临床与咨询心理学导论 14 - Personality Assessment

L14 Personality Assessment 

参考文献：Pomerantz, A. (2013). Clinical psychology: science, practice, and culture (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

14.1 What is Personality?

• According to the APA - Personality: The enduring configuration of characteristics and behavior that comprises an individual’s unique adjustment to life, including major traits, interests, drives, values, self-concept, abilities, and emotional patterns

• Personality is viewed as complex, dynamic, and shaped by many forces

The Trait Approach

Trait theorists are primarily interested in the measurement of traits, which can be defined as habitual patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion. According to this perspective, traits are aspects of personality that are relatively stable over time, differ across individuals (e.g. some people are outgoing whereas others are not), are relatively consistent over situations, and influence behavior. Traits are in contrast to states, which are more transitory dispositions.

Traits are more stable, states are more temporary. Personality more refers to traits.

Big Five Theory of Personality

Also known as the five-factor model (FFM) and the OCEAN model.

The theory identifies five factors:

Openness to experience: Unconventionality, intellectual curiosity, interest in new ideas - (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious)

Conscientiousness: Organized, efficient, and disciplined approach to life

- (efficient/organized vs. extravagant/careless)

Extraversion: Energetic approach to the social and physical world

- (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved)

Agreeableness: Trusting and easy-going approach to others

- (friendly/compassionate vs. challenging/callous)

Neuroticism: Prone to negative emotion

- (sensitive/nervous vs. resilient/confident)

Functions of Personality Tests

• Clinical applications:

- Problems and concerns that may be a focus of treatment

• Research applications:

- Individual differences and the factors that influence them

- How personality features are related to other psychological constructs

• Business applications:

- Broad-spectrum versus job-specific tests

14.2 Objective Personality Tests

- Standard set of questions or statements with fixed set of responses

Types: Focus on Problems (pathology): eg Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II, Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-IV

General Personality: eg NEO Personality Inventory-3

14.2.1 MMPI-2

MMPI-2 General Information

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

Most popular personality test (Hathaway & McKinley, 1942)

• Empirical Criterion Keying

- Items selected based on how performance data, not theory

- Items selected to distinguish between clinical groups

• MMPI-2 normed on nationally representative sample of 2600 people (1989)

• Ten Clinical Scales: Hypochondriasis, Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, Masculinity-Femininity, Paranoia, Psychasthenia, Mania, Schizophrenia, Social Introversion - Correspond to different forms of clinical disorders

• Three “Validity” Scales

- L (“Lying” or “Faking good”)

- K (“Defensiveness” or “Faking good”)

- F (“Infrequency” or “Faking bad”)

• Validity scales can be used to “invalidate” the MMPI-profile

Sample MMPI Items

- I have never indulged in any unusual sex practices

- When I am with people, I am bothered by hearing very queer things

• Problems with these items: It is hard to tell what items mean and some are offensive, outdated, and/or confusing.

Additional Revisions

• Another revision in 2008: MMPI-2-Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF)

- Length reduced from 567 items to 388

- Changes in clinical scales, including the removal of the Masculinity-Femininity Scale

• MMPI-3 – Expected in late 2020

- Major revision

- Normed on new samples

- New items, revised items, and new scales

- Spanish language version with its own norms

14.2.2 NEO Personality Inventory-3 (1st 1985, 3rd 2005, current)

• Assesses “The Big 5” (OCEAN)

- Developed by Costa and McCrea

• Includes 240 items self-report items, 21 years old or older

- Rate each from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree

• Brief version (with 60 items) also available

14.2.3 The Power of the Situation

• The Personality Paradox

- Identified by Mischel (1968)

- The same person often behaves differently in different situations

• Type of situation matters

- Strong vs Weak Situations

- Most accurate descriptions include specific information on the situation (If…then…)

14.2.4 Business Use of Objective Tests

• Major increases in use of personality tests in hiring and promotion process

• Lawsuits have challenged the legality of using personality assessments in hiring/promotion - Tests determined to be “medical examinations” - such as the MMPI - are usually not legal.

14.2.5 Strengths & Weakness of Objective Personality Tests

• Strengths:

- Administration and scoring simple and economical

- Potentially high levels of standardization, reliability, validity, utility

• Weaknesses:

- Response sets: Tendency to respond to items in way not reflective of true feelings, thoughts, and behaviors

- Faking responses: Deliberate attempt to create good or bad impression

- Misinterpretation of questions, limited responses

14.3 Projective Personality Tests

• Grew out of psychodynamic theory (not research)

• Present unstructured, ambiguous stimuli

- Clients “project” their personalities onto ambiguous stimuli

- Projections reveal unconscious personality dynamics

14.3.1 Rorschach Inkblot Method (1921)

• 10 inkblots printed on cards, 5 black inks and 5 others

• Cards do not depict any specific thing but have portions that resemble objects

• Administered individually and in two phases (response each card + them ask)

• After all cards administered, psychologist asks client to explain answers

scoring:

• Initially, there was not a formal scoring method

- Several were developed in the years after

• Exner’s Comprehensive System:

- Location, Determinants, Form Quality, Popularity, and Content of cards.

• Criticism about reliability and validity

14.3.2 Thematic Apperception Test (TAT, 1935)

• 31 cards depicting scenes - Subset of 10 most commonly used

• Tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end about the scene (before & after)

• Themes commonly explored include authority, gender, family relationships, sex, aggression; not always formal score.

14.3.3 Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank

• Client’s personality is revealed through the (40) sentences they create

• Examples:

- I enjoy _____________.

- It makes me furious when _____________.

- I feel very nervous about _____________.

- My proudest moment is _____________.

- My greatest weakness is _____________.

14.3.3 Strengths & Weakness of Projective Personality Tests

• Strengths:

- Hard to fake good or bad

- Freedom of response, more information

• Weaknesses:

- Administration and scoring complex and expensive

- Major problems with standardization, reliability, validity, utility

- Tester interpretation bias

14.3.4 Continued Use of Projective Tests

• Projective tests are used widely….WHY?

- Resistance to change

- Provide a source of info when used alongside other tests

- Encourage clients to talk

• Levels of inference:

- Behavioral information (e.g., how quickly does a client generate responses?)

- Transactional information (e.g., cooperative, anxious)

- Content analysis (i.e., actual interpretation)

- Symbolism (e.g., focus on black = depression)