Psychological

Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?
Personality and its Assessment
Personality
Assessment
Traits
Types
States

Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment

Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Psychological Measurement
 Learning Objectives

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au
• What is personality?
What is P
ersonality? • What is personality assessment?
Personality
Assessment • Uses and value of personality assessments
Traits
Types
States
• Measurement methods:
Uses of Per
sonality 1 Projective tests
Assessment
2 Objective tests
Personality
Assessment • Type-Based
Methods • Trait-Based
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Lay Conceptions of Personality

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au • For lay people, personality refers to aspects of a person that
What is P elicit positive or negative reactions from others:
ersonality?

Personality
• Someone who elicits positive reactions has a "good
Assessment personality"
Traits
Types • Someone who elicits negative reactions has a "negative
States
personality"
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment • We also hear people described with adjectives like
Personality aggressive, warm, or cold
Assessment

Methods • For psychologists the terms tend to be better specified and

Projective Methods
Objective Methods
more descriptive
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Definitions in the Psychology Literature

Psychological
Measureme
nt
The most adequate conceptualisation of a person’s
mark.hurlstone behaviour in all its detail (McClelland, 1951, p.69)
@uwa.edu.au

What is P The individual as a whole ... it means all that any-

ersonality?
one is and is trying to become (Menninger 1953,
Personality
Assessment p.23)
Traits
Types
States
Personality is defined by the particular empirical
Uses of Per
sonality concepts which are a part of the theory of person-
Assessment
ality employed (Hall and Lindzey, 1970, p.9)
Personality
Assessment

Methods
An individual’suniqueconstellation of psy-
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
chological traits—values, interests, attitudes,
Type-Based
Trait-Based
worldview, cognitive style—that is relativelysta-
Next Week bleandenduringover time

Psychological Measurement
 Personality Assessment

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au
Personality assessment is the measurement and eval-
What is P
uation of psychological traits, states, values, interests,
ersonality? attitudes, worldview, cognitive style and related individ-
Personality ual characteristics
Assessment
Traits
Types
• Methods of personality assessment we will consider today
States
include:
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment
1 Projective tests
Personality 2 Objective tests
Assessment

Methods
• We first consider the distinction between personality traits,
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
types, and states
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Personality Traits

Psychological
Measureme
nt
Any distinguishable, relatively enduring way in which
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au one individual varies from another (Guildford, 1959, p.6)
What is P
ersonality?
• Distinguishable indicates that behaviours labelled with
Personality
Assessment
different trait terms are actually different from one another
Traits
Types • Context is important when applying trait terms to behaviours
States

Uses of Per • Relatively enduring implies that traits are relatively

sonality
Assessment consistent across the lifespan but how they manifest is partly
Personality dependent on the situation
Assessment

Methods
• A trait is a way in which one individual varies from another
Projective Methods
Objective Methods • The attribution of a trait term is always a relative
phenomenon
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Personality Types

Psychological
Measureme
nt
A constellation of traits that is similar in pattern to one
mark.hurlstone
identified category of personality within a taxonomy of
@uwa.edu.au personalities
What is P
ersonality? • Traits are characteristics possessed by people, whereas
Personality types are descriptions of people
Assessment
Traits
Types
• Personality typologies are common:
• Carl Jung (1923) and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
States

Uses of Per
sonality (MBTI; Myers & Briggs, 1943/1962)
Assessment

Personality
• Holland’s six personality types (Holland, 1999): artistic,
Assessment enterprising, investigative, social, realistic, or
Methods conventional
Projective Methods
Objective Methods • Type A personality vs. Type B personality (Freidman &
Rosenman, 1974)
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week
• MMPI personality profiles (Dahlstrom, 1995)

Psychological Measurement
 Personality States

Psychological
Measureme
nt
The transitory exhibition of some personality state
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality? • Unlike a trait—which is a relatively enduring behavioural
Personality predisposition—a state is a relatively temporary
Assessment
Traits
predisposition
Types
States • For example, you may be in an anxious state before an exam
Uses of Per but that does not mean you are an anxious person
sonality
Assessment
• Measuring personality states is the search for traits that are
Personality
Assessment relatively transitory or situation specific
Methods • Personality inventories—like the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
Projective Methods
Objective Methods (STAI)—have been developed to distinguish various states
Type-Based
Trait-Based from traits
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Uses of Personality Assessment

