PSY4406- W4- Assessment of Personality

Personality assessments generally reflect one of the four major psychological theories or models, namely:

(i) psychodynamic theory, -Freud -mind as an energy system with more than one level of consciousness. His topographical model of the mind described three levels of consciousness: the unconscious, preconscious, and conscious. -Behaviour is believed to result from psychological forces that interact within the individual, often outside of conscious awareness (id (basic impulses), ego (executive btw id and superego), and superego (ideals and morals)) and the personality is believed to be shaped by instinctive drives, such as eros (life/sexual instinct) and thanatos (death and the aggressive instinct). Hence personality assessments and interventions developed by psychodynamic professionals focus on drawing out unconscious and preconcsious aspects of personality -inkblot, TAT (ii) behavioural and social learning theories, -classical and operant conditioning, and also through vicarious conditioning and observational learning (i.e., modelling) -Reciprocal determinism, the theory postulated by Bandura, acknowledges the reciprocal influences of behaviour, environment, and personal/cognitive factors -focused on conscious, present-oriented learned behaviours -dream analysis (iii) humanistic theory -people are fundamentally good, and that they constantly strive towards higher levels of functioning. -Maslow proposed that individuals are motivated to achieve certain needs, and that these needs are hierarchical, with the ultimate goal being self-actualisation -focus on seeking narrative information from clients about how they perceive themselves. -your cant measure -reject standardised assessments all together- self concept (iv) trait models -Raymond Cattell's 16PF, Hans Eysenck's PEN -identifying and describing individual differences in personality in terms of traits. -derived via factor analysis -the Big 5', is one of the most popular trait models and is based on the premise that there are five basic dimensions of personality -conscious -describe traits not explain them -traits predict average behaviour -myers briggs test (yes or no) -MMPI Social cognitive person -bandura -the interaction btw our traits and their social context -learn by watching and imitating others. and then thinking about it - personal control- control over enviornment --> internal locus (can control environment), external locus (guided by forces beyond our control) -see how they previously acted and then you can assume they will act this way again or test how a range of people will act in a certain situation. The Self: is the organiser of our thoughts feelings, actions, centre of personality

personality assessment

- the diagnosis of mental illnesses, prediction of behavior, measurement of unconscious processes, and quantification of interpersonal styles and tendencies. -"A psychological test is essentially an objective and standardized measure of a sample of behavior" -it relates to a person's manner of behaving, his or her moods, and the situations and behaviors he or she chooses as opposed to the ones he or she avoids. -personality assessment attempts to fi nd out not only what a person does , but what that person is like

current personality assessment test use

-MMPI-2/MMPI-A most widely used followed by roschach inkblot test and the TAT -child: sentence completion measures and behavior rating scales -19% of practicing clinical psychologists conduct at least five hours of assessment per week, and more than one-third of that time is spent conducting personality assessments.

Types of Personality Assessment Tests

-Traditionally, tests have fallen into one of two categories: projective and objective tests. However, there is a movement in the assessment field to replace these terms with the more accurate labels performance-based and self-report

Therapeutic Assessment models (1)

-When people who received collaborative and therapeutic feedback experienced a reduction in symptoms, increased feelings of hope, and increased self-esteem. -may improve the development of the working alliance in early psychotherapy

CBT

-guide clients to work on automatic thoughts before directly addressing their beliefs. From the start, however, the therapist begins to formulate an understanding of the client which connects automatic thoughts to the deeper-level beliefs Identifying Thoughts -The skill of learning to identify automatic thoughts is analogous to learning any other skill. -The basic question the therapist asks to the client is: "What was going through your mind?" Emotional Valence -Just because we have a thought, does not mean it is important. The work of the therapist is to help the client to identify those thoughts that are problematic, that are centrally important to understanding their distress. Using Socratic Dialogue to Generate Evidence to Evaluate Thinking -A principle of CBT is that thoughts are not considered as 'truths' but are treated as hypotheses, or ideas, to be tested -if a way of thinking is unhelpful to the client, an assumption of CBT is that it is within the client's control to be able to change it. -Socratic dialogue facilitates a process of guided discovery for the client to evaluate their thinking. It involves helping the client to explore the basis of their beliefs, in relation to their truth, and also in relation to their relevance, value, and usefulness. When evaluating the truth of a particular thought, the 'evidence' for and against that thought is examined, with evidence considered as irrefutable facts present in the situation.

