11.6...

JAHNAVI PANDYA CH. 12 PERSONALITY  11.1 WHAT IS PERSONALITY? 11.2 FREUD AND THE PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE 11.3 NEO-FREUDIANS: ADLER, ERIKSON, JUNG, AND CLASS HORNEY OVERVIE 11.4 LEARNING APPROACHES 11.5 HUMANISTIC APPROACHES W 11.6 BIOLOGICAL APPROACHES 11.7 TRAIT THEORISTS 11.8 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF PERSONALITY 11.9 PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT 2  WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN I USE THE WORD PERSONALITY? 3  AN INDIVIDUAL’S RELATIVELY DISTINCTIVE AND CONSISTENT PATTERN OF THINKING, FEELING AND ACTING. BASICALLY, IT REFERS TO THE CHARACTERISTIC WAY THAT AN INDIVIDUAL INTERACTS WITH THE WORLD. 11.1 DISTINCT (BETWEEN PEOPLE DIFFERENCE) WHAT IS NOT EVERYONE ACTS ALIKE IN SIMILAR SITUATIONS PERSONALI (I.E., THERE IS VARIATION BETWEEN PEOPLE) TY? EXP. YOU GET STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR. HOW DO YOU RESPOND? CONSISTENT (WITHIN-PERSON SIMILARITY) CONSISTENCY ACROSS SITUATIONS AND OVER TIME (I.E., A PERSON BEHAVES SIMILARLY IN A SIMILAR SITUATION OVER TIME) EXP. DO YOU BEHAVE THE SAME WAY IN PSYCH CLASS 4 AS YOU DO IN YOUR OTHER CLASSES? PERSONALI TY ACTIVITY LET’S TEST HOW GOOD WE ARE AT DETECTING PEOPLE’S PERSONALITY! 5  DESCRIBE THIS PERSON’S PERSONALIT Y  DESCRIBE THIS PERSON’S PERSONALIT Y  DESCRIBE THIS PERSON’S PERSONALIT Y PERSONALITY ACTIVITY LARGE GROUP: WAS THIS EASY OR HARD? WHY? 9  AN INDIVIDUAL’S RELATIVELY DISTINCTIVE AND CONSISTENT PATTERN OF THINKING, FEELING AND ACTING. PERSONALITY ISN’T SOMETHING WE CAN SEE PERSONALI DIRECTLY. TY IS THERE ARE ONLY CLUES, AND CLUES CAN BE AMBIGUOUS. A PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGIST JOB IS TO PUT ALL THE CLUES TOGETHER AND INTERPRET THEM CORRECTLY TO UNDERSTAND PERSONALITY. 10  WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES 11 OF PERSONALITY?  11.2 FREUD AND PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE SIGMUND FREUD’S PSYCHODYNAMIC PERSPECTIVE OF PERSONALITY WAS THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE THEORY OF PERSONALITY, EXPLAINING A WIDE VARIETY OF BOTH NORMAL AND ABNORMAL BEHAVIORS. ACCORDING TO FREUD, UNCONSCIOUS DRIVES INFLUENCED BY SEX AND AGGRESSION, ALONG WITH CHILDHOOD SEXUALITY, ARE THE FORCES THAT INFLUENCE OUR PERSONALITY. 12 ID, EGO, SUPER- EGO 13 14 15 IDEAS OF GUNAS IN ANCIENT INDIAN LITERATURE 16 17  PROBLEMS WITH COLONIZATION OF PSYCHOLOGY FREUD’S IDEA OF INDIGENOUS CIVILIZATION WAS SIMILAR TO ID HE SAID MINDFULNESS OR YOGA PRACTICES OF THE EAST WERE MORE ABOUT INHIBITING THE DESIRES HIS CLIENTS WERE MOSTLY UPPER MIDDLE CLASS WHITE WOMEN 18  DEFENSE MECHANISMS 19  11.3 NEO-FREUDIANS FREUD ATTRACTED MANY FOLLOWERS WHO MODIFIED HIS IDEAS TO CREATE NEW THEORIES ABOUT PERSONALITY. THESE THEORISTS, REFERRED TO AS NEO-FREUDIANS, GENERALLY AGREED WITH FREUD THAT CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES MATTER, BUT THEY REDUCED THE EMPHASIS ON SEX AND FOCUSED MORE ON THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AND EFFECTS OF CULTURE ON PERSONALITY. THE PERSPECTIVE OF PERSONALITY PROPOSED BY FREUD AND HIS FOLLOWERS WAS THE DOMINANT THEORY OF PERSONALITY FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY 20  11.3 NEO-FREUDIANS ALFRED ADLER ERIK ERIKSON CARL JUNG KAREN HORNEY 21  ALFRED ADLER ALFRED