Psychological
Measureme
nt • Basic Research
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au
• Determine the number and nature of dimensions that
What is P
make us unique
ersonality? • Stability of personality across time
Personality
Assessment • Clinical/Counselling
Traits

• Vocational counselling
Types
States

Uses of Per
sonality
• Personality disorders
Assessment
• Personell Management
Personality
Assessment
• Recruitment and selection
Methods
Projective Methods
• Placement
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
• Threat Assessment
Next Week
• Judgements of dangerousness of persons of interest

Psychological Measurement
 Personality Assessment Methods

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality • There are broadly two types of personality assessment

Assessment
Traits
methods
Types
States 1 Projective methods
Uses of Per
sonality 2 Objective methods
Assessment

Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Personality Assessment Methods

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality • There are broadly two types of personality assessment

Assessment
Traits
methods
Types
States 1 Projective methods
Uses of Per
sonality 2 Objective methods
Assessment

Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Projective Methods

Psychological
Measureme
nt
• Some of the first personality tests to be used and
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au investigated
What is P
ersonality? • Usually consist of ambiguous stimuli
Personality
Assessment
• A judgement of the assesses personality is made according
Traits to her ability to impose some structure on the unstructured
Types
States stimuli—projective method
Uses of Per
sonality • The underlying theme is that you cannot rely upon people’s
Assessment
conscious awareness of themselves for the purposes of
Personality
Assessment understanding their true nature
Methods • The projective hypothesis states that an individual supplies
Projective Methods
Objective Methods structure to unstructured stimuli in a manner consistent with
Type-Based
Trait-Based their underlying personality
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Projective Methods

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone • Projective tests are indirect methods of personality
@uwa.edu.au assessment—assesses are not asked to disclose
What is P information about themselves
ersonality?

Personality • Their task is to talk about something else (e.g., inkblots,

Assessment
Traits
pictures, sounds)
Types
States • Through such indirect responses, the assessor draws
Uses of Per
sonality
inferences about the personality of assesses
Assessment
• The ability and inclination to "fake" is minimised
Personality
Assessment
• So too is proficiency in the English language—increases
Methods
Projective Methods
cross-cultural utility
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
• Assumed to tap conscious as well as unconscious material
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Inkblots as Projective Stimuli

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone • Hermann Rorschach (1921) developed
@uwa.edu.au
what he called a "form interpretation test"
What is P • It has since come to be known as The
ersonality?
Rorschach Test
Personality
Assessment • 10 bilaterally symmetrical inkblots printed
Traits
Types on white cards
States
• Five are achromatic
Uses of Per
sonality • Two are black, white, and red
Assessment
• Three are multicoloured
Personality
Assessment • Inkblots used to incite the testtaker to
free-associate
Methods
Projective Methods • Responses are then coded according to
Objective Methods
guidelines
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Inkblots as Projective Stimuli

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au Stage 1
What is P • The cards are presented in numbered
ersonality? order from 1–10
Personality • Testtaker initially asked "What might this
Assessment
Traits
be?"
Types
• Examiner records testtaker’s verbatim
States
responses, nonverbal gestures, first
Uses of Per
sonality response time, position of card etc.
Assessment • Examiner does not engage in any
Personality discussion at this stage
Assessment
• Focus is on allowing testtaker to project,
Methods free from distraction
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

Psychological Measurement
 Inkblots as Projective Stimuli

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone Stage 2
@uwa.edu.au • The cards are re-administered in a second
What is P stage known as the inquiry
ersonality?
• Examiner attempts to determine what
Personality features of the inkblot played a role in the
Assessment
Traits
formulation of the testtaker’s percept
Types
• Examiner asks questions such as "What
States
made it look like [whatever]?" to clarify
Uses of Per
sonality what was seen
Assessment • Goal is to identify which aspects of the
Personality inkblot were most influential in forming the
Assessment perception
Methods • Provides opportunity to detect whether any
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
new responses are perceived
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Inkblots as Projective Stimuli

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P Stage 3
ersonality? • In a final stage, known as testing the
Personality limits the examiner asks specific questions
Assessment
Traits
• Testtaker asked to elaborate on aspects of
Types the inkblot
States
• The examiner might say "sometimes
Uses of Per
sonality people use a part of the blot to see
Assessment something" or "what does this look like?"
Personality • Goal is to obtain additional information
Assessment concerning personality functioning
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Rorschach Scoring Protocols

Psychological
Measureme
nt • Responses scored according to several categories:
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au
1 Location
What is P
• part of the inkblot used to form the percept
ersonality? 2 Determinants
Personality • qualities of the inkblot (form, colour, movement)
Assessment
Traits important to a testtaker’s percept
Content
Types
States 3
Uses of Per • content category (human, animal, anatomical figures) of
sonality
Assessment responses
Personality 4 Popularity
Assessment
• frequency with which a response to part of an inkblot
Methods has been observed
Projective Methods
Objective Methods 5 Form
Type-Based
Trait-Based • how well the individuals percept matches the
Next Week
corresponding part of the inkblot

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Scoring Categories and Personality

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au • The number of whole responses (using the entire inkblot) is
What is P associated with conceptual thought processes
ersonality?

