Week 11 Self-Report Inventories PDF

lOMoARcPSD|5194257 psychological assessment data. B.13.5. Psychologists report assessment results appropriately and accurately in language that the recipient can understand. B.13.6. Psychologists do not compromise the effective use of psychological assessment methods or techniques, nor render them...

lOMoARcPSD|5194257 psychological assessment data. B.13.5. Psychologists report assessment results appropriately and accurately in language that the recipient can understand. B.13.6. Psychologists do not compromise the effective use of psychological assessment methods or techniques, nor render them open to misuse, by publishing or otherwise disclosing their contents to persons unauthorised or unqualified to receive such information. • • • • Integrity Psychologists recognise that their knowledge of the discipline of psychology, their professional standing, and the information they gather place them in a position of power and trust. They exercise their power appropriately and honour this position of trust. Psychologists keep faith with the nature and intentions of their professional relationships. Psychologists act with probity and honesty in their conduct. Integrity → Ethical Standards - Reputable behaviour - Communication - Conflict of interest - Non-exploitation - Authorship - Financial arrangements - Ethics investigation and concerns APS Ethical Guidelines: Summary • Psychologists bring ethical commitment, knowledge and skills to the practice of psychological assessment and are aware of their duty of care to their clients. • They keep assessment materials and records confidential, and they seek to have current knowledge about the procedures they employ. • They are aware of the necessity of continuing education, for example, in relevant test theory and research. • They are ethical and skilled in their selection of assessment procedures, and their application to individuals and groups, the preparation of reports, and communication of results. Week 11: Self-Report Inventories What is Personality? • Personality – a complex construct that integrates all domains of psychological study - Characteristic way of feeling, thinking, perceiving, and acting What is included in the construct? • Defined by the theory underlying the measurement tool Two Major Theoretical Approaches General Process Theories • Focus is on the general process through which personality develops • e.g., Freud, Bandura, Maslow • Little on measurement or differences between individuals Downloaded by Jackson Pullar ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|5194257 Structural/descriptive theories • Emphasise individual differences • e.g., Cattell, Eysenck, Guilford, Five Factor Model • Trait theories • Measurement plays a large role What is a trait? A trait: • is a predisposition to respond to situations in a consistent way • is not directly observable inferred from behaviour • can be used to predict behaviour - Descriptive rather than explanatory - Not necessarily stable over time - Hampson & Goldberg (2006): examined stability over a 40-year interval 1. Higher stability for Extraversion and Conscientiousness - Harris et al. (2016): examined stability over a 63-year interval 2. Higher stability for Stability of Moods (Neuroticism) and Conscientiousness Nomothetic vs Idiographic View • The Nomothetic view: - Trait theories assume there is a set of dimensions of personality on which all people can be placed 3. Responses from the individual are understood in the context of responses from a large group of people 4. The uniqueness of individuals is captured by scores on a set of traits – a Profile (e.g., 16PF) • The Idiographic view: - A standard set of traits cannot describe the richness of an individual’s personality 5. An individual’s behaviour may not be organised according to a particular trait 6. A single set of traits cannot be relevant to all individuals 7. A different set of traits may be required to describe each person Ways to Measure Personality Standard measures ➢ Ask the person – Self Report ➢ Observe the Person • Rely on the observations of others who are close to the person • Observe person under standard conditions - Projective techniques Self-Report Inventories (or questionnaires) • Possess psychometric properties - Measure (assign a number) - Standardised norms - Reliability and validity of test scores is assessed - Manual provides this information • A set of items are selected and marked by the individual so as to be descriptive of self • Include items about the individual's thoughts, feelings, attitudes and/or behaviours • Items can be trait names, adjectives, questions, statements • Usually measure