All Flashcards
What is direct observation in personality assessment?
Watching and recording behavior in a natural or controlled environment.
What are projective tests?
Tests using ambiguous stimuli to reveal inner thoughts and unconscious processes.
What are personality inventories?
Questionnaires where individuals provide self-reported information about their personality.
Define the Hawthorne effect.
The phenomenon where individuals alter their behavior when they know they are being observed.
What is reliability in psychological assessment?
The consistency of a test or measure in producing similar results across different administrations or raters.
What is validity in psychological assessment?
The extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure.
What is the Rorschach Inkblot Test?
A projective test where participants describe what they see in a series of inkblots.
What is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)?
A projective test where participants create stories based on pictures of people in various situations.
What is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)?
A widely used self-report instrument that includes lie detector questions to prevent deception.
What is observer bias?
Subjectivity in direct observation that can influence the recording and interpretation of behaviors.
How is the MMPI used in real-world settings?
Used in clinical settings, employment screening, and legal contexts to assess personality and identify potential psychological disorders.
How can direct observation be used in educational settings?
To assess student behavior and identify patterns that may indicate learning or behavioral issues.
How are projective tests used in therapy?
To gain insight into a client's unconscious thoughts and feelings, facilitating deeper exploration of psychological issues.
Give an example of how the Hawthorne effect can impact workplace productivity.
Employees may increase their productivity when they know they are being observed, but this effect may not be sustainable long-term.
How are personality inventories used in career counseling?
To match individuals with careers that align with their personality traits and preferences.
How can understanding observer bias improve the accuracy of research?
By implementing strategies to minimize subjectivity and ensure more objective and reliable data collection.
How is the TAT used in clinical psychology?
To assess an individual's motivations, interpersonal relationships, and emotional states through the stories they create.
How can personality assessment be used in forensic psychology?
To evaluate a defendant's mental state and assess their risk of reoffending.
How can surveys be used to study personality on a large scale?
To collect data from a random sample of the population and generalize findings about personality traits and behaviors.
How can experiments be used to study the effects of environmental factors on personality?
By manipulating variables and randomly assigning participants to conditions to discern cause and effect relationships.
Explain the behaviorist approach to personality assessment.
Focuses on observable behaviors and uses direct observation to measure personality.
Explain the psychodynamic perspective's approach to personality assessment.
Explores the unconscious mind using projective tests to reveal inner thoughts and conflicts.
How does trait theory influence personality assessment?
Identifies and measures specific personality traits using personality inventories.
What is the focus of social-cognitive perspective in personality assessment?
Examines how environment and thoughts influence personality, often using observation and experimentation.
Describe the concept of 'projection' in projective tests.
The process of attributing one's own thoughts, feelings, or motives to another person or object, especially when interpreting ambiguous stimuli.
What is the purpose of 'lie detector' questions in personality inventories?
To detect and prevent deception by identifying inconsistent or socially desirable responses.
Explain the concept of empirical validation in personality assessment.
The process of establishing the validity of a test by comparing its results with external criteria or real-world outcomes.
How does the use of control measures improve the validity of lab studies?
By minimizing extraneous variables and the Hawthorne effect, leading to more accurate and reliable results.
What is the significance of ambiguous stimuli in projective tests?
They allow individuals to project their unconscious thoughts and feelings onto the stimuli, revealing aspects of their personality.
Explain how self-reporting can be both a strength and a weakness of personality inventories.
Strength: Provides direct access to an individual's thoughts and feelings. Weakness: Susceptible to biases and lack of self-awareness.