Personality • Form level is associated with reality testing

Assessment
Traits
Types
• Accordingly, psychotic patients are expected to achieve low
States
scores for form level
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment
• Human movement has been associated with creative
Personality
imagination
Assessment
• Colour responses have been associated with emotional
Methods
Projective Methods
reactivity
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Rorschach Test: Reliability

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality
• Very difficult to calculate internal consistency reliability
Assessment
Traits • Test-retest reliability has been observed to be high
Types
States
• Inter-rater reliability is fairly high (.80)
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment • So far so good...
Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Rorschach Test: Validity

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone • Accuracy of predictions of future behaviour based on
@uwa.edu.au
Rorschach scores has been found to be low
What is P
ersonality? • Some of the research has tried to find correlations with
Personality self-report personality questionnaires
Assessment
Traits
Types
• Correlations are very low
States
• But is the Rorschach trying to measure conventional
Uses of Per
sonality personality?
Assessment

Personality • Criterion group validity studies would be especially useful

Assessment
• For example, compare responses from clinically
Methods
Projective Methods depressed and non-depressed individuals
Objective Methods
Type-Based • Are there any differences in typical responses?
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Rorschach Test: Criticisms

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone • Sensitive to rater’s beliefs
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
• Suffers from lack of objectivity in scoring
ersonality?
• Absence of adequate norms
Personality
Assessment
Traits
• Relation between responses and personality is as
Types
States
ambiguous as the inkblots themselves
Uses of Per
sonality
• Poor predictive validity
Assessment

Personality
Assessment The rate of scientific progress in clinical psychology
Methods might well be measured by the speed and thoroughness
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
with which it gets over the Rorschach (Jensen, 1965,
Type-Based
Trait-Based
p.509)
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Other Types of Projective Tests

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au
• Pictures as projective stimuli
What is P • Thematic Apperception Test
ersonality?

Personality • Words as projective stimuli

Assessment
Traits • Word Association Test
Types
States
• Sentence Completion
Uses of Per
sonality Test
Assessment
• Sounds as projective
Personality • Like auditory inkblots
Assessment stimuli
(Skinner, 1979)
Methods
Projective Methods • Rarely used and little
supporting evidence
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Projective Tests Today

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P • Though controversial, they are still used in clinical and

ersonality?
forensic settings
Personality
Assessment
Traits
• There are many contemporary publications advocating the
Types
States
use of the Rorschach
Uses of Per
sonality
• Responses on the Rorschach are accepted by the courts
Assessment
• "The rate of scientific progress in clinical psychology" has
Personality
Assessment evidently been a crawl
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Personality Assessment Methods

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality • There are broadly two types of personality assessment

Assessment
Traits
methods
Types
States 1 Projective methods
Uses of Per
sonality 2 Objective methods
Assessment

Personality
Assessment
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Personality Assessment Methods

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality • There are broadly two types of personality assessment

Assessment
Traits
methods
Types
States 1 Projective methods
Uses of Per
sonality 2 Objective methods
Assessment

Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Objective Methods

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au • Objective methods of personality assessment contain
What is P short-answer items
ersonality?

Personality • Individuals respond to items, usually on a scale (e.g., agree /

Assessment
Traits
disagree)
Types
States • May also be complemented with acquaintance-report
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment
• They are objective in the sense that they employ short
Personality
answer (typically multiple choice) format—provides no room
Assessment for discretion in scoring
Methods
Projective Methods
• The most common method of personality assessment by far
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Type-Based vs. Trait-Based Approaches

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality
• People can be sorted into
Assessment
Traits
Type-Based categories
Types • More popular in commercial settings
States

Uses of Per
sonality • People differ based on stable
Assessment
Trait-Based attributes
• Characteristics lie on a continuum
Personality
Assessment • Very popular in research settings
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Type-Based Approach