ADLER, A COLLEAGUE OF FREUD’S AND THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE VIENNA PSYCHOANALYTICAL SOCIETY (FREUD’S INNER CIRCLE OF COLLEAGUES), WAS THE FIRST MAJOR THEORIST TO BREAK AWAY FROM FREUD. HE SUBSEQUENTLY FOUNDED A SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY CALLED INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOLOGY, WHICH FOCUSES ON OUR DRIVE TO COMPENSATE FOR FEELINGS OF INFERIORITY. ADLER (1937, 1956) PROPOSED THE CONCEPT OF THE INFERIORITY COMPLEX. 22  ALFRED ADLER ADLER ALSO BELIEVED IN THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL CONNECTIONS, SEEING CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT EMERGING THROUGH SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT RATHER THAN THE SEXUAL STAGES FREUD OUTLINED. ADLER NOTED THE INTER-RELATEDNESS OF HUMANITY AND THE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE BETTERMENT OF ALL. HE SAID, “THE HAPPINESS OF MANKIND LIES IN WORKING TOGETHER, IN LIVING AS IF EACH INDIVIDUAL HAD SET HIMSELF THE TASK OF CONTRIBUTING TO THE COMMON WELFARE” (ADLER, 1964, P. 255) WITH THE MAIN GOAL OF PSYCHOLOGY BEING “TO RECOGNIZE THE EQUAL RIGHTS AND EQUALITY OF OTHERS” (ADLER, 1961, P. 691). WITH THESE IDEAS, ADLER IDENTIFIED THREE FUNDAMENTAL SOCIAL TASKS THAT ALL OF US MUST EXPERIENCE: OCCUPATIONAL TASKS (CAREERS), SOCIETAL TASKS (FRIENDSHIP), AND LOVE TASKS (FINDING AN INTIMATE PARTNER FOR A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP). RATHER THAN FOCUS ON SEXUAL OR AGGRESSIVE MOTIVES FOR BEHAVIOR AS FREUD DID, ADLER FOCUSED ON SOCIAL MOTIVES. HE ALSO EMPHASIZED CONSCIOUS RATHER THAN UNCONSCIOUS MOTIVATION, SINCE HE BELIEVED THAT THE THREE FUNDAMENTAL SOCIAL TASKS ARE EXPLICITLY KNOWN AND PURSUED. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT ADLER DID NOT ALSO BELIEVE IN UNCONSCIOUS PROCESSES—HE DID—BUT HE FELT THAT CONSCIOUS PROCESSES WERE MORE IMPORTANT. 23  ALFRED ADLER ONE OF ADLER’S MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY WAS THE IDEA THAT OUR BIRTH ORDER SHAPES OUR PERSONALITY. HE PROPOSED THAT OLDER SIBLINGS, WHO START OUT AS THE FOCUS OF THEIR PARENTS’ ATTENTION BUT MUST SHARE THAT ATTENTION ONCE A NEW CHILD JOINS THE FAMILY, COMPENSATE BY BECOMING OVERACHIEVERS. THE YOUNGEST CHILDREN, ACCORDING TO ADLER, MAY BE SPOILED, LEAVING THE MIDDLE CHILD WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO MINIMIZE THE NEGATIVE DYNAMICS OF THE YOUNGEST AND OLDEST CHILDREN. DESPITE POPULAR ATTENTION, RESEARCH HAS NOT CONCLUSIVELY CONFIRMED ADLER’S HYPOTHESES ABOUT BIRTH ORDER 24  CARL JUNG CARL JUNG WAS A SWISS PSYCHIATRIST AND PROTÉGÉ OF FREUD, WHO LATER SPLIT OFF FROM FREUD AND DEVELOPED HIS OWN THEORY, WHICH HE CALLED ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY. THE FOCUS OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY IS ON WORKING TO BALANCE OPPOSING FORCES OF CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS THOUGHT, AND EXPERIENCE WITHIN ONE’S PERSONALITY. ACCORDING TO JUNG, THIS WORK IS A CONTINUOUS LEARNING PROCESS— MAINLY OCCURRING IN THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE—OF BECOMING AWARE OF UNCONSCIOUS ELEMENTS AND INTEGRATING THEM INTO CONSCIOUSNESS 25  JUNG’S IDEA OF INTROVERSION VS. EXTROVERSIO N 26  CARL JUNG Jung’s split from Freud was based on two major disagreements. First, Jung, like Adler and Erikson, did not accept that sexual drive was the primary motivator in a person’s mental life. Second, although Jung agreed with Freud’s concept of a personal unconscious, he thought it to be incomplete. In addition to the personal unconscious, Jung focused on the collective unconscious. 