several variables but can also measure single variables • Are used to assess both normal and abnormal personality Downloaded by Jackson Pullar ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|5194257 SRI- Response Formats How questions on SRIs are answered by the person taking the test Response format can be • Absolute (each item judged independently) - My success in life has been determined by good fortune. • No/Yes • False/True • Disagree/Agree • Disagree, Unsure, Agree • Strongly Disagree, Somewhat Disagree, Neutral, Somewhat Agree, Strongly Agree • Comparative / forced choice (choose from 2 or more items) → removing social desirability - I become homicidal when people try to reason with me - The sight of blood no longer excites me Advantages of SRI (over observational methods) • • • • • SRIs are easy to construct (relatively) and to establish norms Can be administered to groups as well as individuals Require little training for administration and scoring Time (and therefore cost) effective Can be used in variety of applied settings Main Disadvantages of SRIS • Self-report assumes that the respondent: - Can be accurate (self-deception) - Will be accurate (fake good/bad) Response Tendencies • Response tendency (or response set or response style) - The way in which a test-taker answers items on the test, regardless of the content of the items • Acquiescence – agree with what's presented (I am anxious/ I am relaxed) • Non-acquiescence – disagree with what's presented • Socially desirable responding – tendency to see oneself in a favourable light (forced choice questions would help) • Overcautious approach – choosing middle options on response scales • Extremes in responding – endorse items in an unusual/uncommon way • Attention, concentration, comprehension • SRI assume well and of average intelligence Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 567 items phrased as self-statements and rated true/false - I really like most people I see - I believe I am being plotted against - My sleep is fitful and disturbed. Downloaded by Jackson Pullar ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|5194257 MMPI – Hathaway & McKinley (1943) • Initially designed as an aid to psychiatric diagnosis • Developed using an empirical method - Items were devised that were identified with the factor of interest - Administered items to 2 groups, psychiatric patients with a particular diagnosis (criterion group) and patients without that particular diagnosis (reference group) - Kept the items that discriminated between the two groups MMPI-2 – Butcher et al. (1989) - Revision (MMPI-2) is described as a measure of major patterns of personality and emotional disorders MMPI-2 Restructured Form – Ben-Porath & Tellegen (2008) - MMPI-2 RF developed Restructured Clinical Scales MMPI Clinical and Validity Scales 10 clinical scales • Hypochondriasis • Depression • Hysteria • Psychopathic deviate • Masculine/Feminine • Paranoia • Psychasthenia • Schizophrenia • Hypomania • Social Introversion 3 validity scales • Lie Score → measure of social desirability, e.g. “I don’t like everyone I know”. Normal answer would be true so if someone scores false, it’s a “lie” • Frequency Score (F) → E.g “evil spirits possess me, is usually answered false but if they have a high frequency score of true can tell they are faking. • Correction Score (K) → E.g. “I feel like smashing things sometimes”, if false you are being guarded, and if true you are faking bad. MMPI Content Scales • Anxiety • Fears • Obsessiveness • Depression • Health Concerns • Bizarre Mentation • Anger • Cynicism • • • • • • • Antisocial Practices Type A Behaviour Low Self Esteem Social Discomfort Family Problems Work Interference Negative Treatment Indicators MMPI – 2 Validity Scales (additional validity measures were included) • Cannot say or ? score - Total number of unanswered items Downloaded by Jackson Pullar ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|5194257 • • • • Infrequency or F Scale and Back F Scale - Deviant or atypical ways of responding. Superlative Self-Presentation Scale - Willingness to disclose personal information Variable Response Inconsistency Scale - 49 item pairs of similar or opposite content - High score may indicate indiscriminate responding True Response Inconsistency Scale - 20 item pairs opposite in content - Tendency to answer ‘True’ indiscriminately MMPI – 2 Comments • Test of normal or abnormal personality? • Large normative sample (n = 2900) - But is it a representative sample? • 47.8% 20-39 years old (what about 60-70 year olds?) • Excess representation of higher education • Reliability of some scales is low (< .7) • Validity of some of the