Psychometric Personality Assessments

-personality is consciously accessible, and that personality can be measured through self-report questionnaires -administered and scored in a standardised manner and often have norms against which to compare individual scores. Disadvantages of psychometric tests are that the tests often provide a single summary score (individuals who achieve the same score may actually be quite different), some tests rely heavily on self-knowledge, awareness or willingness to disclose honestly, and the forced choice approach prevents individuals from qualifying or elaborating on their responses 1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator -1940's -based on Carl Jung's typology theory. -four theoretically independent dimensions: Extraversion - Introvers ion, Sensing - Intuition, Thinking - Feeling, and Judging - Perceiving. -Barnum effect (i.e., the tendency for people to find personal meaning in general or vague statements - a bit like a horoscope!). -personality profiles are generally positive 2. The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire -185 MC -factor analysis -raymond cattell 1949 -behavioural situation -pro easy to administer, low face validity (less responce bias), reliable and valid -con: overeducated norm group, complicATED TO SCORE (raw score to stens) 3. NEO-Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R) Paul Costa and Robert McCrae in the 1970's -Big Five personality traits -6 subordinate facets- 240 items - behaviour items - 5 point scale -pros: excellent internal consistency and test retest reliability, good validity, both self report and other report -Cons: not control for socially desirable responses, norms based on small sample 4. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI 3) -most widely used objective personality tests and it has been translated into over 100 languages -assess psychopathology, administered to clients who are suspected of having mental health or other clinical issues. -335 items -prod]s: new norms, enhanced coverage (disordered eating, impulsive), -cons:

Projective Personality Assessments

-psychoanalytic theory, which holds that all actions are symbolically meaningful and are driven by unconscious motivations (e.g., hidden emotions, internal intrapsychic conflicts etc.). -personality is primarily unconsciously driven and therefore drawn out through the use of projective tests, rather than consciously answered on self-report questionnaires. -assesses how an individual responds to ambiguous stimuli. 1. Rorschach Inkblot Test -the Exner Scoring System to refute reliability and validity -difficulty in creating norms. 2. Thematic Apperception Test -Henry Murray and Christiana Morgan in the 1930's, -32 black and white picture cards. -presents between 10 and 14 of these cards to the client, and the client is required to construct a story about each picture -identifying recurring themes -very difficult to evaluate the reliability and validity of the TAT 3. Projective Drawings -type of diagnostic technique in which an individual, usually a child or adolescent, is required to draw a picture (e.g., person, house, or object) for the purpose of assessing personality, cognitive abilities, or psychopathology. -questionable validity, limited predictive utility (e.g., there is minimal evidence that tests detect psychopathology), and scoring difficulties (e.g., subject to the examiner's opinion and judgment, poor inter-rater reliability, difficult to standardise and quantify). 4. Play Therapy and Sand Trays Jungian principles -provide child clients with a safe space to express trauma responses. By creating scenes and images, clients are said to express a state between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Relationship Between Reliability and Validity

-reliability is generally a prerequisite for validity. --> validity is the most crucial element in evaluating the quality and utility of a measure.

Self-report ("objective") measures

-self-report measures fall into two categories: 1. omnibus measures -assess multiple domains of personality, psychopathology, or functioning. (Personality Assessment Inventory PAI) 2.narrow-band measures -assesses only 1 facet, measure a few characteristics in depth.- e.g self esteem with Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Performance-based ("projective") tests/measure

-unstructured response format, meaning that respondents are allowed to respond as much or as little as they like -tests were defined by the projective hypothesis: give a person a field with little structure and cultural patterning so that the personality can project upon plastic field his way of seeing life. Thus we elicit a projection of the individual's private world.-->may be more accurate?? --> so its not a test but a measurement? -not all measures are unstructured, some rely on a standardized administration procedure, response format, and scoring.--> so we cant call them a measure they are now a test and if they dont have this quality then they should be called a technique.