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality
Assessment
Traits
Types
States

Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment

Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Type-Based Approach

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?
• Group people according to a combination of personality
Personality
Assessment characteristics
Traits
Types
States
• Places emphasis on similarities between people to
Uses of Per
categorise them
sonality
Assessment • e.g., I’m an ENFP, therefore I am similar to other ENFP’s
Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Type-Based Approach

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone • The Myers-Briggs Type Inventory
@uwa.edu.au
(MBTI; Myers & Briggs,
What is P
ersonality?
1943/1962)
Personality • Based on the idea that people
Assessment
Traits exhibit stable preferences in the
Types
States
way they take in information and
Uses of Per make decisions
sonality
Assessment • Widely popular:
Personality
Assessment • Taken by more than
Methods 2.5million people a year
Projective Methods
Objective Methods • Used by 89 of Fortune 100
companies
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Criticisms of The MBTI

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality? • Very serious concerns have been raised about the
Personality psychometric soundness of the MBTI
Assessment
Traits
Types
• The test lacks reliability—specifically test-retest reliability
States
• It also lacks predictive validity
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment • Regardless of such criticism, the test (regrettably) remains
Personality very popular
Assessment
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Trait-Based Approach

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?
• Examines individual characteristics, each measured
Personality
Assessment separately and more precisely
Traits
Types • Emphasis placed on differences between people
States

Uses of Per • Subtle differences may be important

sonality
Assessment
• Each person comprises a unique constellation of traits
Personality
Assessment
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Trait-Based Approach: How Many Traits?

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
• There are thousands of personality descriptive adjectives in
@uwa.edu.au the English dictionary (e.g., affable, agreeable, charming,
What is P polite, likeable, arrogant, self-centred, cynical, boastful,
ersonality?
pompous, patronising)
Personality
Assessment • Often there are too many to use, and there is a lot of
Traits
Types overlap
States • Thus, there is a need to categorise these traits into a smaller
Uses of Per number of groups
sonality
Assessment
• This can be done using data reduction methods like factor
Personality
Assessment analysis or cluster analysis
Methods • Permits identification of the minimum number of variables or
Projective Methods
Objective Methods factors that account for the inter-correlations in observed
Type-Based
Trait-Based phenomena
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Trait-Based Approach: The Big Five

Psychological
Measureme
nt • Based on a five-dimension (or
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au
factor) model of personality
What is P • The NEO PI-R (Costa & McCrae,
ersonality?
1992) is a measure of five major
Personality
Assessment dimensions (or "domains") of
Traits
Types
personality and a total of 30
States elements or facets that define
Uses of Per
sonality
each domain
Assessment
• It is easily the most dominant
Personality
Assessment model of personality (especially in
Methods research)
Projective Methods
Objective Methods • Lexical Approach: Based on a
Type-Based
Trait-Based factor analysis of adjectives in the
Next Week
English dictionary

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Trait-Based Approach: The Big Five

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
1 Openness to experience
@uwa.edu.au
• preference for variety, intellectual curiosity
What is P
ersonality? 2 Conscientiousness
Personality
Assessment • planning, organising, and following through
Traits
Types
States
3 Extraversion
Uses of Per
sonality
• assertiveness and proactivity in seeking out others
Assessment

Personality
4 Agreeableness
Assessment
• altruism, friendliness, sympathy toward others
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
5 Neuroticism
• emotional stability, coping in times of emotional turmoil
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Big Five Facts (NEO PI-R)

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality? NEUROTICIS EXTRAVERSIO OPENNES AGREEABLENESS CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
Personality M N S
Assessment • Anxiety • Warmth • Fantasy • Trust • Competence
Traits • Angry Hostility • Gregariousness • Aesthetics • Straightforwa • Order
Types
• Depression • Assertiveness • Feelings r dness • Dutifulness
• Self- • Activity • • Altruism • Achievement
States Actions
Consciousnes • • Compliance Striving
• Excitement Ideas
Uses of Per s - Seeking • Values • Modesty • Self-
• Impulsivenes
sonality • Positive • Tender- Discipline
Assessment s Emotion Mindednes • Deliberation
• Vulnerability s s
Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 NEO PI-R Characteristics

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?
• 5 traits × 6 facets × 8 items = 240 items total
Personality
Assessment
• Items are all very face valid
• Anchored by strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5)
Traits
Types
States

Uses of Per • Norms provided for adults (21 and up) and college age
sonality
Assessment individuals (17-20)
Personality
Assessment
• Norms come from 500 men and 500 women (U.S.)
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Big Five Validity: Job Performance