27 CARL JUNG 28 CARL JUNG VERSUS EASTERN THEORY 29 CARL JUNG 30 CARL JUNG 31 CARL JUNG 32 KAREN HORNEY 33  SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE A social-cognitive theory of personality that emphasizes both learning and cognition as sources of individual differences in personality. In social- cognitive theory, the concepts of reciprocal determinism, observational learning, and self- efficacy all play a part in personality development. 34  SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE Have you ever been in a class and knew the answer but were scared to raise your hand because you thought you did not know the answer even when you did? Why? 35  SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE Ans: Bandura studied self efficacy which is the belief in your own ability! Research suggests sometimes it matters more than your ability itself. 36 SOCIAL COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE JULIAN ROTTER’S LOC 37  11.5 HUMANISTIC APPROACH ONE OF ROGERS’S MAIN IDEAS ABOUT PERSONALITY REGARDS SELFCONCEPT, OUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT OURSELVES. HOW WOULD YOU RESPOND TO THE QUESTION, “WHO AM I?” YOUR ANSWER CAN SHOW HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF. IF YOUR RESPONSE IS PRIMARILY POSITIVE, THEN YOU TEND TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHO YOU ARE, AND YOU SEE THE WORLD AS A SAFE AND POSITIVE PLACE. IF YOUR RESPONSE IS MAINLY NEGATIVE, THEN YOU MAY FEEL UNHAPPY WITH WHO YOU ARE. ROGERS FURTHER DIVIDED THE SELF INTO TWO CATEGORIES: THE IDEAL SELF AND THE REAL SELF. THE IDEAL SELF IS THE PERSON THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE; THE REAL SELF IS THE PERSON YOU ACTUALLY ARE. ROGERS FOCUSED ON THE IDEA THAT WE NEED TO ACHIEVE CONSISTENCY BETWEEN THESE TWO SELVES. WE EXPERIENCE CONGRUENCE WHEN OUR THOUGHTS ABOUT OUR REAL SELF AND IDEAL SELF ARE VERY SIMILAR —IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN OUR SELF-CONCEPT IS ACCURATE. 38 HIGH CONGRUENCE LEADS TO A GREATER SENSE OF SELF-WORTH AND A HEALTHY, PRODUCTIVE LIF 39 CONDITIONS OF WORTH 40 SIMILAR TO THE IDEA OF TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS.. 41  11.6 BIOLOGICAL APPROACHES IN THE FIELD OF BEHAVIORAL GENETICS, THE MINNESOTA STUDY OF TWINS REARED APART—A WELL-KNOWN STUDY OF THE GENETIC BASIS FOR PERSONALITY—CONDUCTED RESEARCH WITH TWINS FROM 1979 TO 1999. IN STUDYING 350 PAIRS OF TWINS, INCLUDING PAIRS OF IDENTICAL AND FRATERNAL TWINS REARED TOGETHER AND APART, RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT IDENTICAL TWINS, WHETHER RAISED TOGETHER OR APART, HAVE VERY SIMILAR PERSONALITIES (BOUCHARD, 1994; BOUCHARD, LYKKEN, MCGUE, SEGAL, & TELLEGEN, 1990; SEGAL, 2012). THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THE HERITABILITY OF SOME PERSONALITY TRAITS. HERITABILITY REFERS TO THE PROPORTION OF DIFFERENCE AMONG PEOPLE THAT IS ATTRIBUTED TO GENETICS. SOME OF THE TRAITS THAT THE STUDY REPORTED AS HAVING MORE THAN A 0.50 HERITABILITY RATIO INCLUDE LEADERSHIP, OBEDIENCE TO AUTHORITY, A SENSE OF WELL-BEING, ALIENATION, RESISTANCE TO STRESS, AND FEARFULNESS. THE IMPLICATION IS THAT SOME ASPECTS OF OUR PERSONALITIES ARE LARGELY CONTROLLED BY GENETICS; HOWEVER, IT’S IMPORTANT TO POINT OUT THAT TRAITS ARE NOT DETERMINED BY A SINGLE GENE, BUT BY A COMBINATION OF MANY GENES, AS WELL AS BY EPIGENETIC FACTORS THAT CONTROL WHETHER THE GENES ARE EXPRESSED. 