Purposes of Personality Assessment

1. Describe Psychopathology and to Obtain a Differential Diagnosis- they have normative bases to help interpretation + standardized administration procedures. 2. Describe and Predict Everyday Behavior 3. To Inform Psychological Treatment- The interpersonal, intrapersonal, dispositional, and situational descriptors of a psychotherapy client 4.To Monitor Treatment- Personality assessment tests have been shown to be sensitive to the changes that clients experience in psychotherapy 5.To Use Personality Assessment as Treatment- The Therapeutic Assessment model was developed to increase the utility of personality assessment and feedback by making assessment and feedback a therapeutic endeavor. The client becomes an active collaborator in a mutual process to better understand the nature of his or her concerns, and the assessor discusses (rather than delivers) test results in a manner that the client is comfortable with and understands.

assessments are divided into four broad types:

1. Projective personality assessments: Typically associated with psychodynamic models, where the individual is said to project their unconscious dynamics onto the test materials. 2. Psychometric personality assessments: Representative of trait models, where individuals complete a battery of tests and results are summed to indicate aspects of personality. 3. Behaviour rating scales: Typically associated with social learning models, where individuals (clients, teachers, parents, etc.) complete standardised scales to rate aspects of behaviour, such as aggression in a classroom setting. 4. Clinical interview: A feature for humanistic models but not limited to these practitioners, which involves seeking information from clients directly using either an unstructured or semi-structured interview. Clinical interviews can be supplemented by any/all of the other 3 forms of personality assessment.

Ethical Test Use

APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct outlines 11 points of consideration for ethical test use. -Bases for Assessments, Use of Assessments, Informed Consent in , Interpreting Assessment Results, Release of Test Data, Test Construction, Assessment by Unqualified persons, Obsolete Tests and Outdated test Results, Test Scoring and Interpretation Services, Explaining Assessment Results, Maintaining Test Security

Competence

Ethics Code is clear that psychologists should not engage in any professional activity in which they are not competent to practice

Personality Disorders

International Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (ICD-11) as "deeply ingrained and enduring behaviour patterns, manifesting themselves as inflexible responses to a broad range of personal and social situations". -In this type of diagnostic system, you either have a disorder or you do not. For example, you either meet the criteria and therefore have Panic Disorder, or you do not. -Many clinicians and researchers believe the personality traits associated with a particular personality disorder are best understood as extreme variants of ordinary personality traits that differ from what is considered average or ordinary, by degree, rather than a difference in type. This alternative way of viewing personality disorders is called a dimensional or continuous approach. In contrast to the categorical diagnostic system, a dimensional system views various personality features along a continuum. -personality disorders, as outlined in DSM-5, the key elements of a personality disorder are an (i) enduring pattern of inner experience and behaviour which (ii) deviates markedly from cultural norms and expectations, (iii) is pervasive and inflexible, (iv) stable over time, and (v) leads to distress or impairment. -->Diagnosis requires this pattern to manifest in two or more areas: thinking, feeling, interpersonal relationships and impulse control. -The DSM-5 identifies and describes ten specific personality disorders, grouped according to three clusters. These ten diagnoses represent ten specific enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. However, each of these ten patterns can be distilled down to four core features of personality disorders: 1. Rigid, extreme and distorted thinking patterns (thoughts) 2. Problematic emotional response patterns (feelings) 3. Impulse control problems (behaviour) 4. Significant interpersonal problems (behaviour)

How to Evaluate a Test

Key Points to Remember that psychologists should ask prior to adopting or using a test, as well as some guidelines about how to evaluate this information. what does this measure? - theory, latent variable -The construct measured by a test is often referred to as the latent variable. -score is thought to be representative of the underlying latent variable identified by the test developer. -you can define depression in many ways, therefore measure different types of depression. is this test score reliable? - temporal, internal and Rater consistency - reliable?: its consistency across time and circumstance. -Test score reliability is concerned with 1. temporal consistency (score consistency across time) - generally measured through test-retest reliability. test-retest correlation coefficient should be .80 or greater. -Practice effects refer to the fact that when individuals are tested twice, their second performance will likely be an improvement on the first 2. internal consistency (the degree to which test items are consistent with one another- consistent scores across different items or sets of items), - test items consistently measure the same construct. -generally assessed by two related means: a) split-half reliability: involves the administration of only one form of a test. dividing the test into two relatively equal parts and correlating the results. Spearman-Brown formula is usually calculated in studies of split-half reliability b) Cronbach's coefficient alpha .calculate split-half reliability coefficients based on all possible combinations of items. values above .70 are typically considered to be adequate, with values above .80 as good. Kuder-Richardson 20 ( KR20 ) coeffi cient. KR20 is appropriate for those measures that have "right or wrong" scoring, intelligence tests. 3. rater consistency (the degree to which two or more independent raters can use the same test and arrive at similar results-consistent results across judges). - Rorschach its used a lot --> continuous data: intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) are a series of six correlations to demonstrate the data's degree of consistency. 3 models 1. one-way random effects model assumes that the raters are a random selection of all possible raters who rate all the targets of interest. 2. A two-way random effects model assumes a random selection of raters and targets. 3. two-way mixed model assumes that all possible judges rate a random selection of targets. - For all three ICC models, researchers can calculate two forms of agreement: exact agreement and general consistency. -ICCs are interpreted based on Pearson's r - .74 or above reflects good agreement. --> dichotomous interrater reliability: Cohen's kappa above .70. for what purpose is this valid? - translation validity, Cirterion-related Validity, Clinical utility Validity. -the extent to which research has demonstrated that it accurately measures the latent variable that it was designed to measure. -ongoing process to discover not whether a measure is valid, but for what . -all validity related to testing as construct validity .

