The document discusses psychometric testing and personality assessment. It provides an overview of different types of psychometric tests including tests of cognitive ability and personality. It describes objective personality tests such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and projective tests such as the Rorschach inkblot test. It also discusses the development, applications, and psychometric properties of various objective and projective personality measures.

1. Psychometric testing © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

2. Psychometrics Psychometrics deals with the scientific measurement of individual differences (personality and intelligence). It attempts to measure the psychological qualities of individuals and use that knowledge to make predictions about behaviour. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

3. What is a test ? A test can be described as an objective, systematic and standardised measure of a sample of behaviour. Objective: every observer of an event would produce an identical account of what took place. Systematic : a methodical and consistent approach to understanding an event. Standardised : observations of an event are made in a prescribed manner. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

4. Test vs. assessment A test is also different from an assessment: Assessment refers to the entire process of collating information about individuals and subsequently using it to make predictions Tests represent only one source of information within the assessment process E.g. spelling is one aspect of writing, and so to assess it we would use a spelling test, whereas to gauge up someone’s general writing ability we would have to assess the entire process (spelling, style, grammar, punctuation etc.). © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

5. Types of psychometric tests Two types of psychological tests are used by personnel selection practitioners: Tests of cognitive ability : Cognitive assessment tests attempt to measure an individual’s ability to process information from their environment Tests of personality measures : Personality measures are more concerned with people's dispositions to behave in certain ways in certain situations. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

6. Different categories of psychometric tests There are three categories of psychometric tests in use by psychologists: Normative tests: most psychometric tests; where data exists about the range of scores expected from the population under consideration, e.g. IQ scores Criterion referenced tests: tests commonly used in education where a candidate has to meet some pre-arranged standard Idiographic tests: tests used in therapy to observe an individual’s progress over time. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

7. Cognitive testing Intelligence tests are commonly used in two main areas: occupational psychology and educational psychology . Cognitive ability tests fall into two categories in terms of administration of the test: Individually administered tests Group administered tests. Three different types of cognitive tests (collectively known as maximum performance tests): Speed, power and knowledge tests. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

8. Personality testing Personality tests are concerned with attempting to measure people’s characteristics or traits. There are two forms of personality test: Objective personality tests: Individuals are asked to rate their own actions or feelings in set situations Projective tests: Individuals are asked to formulate an unstructured response to some form of ambiguous stimuli, e.g. Rorschach ink-blot test (Rorschach, 1921). © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

9. Applications of personality tests Criminal psychologists might employ questionnaires to measure impulsivity and its relation to crime. Health psychologists might measure people’s optimism in relation to their response to cancer diagnosis. Occupational psychologists often employ personality tests to predict job performance and job suitability, e.g. Furnham (1992) reported that workers with high ‘negative affect’ tend to be less productive and have less job satisfaction, etc. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

10. Principles of psychometric tests Three essential criteria for a good psychometric test : reliability , validity and standardisation . Test standardisation ensures that the conditions are as similar as possible for all individuals who are given the test. Standardisation also ensures that no matter who gives the test and scores it, the results should be the same. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

11. Test reliability A test must measure the same thing in the same way every time someone takes it. There are two types of test reliability: Internal consistency reliability – all the parts of your test questionnaire are reliable throughout Test–retest reliability – the test remains valid over time. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

12. Test validity There are four types of test validity: Face validity: does your test appear to measure what it purports to measure? Concurrent validity: does your test of honesty correlate with existing standardised tests of honesty? Predictive validity: do the results of your test predict future behaviour? Construct validity: if all our hypotheses about the test variable (construct) are supported then we have a high degree of construct validity. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

13. Problems with psychometric tests Social desirability: when faced with a psychometric test, many people feel they are being judged and so alter their answers accordingly. This may happen for two reasons: Self-deception – individuals are overly optimistic in their perceptions of their own positive personality features and play down their perceived negative aspects Impression management – individuals try to appear ‘nice’ because they fear social disapproval. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

14. Mood and environmental influence Mood does seem to play a part in how people go about performing in tests , especially those concerning personality: People in a good mood might answer the questionnaire completely differently than they would if they were in a bad mood. Features of the environment ( noise, heat, light ) might also have an impact on our moods and our cognitive abilities: High temperature has a significant negative effect on vigilance, attention, memory and reaction time (Hancock, 1986). © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

15. Part II © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

16. Personality Assessment The Objective and Projective Measurement of Personality

17. A psychometric test is a way of assessing a person’s ability or personality in a measured and structured way. There are 3 main types of tests:- ability, personality Interest © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