42  11.6 BIOLOGICAL APPROACHES RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT THERE ARE TWO DIMENSIONS OF OUR TEMPERAMENT THAT ARE IMPORTANT PARTS OF OUR ADULT PERSONALITY— REACTIVITY AND SELF-REGULATION (ROTHBART, AHADI, & EVANS, 2000). REACTIVITY REFERS TO HOW WE RESPOND TO NEW OR CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI; SELF-REGULATION REFERS TO OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL THAT RESPONSE (ROTHBART & DERRYBERRY, 1981; ROTHBART, SHEESE, RUEDA, & POSNER, 2011). FOR EXAMPLE, ONE PERSON MAY IMMEDIATELY RESPOND TO NEW STIMULI WITH A HIGH LEVEL OF ANXIETY, WHILE ANOTHER BARELY NOTICES IT. 43  WHY AM I LIKE THIS? NO ONE SPECIFIC GENE = PERSONALITY TRAITS ARE MOST LIKELY INFLUENCED BY MANY GENES IN COMBINATION W/ CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS BEHAVIORAL GENETICS: STUDY OF HOW GENETIC FACTORS INFLUENCE TRAIT VARIATION BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS. PROTOTYPICALLY USES TWIN STUDIES TO DETERMINE HERITABILITY (H) OF A TRAIT. HERITABILITY ESTIMATES OF TRAITS ARE TYPICALLY IN THE RANGE OF 50 PERCENT = ABOUT HALF OF PERSONALITY TRAIT VARIABILITY IS DUE TO GENETIC FACTORS HERITABILITY ESTIMATES ONLY EXPLAIN VARIABILITY IN SAMPLES, NOT INDIVIDUALS. 44 HERITABILITY ≠ GENETIC ESSENTIALISM, WHICH ASSUMES A GENETIC BASIS MAKES A TRAIT NATURAL AND UNCHANGEABLE. 11.7 The Trait Perspective An individual’s unique constellation of durable dispositions and consistent ways of behaving (traits) constitutes his or her personality.  Personality traits: specific dimensions along which individuals’ personalities differ in consistent and stable ways Examples of Traits Honest Dependable Moody Impulsive Competitive 45  Gordon Allport  Found 4,500 words in the English language to describe people and organized them into three categories. 46 History  Not all personality traits are equally important in determining behavior of Trait  Cardinal traits: dominates entire personality (rare). Theorist  1 dimensional characters  Central traits: make up our personality. s  Less influenced by the situation  Secondary traits: less obvious or consistent, present under certain circumstances (e.g., preferences, attitudes).  More influence by the situation Raymond Cattell  Narrowed Allport’s list to about 171 traits. (Still a lot!)  Identified 16 dimensions of personality  Personality traits went from being present or absent  a continuum 47 So how many traits are there?  More recent analyses suggest that there are five key or central dimensions of personality (Costa & McCrae, 1994).  These 5 factors appear across different personality tests and across a variety of cultures.  The first letter of each trait spells the mnemonic OCEAN.  