Borderline Personality Disorder

Level I evidence for dialectical behaviour therapy: combines standard CBT techniques for emotion regulation and reality testing, with concepts such as distress tolerance, mindfulness, and acceptance, psychodynamic therapy: sees borderline personality disorder in terms of identity diffusion (difficulty forming multifaceted representations of self and others) and a distorting of primitive defences such as denial and projection. Schema therapy: holds that due to childhood needs not being met adequately we develop unhealthy ways of interpreting and interacting with the world, referred to as maladaptive schemas (e.g., abandoned/abused child mode, angry/impulsive child mode, detached protector mode, punitive parent mode, healthy adult mode).

Psychological assessment of parents' suitability for overseas adoption- (2) chantler

Selection process for involvement in overseas adoption -The process from an initial inquiry by a couple to allocation of a child is typically lengthy (up to and sometimes longer than four years), stressful and complex. Psychological assessment -Each country surrendering children for adoption has its own requirements for psychological assessment of prospective parents which form part of the overall assessment of parents 'suitability' for adopting. -Some countries ask psychologists to assess both parents using specific tests to justify their opinions, including such tests as the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and the Parenting Awareness Survey Scale. NEO Personality Inventory. -There should be a social desirability scale enabling the psychologist to assess the respondent's honesty or otherwise in responding. There is no such scale in the NEO. Another term for social desirability is 'positive impression management' -measure of positive impression management as part of the psychological test battery (such as the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding [Paulhus, 1998]) is one way to circumvent these validity problems. But experience shows that generally applicants 'fail' this test also. This does not necessarily mean they will be poor adoptive parents; the rigorous family assessment process itself is likely to exclude all but the most determined parents-to-be. Qualities of suitable parents -having sound reasons for adoption, resolved grief over troubled fertility histories and associated losses, flexible attitudes towards parenting, and sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs of children. being open to new experiences and willing to consider whatever challenges an adopted child may bring. flexibility in expectations about the child. high level of emotional stability and maturity to be able to set aside their own emotional needs and respond to the often complex needs of their children. culturally sensitive and culturally aware.

evaluation of a measure's accuracy in correctly classifying individuals with or without a particular disorder becomes paramount.

Sensitivity: probability that a person known to have a particular disorder will test positive for that disorder on the measure in question -If a measure is low in sensitivity, there is a greater likelihood of underidentification of a disorder (Type II error). Specificity: probability that an individual without a psychiatric disorder will test negative for that disorder -If a measure is low in specificity, there is a greater likelihood of overidentification of a disorder (Type I error). Positive and Negative Predictive Power -is knowing the probability that a positive or negative test result is accurate -Positive predictive power (PPP) is defined as the percentage of individuals that test positive who truly have the disorder. -negative predictive power (NPP) is the percentage of individuals testing negative who truly do not have the disorder. Overall correct classification rate (OCC),/hit rate/overall level of agreement/overall diagnostic power- is the proportion of individuals with the disorder and individuals without the disorder correctly classified by the tes

organisations

The Society for Personality Assessment: is the leading organization for personality assessment research, practice, and education. Section IX (Assessment) is the organization within Division 12 (Clinical Psychology) of the APA. American Board of Assessment Psychology (ABAP)

