Personality tests
Personality tests
There are two major
types of personality tests, projective and objective.
Projective tests
assume personality is primarily unconscious and assess individuals by how they
respond to an ambiguous stimulus, such as an ink blot. Projective tests have
been in use for about 60 years and continue to be used today. Examples of such
tests include the Rorschach test and the Thematic Apperception Test.
The Rorschach Test
involves showing an individual a series of note cards with ambiguous ink blots
on them. The individual being tested is asked to provide interpretations of the
blots on the cards by stating everything that the ink blot may resemble based
on their personal interpretation. The therapist then analyzes their responses.
Rules for scoring the test have been covered in manuals that cover a wide
variety of characteristics such as content, originality of response, location
of "perceived images" and several other factors. Using these specific
scoring methods, the therapist will then attempt to relate test responses to
attributes of the individual's personality and their unique
characteristics.[51] The idea is that unconscious needs will come out in the
person's response, e.g. an aggressive person may see images of destruction.
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) involves presenting individuals with
vague pictures/scenes and asking them to tell a story based on what they see.
Common examples of these "scenes" include images that may suggest
family relationships or specific situations, such as a father and son or a man
and a woman in a bedroom.[52] Responses are analyzed for common themes.
Responses unique to an individual are theoretically meant to indicate
underlying thoughts, processes, and potentially conflicts present within the
individual. Responses are believed to be directly linked to unconscious
motives. There is very little empirical evidence available to support these methods.[53]
Objective tests assume personality is consciously
accessible and that it can be measured by self-report questionnaires. Research
on psychological assessment has generally found objective tests to be more
valid and reliable than projective tests. Critics have pointed to the Forer
effect to suggest some of these appear to be more accurate and discriminating
than they really are. Issues with these tests include false reporting because
there is no way to tell if an individual is answering a question honestly or
accurately.
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (also known as the MBTI) is
self-reporting questionnaire based on Carl Jung's Type theory.[54][12] However,
the MBTI modified Jung's theory into their own by disregarding certain processes
held in the unconscious mind and the impact these have on personality.
Personality theory assessment criteria
Verifiability – the theory should be formulated in such a way that the
concepts, suggestions and hypotheses involved in it are defined clearly and
unambiguously, and logically related to each other.
Heuristic value – to what extent the theory stimulates scientists to
conduct further research.
Internal consistency – the theory should be free from internal
contradictions.
Economy – the fewer concepts and assumptions required by the theory to
explain any phenomenon, the better it is Hjelle, Larry (1992). Personality
Theories: Basic Assumptions, Research, and Applications.
Psychology has traditionally defined personality through its behavioral
patterns, and more recently with neuroscientific studies of the brain. In
recent years, some psychologists have turned to the study of inner experiences
for insight into personality as well as individuality. Inner experiences are
the thoughts and feelings to an immediate phenomenon. Another term used to
define inner experiences is qualia. Being able to understand inner experiences
assists in understanding how humans behave, act, and respond. Defining
personality using inner experiences has been expanding due to the fact that
solely relying on behavioral principles to explain one's character may seem
incomplete. Behavioral methods allow the subject to be observed by an observer,
whereas with inner experiences the subject is its own observer
Methods measuring inner experience
Descriptive experience sampling (DES): Developed by psychologist Russel
Hurlburt. This is an idiographic method that is used to help examine inner
experiences. This method relies on an introspective technique that allows an
individual's inner experiences and characteristics to be described and
measured. A beep notifies the subject to record their experience at that exact
moment and 24 hours later an interview is given based on all the experiences
recorded. DES has been used in subjects that have been diagnosed with
schizophrenia and depression. It has also been crucial to studying the inner
experiences of those who have been diagnosed with common psychiatric diseases.
https://www.gold-pattern.com/en
Articulated thoughts in stimulated situations (ATSS): ATSS is a
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