07 - Measuring personality traits

Measuring personality traits:

© SPMM Course psychometric construct and content validity. The hostility component of Type A is the only significant risk factor for CHD association. Measuring personality traits: Projective tests are individually administered tests to obtain information about emotional functioning. They are based on the principle that ambiguous unstructured open-ended situations stimulate projection of an individual’s internal emotional world onto the stimulus (environment). Murray was a major proponent of projective tests. But the first projective test introduced was Rorschach’s inkblots. Thematic Apperception Test (Murray), Draw-a-person test, sentence completion tests are other examples. Projective tests do not have much place in contemporary practice.  Classification of projective tests:

1. Association inducing: verbalizing response pertaining to a stimuli e.g. Rorschach.
2. Completion tests: completing unfinished stimulus e.g. sentence completion test
3. Choice or ordering: rank order or categorise stimuli.
4. Construction: develop or construct story or narration e.g. TAT.
5. Self-expression: create something without stimulus e.g. Draw a man (Goodenough), House Tree Person (Buck).  Rorschach is the most commonly used, consists of 10 inkblots, sequentially presented and asked to describe. Has two phases – free association and inquiry phase – both are analyzed later. Can be scored using Exner’s system. Needs extensive training to be used.  Thematic Apperception Test (Murray) TAT has 20-30 pictures and one blank card and the subject has to make a story from each depicted picture; not all cards are used. Stimuli somewhat more structured.  Jung introduced Word Association Test (WAT). In WAT and sentence completion tests, time pressure is usually applied. Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI) is a popular inventory for measuring personality. It has 10 scales with clinical labels. It is NOT a projective test.  Self-report inventory  Most researched personality inventory  Developed by Hathaway & McKinley  567 statements included  Empirically derived 10 clinical scales are used to score responses
6. Hypochondriasis
7. Depression
8. Hysteria
9. Psychopathic deviance
10. Masculinity-femininity.
11. Paranoia.
12. Psychasthenia.

© SPMM Course 8. Schizophrenia. 9. Hypomania. 10. Social introversion

 Also contains lie scale (validity component) The Q-sort technique developed from client-centered therapy involves a person sorting cards with selfdescriptive statements(e.g. ‘I don’t trust my own emotions’, ‘I like to be around friends’) on them into ordered piles under the headings ‘self’ and ‘ideal’. A numerical discrepancy score between ideal and real self can be thus computed. The International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE):  Psychometric trait instrument for the clinical assessment of personality disorders (for those > 5 years age).  IPDE comprises both a pencil-and-paper self-report screening questionnaire (77 true/false), and semi-structured diagnostic interview rated by trained clinician.  Compatible with both ICD 10 and DSM IV.  Allows for a definite, probable, or negative diagnosis with respect to each personality disorder  Translated into several foreign languages  Ratings can be based either on the patient's answers or informant responses.  Allows a "past personality disorder" diagnosis prior to the past 12 months  Allows a "late onset" diagnosis when the diagnostic criteria have only been met after age 25 years.