Openness to experience  Conscientiousness  Extroversion  Agreeableness  Neuroticism  Openness to Experience  High in Openness:  Imaginative, curious, intellectual, open to nontraditional values, preferring variety  Low in Openness:  Conforming, practical, conventional, preferring routine Large Group: 48 What are some behaviors that would tell us if someone is high or low on this trait? Conscientiousness  High in Conscientiousness:  Reliable, responsible, self- disciplined, ethical, hard working, ambitious  Low in Conscientiousness:  Disorganized, unreliable, lax, impulsive, careless Large Group: 49 What types of job would NEED someone who is very high in conscientiousness?  Extraversion 50  High in Extraversion:  Outgoing, enthusiastic, fun- loving, sociable, talkative  Low in Extraversion (i.e., Introversion):  Solitary, serious, Large Group: reserved, shy What types of jobs would prefer someone who is high or low in this trait? Agreeableness  High in Agreeableness:  Sensitive, warm, tolerant, easy to get along with, concerned with other’s feelings and needs  Low in Agreeableness:  Cold, suspicious, hostile, callous  Degree to which someone trusts someone quickly. Large Group: 51 Are there situations where it would be good to be low in agreeableness?  Neuroticism  High in Neuroticism:  Prone to anxiety, worry, guilt, nervous, emotional instability, insecure  Low in Neuroticism (i.e., Emotional Stability):  Relaxed, calm, secure, poised, emotionally stable Large Group: 52 When might it be advantageous to be high or low in neuroticism?  PERSONALITY ACTIVITY Individual: Take a note card, write your name on it, and answer the following: 1. What does OCEAN in personality psychology stand for? 2. Indicate whether you are high or low on a trait from the OCEAN 5-factor model, AND how do you know? Note. Spelling doesn’t count as long as I can figure out what you are trying to say.  What’s Your Major? Does it Match Up With Your Personality? Jeffrey S. Nevid, Essentials of Psychology: Concepts and Applications, 5th Edition. © 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.  PERSONALITY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN AVERAGE CHANGES IN PERSONALITY TRAITS OVER THE LIFESPAN: INCREASES IN AGREEABLENESS, CONSCIENTIOUSNESS, AND EMOTIONAL STABILITY INCREASES IN OPEN-MINDEDNESS, THEN REDUCTION IN LATE ADULTHOOD EXTRAVERSION IS MIXED. SOCIAL VITALITY STAYS THE SAME. SOCIAL DOMINANCE INCREASES UNTIL MIDDLE ADULTHOOD THEN LEVELS OFF. LIFE CHANGES AND FORMAL COUNSELLING CAN CHANGE 55 TRAIT LEVELS FOR THE BETTER. PERSONALITY CLUSTERS IN THE US 56  11.9 PERCEIVING PERSONALITY HUMANS CAN FORM GENERALLY ACCURATE CONCLUSIONS ABOUT OTHER’S PERSONALITIES VERY QUICKLY. WE GIVE CLUES TO OUR PERSONALITIES IN THE MUSIC WE LISTEN TO, THE PETS WE OWN, THE LOOK OF OUR WEBSITE, AND THE MESSINESS OF OUR ROOM. 57  WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT A PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGIST GETS CLUES? 1.BEHAVIORAL DATA 2.INFORMANT REPORTS 3.SELF-JUDGMENTS OR SELF-REPORTS 4.PROJECTIVE TESTS 58  59 BEHAVIORAL (B) DATA DEFINITION: INFO THAT IS CAREFULLY AND SYSTEMATICALLY RECORDED VIA DIRECT OBSERVATION CAN DO WITH NATURAL OBSERVATION & LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS ADVANTAGE: BASED ON REAL LIFE (NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION) CAN CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT (LAB EXPERIMENT) DISADVANTAGE: DIFFICULT: DESIRED CONTEXTS MAY SELDOMLY OCCUR LACK OF ACCESS TO PRIVATE  INFORMANT 60 REPORT (I) DATA DEFINITION: JUDGMENTS BY