supplementary scales has not been adequately tested Sixteen (16) Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) Cattell et al. (1993) • Designed as a measure of normal personality traits • Factor analysis of responses to thousands of trait descriptors yielded 16 factors • Cattell called the factors the “primary source traits of personality” • 185 items; 170 phrased as self-statements and rated true/false or forced choice • People are lazy on the job if they can get away with it • I don’t usually mind if my room is messy • When one small thing after another goes wrong, I: feel as though I can’t cope OR just go on as usual 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) • A: Warmth • B: Reasoning • C: Emotional Stability • E: Dominance • F: Liveliness • G: Rule-consciousness • H: Social boldness • I: Sensitivity • • • • • • • • L: Vigilance M: Abstractedness N: Privateness O: Apprehension Q1: Openness to change Q2: Self-reliance Q3: Perfectionism Q4: Tension Global Factors • AX: Anxiety • TM: Tough-Mindedness • IN: Independence • SC: Self-control • EX: Extraversion Downloaded by Jackson Pullar ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|5194257 Response Indices • IM: Impression Management • INF: Infrequency • ACQ: Acquiescence NEO PI – 3 NEO PI- R Costa & McCrae (1992) NEOPI-3 Costa & McCrae (2010) • Based on the Five Factor Model of personality traits • • • • Items derived from previous questionnaires and rationally derived items from domain description Factor analysis yielded 5 factors each made up of 6facets Revision allows use in adolescents as young as 12 240 items phrased as self-statements rated on a 5pointscale: - I really like most people I meet. NEO PI Comments: • Self-report and observer-rating versions available • Designed as a test of normal personality but increasing evidence for its usefulness in clinical settings. • Separate norms for adults and college- aged people • No validity (response style) indices. Million Clinical Multiaxial Inventory – IV • Millonetal. (1994)–MCMI-III(DSM-IV) • Millonetal. (2015)–MCMI-IV(DSM-5) • Designed as a test of personality disorders and symptoms associated with them • Constructed by a deductive approach based on Millon’s theory of personality functioning and psychopathology • Scales reflect the classificatory system of DSM Personality Disorders • 175 items phrased as self-statements and rated as true/false • I’m too unsure of myself to risk trying something new • I guess I’m a fearful and inhibited person Downloaded by Jackson Pullar ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|5194257 Myer Briggs Type Indicator • Myers (1962) and Myers & McCauley (1985) • Assesses personality using Jung’s classification • People have definite preferences in how they approach the world, receive information about the world and make conclusions about the world • Four bipolar dimensions - Extraverted – Introverted (attitude) - Sensation – Intuition (way of perceiving) - Thinking – Feeling (judgement) - Judgement – Perception (orientation to world) • Scores on four dimensions give 16 possible types - Ipsative (vs normative) approach • Forced choice format - Which of these words appeals to you more: scheduled OR unplanned - When you go somewhere for the day, would you rather: Plan what you will do and when OR Just go • Several forms; Form G has 126 items; no response style indices • Much used in occupational settings • Often criticised - Construct validity – does it actually measure Jung’s theoretical types? - Test-Retest reliability – 35% of individuals had a different four letter type after 4- weeks (MBTI manual) Week 12: Projective Techniques Definition of “projection” • Projective techniques require the client to respond to ambiguous stimuli - Assume that the client will “project” his/her characteristic thoughts, feelings, behaviours. onto the material – the projective hypothesis 1. Perception → what the person responds to 2. Interpretation → how the person responds • Interpreter examines responses for clues as to personality • Two meanings of “projection” - Unconscious defense against unacceptable impulses in self by ascribing them to individuals or objects external to self (Freudian) - Normal process in which inner states influence perception and interpretation of the external world Development of Projective Techniques Two influences in the first two decades of the 20th Century 1. Theoretical development - Psychoanalytic theory - Gestalt or holistic theories 2. Psychometric vs clinical tradition - Psychometric ➢ Standardised measurement; reliability and validity; focus on normal characteristics; search for traits Downloaded by Jackson Pullar ([email protected])