18. extraverted psychic energy is directed out of the person to the world outside them objective - outward maintains a positive relation to the object. an extravert attitude is motivated from the outside and is directed by external, objective factors and relationships" (Hyde) introverted the person's psychic energy is internally directed subjective - inward ". attitude to the object is an abstracting one.... he is always facing the problem of how libido can be withdrawn from the object...." (Jung ) © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

19. MBTI The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ( MBTI ) assessment is a psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

20. The 16 types are typically referred to by an abbreviation of four letters—the initial letters of each of their four type preferences (except in the case of intuition , which uses the abbreviation N to distinguish it from Introversion). For instance: ESTJ : extraversion (E), sensing (S), thinking (T), judgment (J) INFP : introversion (I), intuition (N), feeling (F), perception (P) © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

21. Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation ( FIRO ) It is a theory of interpersonal relations, introduced by William Schutz in 1958. This theory mainly explains the interpersonal underworld of a small group. The Theory is based on the belief that when people get together in a group, there are three main interpersonal needs they are looking to obtain – affection/openness, control and inclusion. Schutz developed a measuring instrument that contains six scales of nine-item questions that he called FIRO-B. © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

22. Contd. FIRO-B is a powerful tool that assesses how personal needs affect your behavior towards others. It examines the way you interact with others and the way you wish them to interact with you. Can be used in any situation that requires inter personal behavior measurement. Team building, employee development and management development © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

23. The three needs in FIRO Inclusion: Determines the extent of contact and prominence that the individual seeks and wishes from others. Control: Determines the extent of power or dominance that a person seeks from others. Affection: Determines the extent of closeness that a person seeks and wishes from others © Simon Moore Complete Psychology published by Hodder Education

24. Development of Personality Testing Initial attempts to measure personality first emerged at the turn of the 20th century. Theory-driven, not empirically derived, psychometric properties (e.g., reliability, validity) were not established World War I ushered along the evolution of personality tests importance of predicting adjustment of new recruits to the military based on single dimensions of personality and behavior Within two decades following WWI, tests evolved to measure multiple dimensions of personality

25. Development of Personality Testing Two measurement methodologies Projective tests theory-driven Designed to probe deeper dimensions of personality

26. Objective Personality Measures Objective measures utilize highly structured response formats Consist of unambiguous stimulus items Forced choice (e.g., true/false) Likert scale ratings Result in a quantitative score that can be compared with normative score data

27. Objective Personality Measures The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (mmpi) The original MMPI inventory was published in 1953 by Starke Hathaway and J.C. McKinley Designed to assess and diagnose mental disorders in University of Minnesota Hospitals - became one of the most widely distributed and used measure of psychopathology.

28. MMPI 3. Scale development: items for each scale were chosen based on ability to statistically discriminate between clinical subgroups & control groups 4. Efforts to revise the inventory spanned a decade or so; were structured to address psychometric & practical flaws (e.g., need for improved normative sample, need to update items deemed inappropriate/outdated given contemporary culture, need to devise a version uniquely suited to assessing adolescent population)

29. MMPI In 1989 development of the MMPI-2 was completed (Bucher et al.) incorporating an updated 2,600-person stratified normative sample 6. This was shortly followed by the production of the MMPI-A measure for adolescents

30. MMPI 7. Contains 10 scales yielding complex profile analyses that integrate the following clinical dimension of pathology and personality: Hypochondriasis, Depression, Hysteria, Psychopathic Deviate, Masculinity-Femininity, Paranoia, Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia, Hypomania, and Social Introversion Scaled scores yield 2 or 3-point code type descriptors that provide information regarding symptoms/behaviors, personality characteristics, and predictions/dispositions for the above-mentioned profiles Contains built-in lie scales to assess response patterns that pose a threat to internal validity (e.g., defensive responding, exaggerated responding, random responding)

31. MMPI Allows for a variety of administration and scoring methods (e.g., computerized administration, abbreviated forms, computer scoring, mail-in scoring) Amenable to the development and use of coding indices that allow for specialized interpretation of clusters of selected scales (e.g., Goldberg Index, Megargee Classification System for Criminal Offenders, The Welsh Code, the Harris-Lingoes Content Interpretation Approach)

32. I love/loved my mother. I like to wear brown shoes. Everything tastes the same. I often feel as if there is a tight band around my head. 5. I like to read mechanics magazines. 6. Rules should be followed “to the letter of the law.” 7. I would certainly enjoy beating criminals at their own game.