KNOWLEDGEABLE INFORMANTS ABOUT GENERAL ATTRIBUTES OF THE INDIVIDUAL’S PERSONALITY. OFTEN DONE BY ACQUAINTANCES, COWORKERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS, ETC. ADVANTAGE: BASED ON OBSERVATION OF BEHAVIOR IN THE REAL WORLD BASED ON COMMON SENSE ABOUT WHAT BEHAVIORS MEAN TAKES CONTEXT INTO ACCOUNT DISADVANTAGE: LIMITED BEHAVIORAL INFORMATION LACK OF ACCESS TO PRIVATE EXPERIENCE  DEFINITION: A PERSON’S EVALUATION OF HIS OR HER OWN PERSONALITY USUALLY, QUESTIONNAIRES OR SURVEYS OFTEN USE MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS OR NUMBERED SCALES (LIKERT SCALES). MOST FREQUENT DATA SOURCE DATA: ADVANTAGE: 61 SELF- BASED ON A LARGE AMOUNT OF JUDGMENT INFORMATION S YOU ARE ALWAYS WITH YOURSELF. OR SELF- PEOPLE ARE USUALLY THEIR OWN REPORTS BEST EXPERT. DISADVANTAGE: MAYBE PEOPLE WON’T TELL YOU MAYBE PEOPLE CAN’T TELL YOU MEMORY IS LIMITED AND NOT PERFECT LACK OF SELF-INSIGHT Questions?  PROJECTIVE TESTS OF PERSONALITY - ACTIVITY Sit separately Please do not look into the drawings of others Lets respect each other’s privacy! Take a blank piece of paper and hear my instructions. 62  PROJECTIVE TESTS OF PERSONALITY Types of Projective Tests There are a number of different types of projective tests. Some of the best-known examples include: The Rorschach Inkblot Test This test was one of the first projective tests developed and continues to be one of the best-known and most widely used. Developed by Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach in 1921, the test consists of 10 different cards that depict an ambiguous inkblot. 3 People are shown one card at a time and asked to describe what they see in the image. The responses are recorded verbatim by the tester. Gestures, tone of voice, and other reactions are also noted. The results of the test can vary depending on which of the many existing scoring systems the examiner uses. 63  PROJECTIVE TESTS OF PERSONALITY The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) In the TAT test, people are asked to look at a series of ambiguous scenes and then to tell a story describing the scene. This includes describing what is happening, how the characters are feeling, and how the story will end. The examiner then scores the test based on the needs, motivations, and anxieties of the main character, as well as how the story eventually turns out. 3 64  PROJECTIVE TESTS OF PERSONALITY Weaknesses of a Projective Test Projective tests are most frequently used in therapeutic settings. In many cases, therapists use these tests to learn qualitative information about individuals. Some therapists may use projective tests as a sort of icebreaker to encourage people to discuss issues or examine their thoughts and emotions. While projective tests have some benefits, they also have a number of weaknesses and limitations, including: Projective tests that do not have standard grading scales tend to lack both validity and reliability. Validity refers to whether or not a test is measuring what it purports to measure, while reliability refers to the consistency of the test results. Scoring projective tests is highly subjective, so interpretations of answers can vary dramatically from one examiner to the next. The respondent's answers can be heavily influenced by the examiner's attitudes or the test setting. 65  THE PROJECTIV E HYPOTHESI S 66