ways to measure different facets of construct validity

Translation Validity: examine the quality of the basic translation of a latent variable into a test format. 2 types: 1. content validity -a statement about the extent to which a test demonstrates translation of all facets of the latent variable into measurable form. e.g In order to be sure that final measure did, indeed, capture all facets of anorexia in a given population -conduct interviews to judge and define the construct and rate the measure on representativeness. 2. face validity. -extent to which a test appears to the test taker to measure the construct of interest -problem with high face validity, the person can pick up on whats been measured and lie (social desirability) Criterion-Related Validity: evaluating a test against an external marker or criterion. 4 types 1. concurrent, -comparing the results of a measure with some external measurement that was taken at nearly the same time 2. predictive, -involves the comparison of a test against an external measure that was taken at a date later than the test administration. e.g explore the predictive validity of our childhood aggression measure by correlating the results with the number of critical classroom aggressive incidents over the following year. Construct validity - the scale accurately measures all aspects of the latent construct and not other variables 3. convergent, -examining the relationship between a test score and another measure of the same construct in a given population. comparing a new measure with a previously established measure or measures. you dont want this to be high then what would be the point of the new measure 4. discriminant./divergent -involves comparing a new test score to previously established measures of constructs to which the new measure is unlikely to be related. --> validity researchers create a multitraitmultimethod matrix that demonstrates both convergent and discriminant validity Clinical Utility Validity: usefulness in clinical settings. 1. Incremental validity refers to the ability of a measure to add a new form of information or improve classification accuracy over and above another established measure of the same construct. 2. diagnostic efficiency ability of a diagnostic test to correctly classify a group of individuals into diagnostic groups. This information is obtained through the calculation of diagnostic efficiency statistics including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive power, negative predictive power, overall correct classification, and kappa.

behavioural assessment VS personality assessment

behvaioural: focus on overt behaviors. can be omnibus or narrow-band personality: internal dispositions and tendencies --> if we are to conduct a thorough personality assessment (as opposed to psychological testing) then it is also vital to understand a client's overt behavior. --> for people that cant report themselves behvaioural observations by others is important since they can observe them in different situations and settings. behvau

history of personality assessment

informal personality assessment -physiognomy: physical traits could be informative about personality., eyes, lips - aristotle -phrenology movement- Franz Josef Gall 1800s "reading" the contours in the skull in order to discern personality traits and attributes.- didnt work well psychological tests: -Binet's (1900- 2000)development of tests to measure the cognitive abilities of children -carl Jung: creating the first "modern" personality test. His association method was a standardized list of words to which psychiatric patients were asked to free associate, or to say whatever came to mind. provided interpretation guidelines by which responses could be judged and understood. reliance on standardized administration and a data-based method of interpretation. -Robert S. Woodworth: APA asked to create a self-report measure that could be used to evaluate the personality of military recruits. self-report Personal Data Sheet -Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Hathaway and McKinley (1943); problem with previous tests is that many items selected exclusively by this method were often not clinically useful or accurate. test respondents were able to adjust their selfreport to appear more or less maladjusted depending on their motivation and the purpose of testing. criterion keying method, or contrasting group method was made: selects items based upon the observed or empirical relationship between item endorsement and membership in external criterion groups. the depression scale consisted of those items endorsed more frequently by clinically depressed patients rather than the normative sample. - Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16 PF) developed by Cattell in 1949 and NEO Personality inventory (big 5)-uses factor-analytical approach: large initial pool of items from a variety of content areas is assembled, and these items are administered to a large group of subjects. factor analyzed in order to identify the underlying cluster of items that are related to each other, but relatively independent of other item groupings. -Personality Research Form (PRF)- Jackson (1970) sequential strategy: based on a combination of content validation, internal consistency, and criterion keying. make the questions, test, remove high internal consistency. and then compare scores using external criterion measure. the inkblot and TAT rest on projective hypothesis

Science and Practice

psychologists who choose to use personality assessments continually review, evaluate, and update their knowledge of the empirical bases for these tests.

Psychological Assessment Versus Psychological Testing (1)

testing: Testing is a relatively straightforward process wherein a particular test is administered to obtain a specific score. Subsequently, a descriptive meaning can be applied to the score based on normative, nomothetic findings. assessment: The focus here is not on obtaining a single score, or even a series of test scores. taking a variety of test-derived pieces of information, obtained from multiple methods of assessment, and placing these data in the context of historical information, referral information, and behavioral observations in order to generate a cohesive and comprehensive understanding of the person being evaluated. -used in concert with data from referring providers, client, families. -hukk

Cultural Differences

the very notion and defi nition of personality rests on cultural norms and values.

Protection of Test Materials and Release of Test Data

to protect the security and integrity of test materials including test items, manuals, and protocols.

personality

when characteristics of someone persist over tine and across circumstances -collection of traits, dispositions, and attributes that can be translated into emotional responses, social behaviour, motivations, values, and interests. -Bidirectional interaction between inherited tendencies and life experiences.