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
• There is a lot of validity for the Big Five personality factors
ersonality?
• Barrick and Mount (1991) examined whether the Big Five
Personality
Assessment could predict job performance across a range of occupations
Traits
Types
(professional, police, managers, sales, skilled, semi-skilled)
States
• Openness to experience = .04
Uses of Per
sonality • Conscientiousness = .22
Assessment
• Extraversion = .13
Personality
Assessment • Agreeableness = .07
Methods • Neuroticism = .08
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Big Five Validity: Academic Performance

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality
Assessment
Traits
Types
States
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment

Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods Source: Poropat (2009)
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Big Five Validity: Academic Performance

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality
Assessment
Traits
Types
States
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment

Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods Source: Poropat (2009)
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
Next Week

[email protected] Psychological Measurement

 Rater-Report: Reliability Validity

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality? • Multiple raters of the same person tend to provide similar
Personality ratings for the same person
Assessment
Traits • Inter-rater reliabilities for the Big Five dimensions range from
Types
States .69 to .81
Uses of Per
sonality • Consensual validity: correlation between self-report ratings
Assessment
and rater-report ratings for the Big Five dimensions range
Personality
Assessment from .46 to .62
Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
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 Are Five Factors Enough?

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au
• According to Ashton and Lee (2012) lexical studies got it
What is P
ersonality? wrong when they chose five factors
Personality
Assessment • They found 6 factors → HEXACO
Traits
Types • Honesty-Humility
States
• Emotionality
Uses of Per
sonality • eXtraversion
Assessment
• Agreeableness
Personality
Assessment • Conscientiousness
Methods
• Openness to experience
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

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 The H Factor of Personality

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P • The "H" in the H factor stands for

ersonality?
"Honesty-Humility"
Personality
Assessment
Traits
• Includes the facets: Sincerity, Fairness,
Types
States
Greed Avoidance, Modesty
Uses of Per
sonality
• People who have high levels of H are
Assessment sincere and modest
Personality
Assessment • People who have low levels of H are
Methods deceitful and pretentious
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

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 The H Factor of Personality

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone • H factors shows predictive validity for:
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
• Anti-social behaviour at work
ersonality?
• Academic dishonest behaviour
Personality
Assessment • Likelihood to sexually harass
Traits
Types
women
States
• Delinquency and unethical
Uses of Per
sonality decisions
Assessment
• "Dark Triad" personality (narcissism,
Personality
Assessment Machiavellianism, psychopathy)
Methods • Bullying and aggression
Projective Methods
Objective Methods • Selfish behaviour in games of
Type-Based
Trait-Based cooperation
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 Low Honesty-Humility: A Paradecase?

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality
Assessment
Traits
Types
States

Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment

Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based

Next Week

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 Summary: Type-Based vs Trait-Based

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au • Type-Based:
What is P
ersonality? • Credits: Simple, attractive
Personality • Debits: Poor predictors, questionable validity, unreliable
Assessment
Traits • Example: MBTI
Types
States
• Trait-Based:
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment • Credits: Comprehensive, valid descriptions, valid
Personality predictions, reliable
Assessment
• Debits: Complex
Methods
Projective Methods • Example: NEO PI-R, HEXACO
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
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 Self-Report Caveats

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality
• Social desirability bias
Assessment
Traits • Faking
Types
States
• Careless responding
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment • Can be time-consuming
Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
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 Remember ...

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au
• Validity is arguably the most important issue in evaluating a
What is P
ersonality? test’s psychometric quality
Personality
Assessment
• We need to be very careful of what we are trying to measure
Traits or ascertain when administering a personality test
Types
States
• For example, the MBTI does not have strong predictive
Uses of Per
sonality validity in relation to workplace performance, therefore it
Assessment
should not be administered as a recruitment tool
Personality
Assessment • By contrast, the Openness to experience dimension of the
Methods Big Five could justifiably be used for such purposes
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
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 Extra Resources

Psychological
Measureme
nt
mark.hurlstone
@uwa.edu.au

What is P
ersonality?

Personality
• Take the HEXACO here:
Assessment
Traits • http://hexaco.org/hexaco-online
Types
States
• Get someone to rate you on the Big Five here:
Uses of Per
sonality
Assessment
• http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/
Personality
Assessment

Methods
Projective Methods
Objective Methods
Type-Based
Trait-Based
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