33. THE ICE CREAM TEST based on the mmpi… What is your favorite flavor of ice cream from this list of possible flavors? 1. Mint chip 2. Vanilla 3. Butter pecan 4. Coffee 5. Rocky Road 6. Strawberry

34. Face validity – items make sense, given what the test measures. The MMPI and ice cream test have low face validity because the items are empirically derived, not rationally derived. Empirically derived - subgroups of people are given a test, only the items that differentiate the groups are retained for the final version. Rationally derived – items with face validity are chosen by the authors of the test.

35. Objective Personality Measures Sixteen Personality Factors Test Raymond Cattell (1949, 1982) Unique development: Cattell and colleagues surveyed all English language words descriptive of personality Followed up with factor analyses, yielding 16 first-order factors of personality and four second-order factors Multiple forms, can be used as a component of the Clinical Analysis Questionnaire to simultaneously assess personality and pathology 187 items rated on a 3-point Likert scale Psychometric properties: large, stratified normative sample, excellent reliability (internal consistency) and validity (construct)

36. Objective Personality Measures Also the NEO-PI Based on five factor model Lew goldberg’s BIG FIVE adjective checklists - Based on the whorfian hypothesis: that the values of any society are determined by its lexicon. the most important constructs in our society are those that have the highest numbers of words to describe them. - native american languages - 60 different words for green - over 1000 shades of red tile in the back of the vatican stained glass/mosaic school! the most important personality aspects are encoded into the lexicon.

37. Objective Personality Measures California Psychological Inventory (1987) 462 true/false items grouped into 20 scales Target population: adolescents and adults Scores are used to interpret an examinee’s position within a three-dimensional construct of personality (interpersonal orientation, normative perspective, and level of realization) Very little psychometric data exists to validate this measure, but recent factor analyses suggest that the 20 scales of the CPI map onto four major personality dimensions (i.e. extraversion, control, flexibility, and consensuality)

38. Projective Measures of Personality Utilize ambiguous, unstructured or semi-structured stimuli (e.g., inkblots) to allow the examinee to project covert personality characteristics into responses on test items Overall, little to no psychometric data have been established on projective measures Despite a lack of empirical support, these measures have provided the impetus for more in-depth theoretical and applied research in the area of personality Can provide important qualitative information and outcomes to be used in clinical practice with individual clients

39. Projective Measures of Personality Rorschach Inkblot Test Developed by Hermann Rorschach, 1921 Consists of 5 black and white symmetrical inkblots, 2 red and grey inkblots, and 3 multicolored inkblots Examinees are presented each card and asked to express and describe everything they see in the images they are shown Responses are coded and compared with diagnostic patterns (e.g., emotionality, movement, anxiety, etc.) for clinical subgroups

40. Projective Measures of Personality Rorschach Inkblot Test (continued) Psychometric properties: attempts have been made to improve the psychometric properties of this measure Holtzman technique: Utilizes 45 inkblots, demonstrates moderate inter-scorer reliability and predictive validity Exner scoring system: Standardized scoring and interpretive system, has increased the promise of improved reliability and validity

41. Rorschach Test

42. Projective Measures of Personality Thematic Apperception Test Developed by Henry Murray, 1943 Examinees are presented a series of picture cards (usually depicting human action and/or interaction) and are asked to tell a brief story about each card Responses are coded along dimensions measuring constructs such as needs, emotions, conflicts, attitudes, etc. Psychometric properties: little to no data exist supporting the reliability or validity of this measure

43. Thematic Apperception Test

44. Projective Measures of Personality (show example) Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank Developed by Julian Rotter et al., 1947 and 1950 Derived from the work of Ebbinghaus that had been completed in the early 20th century Originally designed for use in the military, later adapted for use with college students and adults Unique application: unlike the Rorschach and TAT, this quasi-empirical measure was intended only to screen for emotional maladjustment Semi-structured measure of 40 items (sentence stems) that can be administered individually or in a group setting Yields a total score that captures emotional adjustment and the content of individual responses for more subjective clinical interpretation

45. Projective Measures of Personality (show example) Draw-A-Person Test Karen Machover, 1949 Examinees are asked to draw two figures, which are thought to represent projections of the examinee’s impulses, desires, anxieties, etc. The first task requires the examinee to draw a figure The second task requires the examinee to draw a figure of the opposite sex The examiner records key aspects of each drawing (e.g., order of body parts drawn, prominence or absence of features, expression, etc.) Psychometric properties: newer scoring procedures have established preliminary data on reliability, but little to no empirical evidence exists to validate this measure

46. Psychometrics of Assessment Stratified, representative normative/norming samples Reliability: Consistency of assessement results internal consistency of test items Split-half Test-retest reliability Alternate forms Validity: Ability to appropriately draw conclusions or generalize from results Construct validity Content validity Concurrent validity Predictive validity Discriminative validity