Deck 3: Issues in Personality Assessment

Question 1

A scale is "objective" if:

A) a person's responses are recorded directly, with no interpretation until a later time.
B) an interpretation is made before information about behavior is recorded.
C) another researcher has used it.
D) it is included in the Manual of Personality Inventories.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Reliability within a set of observations measuring the same aspect of personality is referred to as:

A) lack of random error.
B) unified reliability.
C) internal consistency.
D) internal clarity.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

If there is a high degree of correlation among the items on a measure, it is said to have high:

A) validity.
B) reliability.
C) significance.
D) diversity.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

If an assessment measures the intended conceptual characteristics, it has demonstrated:

A) construct validity.
B) inter-rater reliability.
C) factor strength.
D) conceptual validity.

Question 5

Which of the following allows one to assess the reliability of a measure?

A) Make the observation more than once.
B) Measure the same quality from a slightly different angle.
C) Measure the same quality with a slightly different measure.
D) all of the above

Question 6

Which of the following is a potential source of error in a measure?

A) the way an item is phrased
B) variations in an observer's attention
C) distractors present when observations are made
D) all of the above

Question 7

A measure is high in validity when:

A) the results obtained with the measure match the researcher's predictions.
B) the operational definition closely matches the conceptual definition.
C) others have used the same measure.
D) all of the above

Question 8

The process of measuring personality is called:

A) personology.
B) analytic technique.
C) psychometrics.
D) assessment.

Question 9

The reliability of an observation refers to:

A) whether it was collected in a laboratory or field setting.
B) its consistency across repeated observations.
C) its applicability to many persons.
D) its scope covering all possibly related items.

Question 10

If a researcher demonstrates that her measure of loneliness is not correlated with a measure of intelligence, she has provided evidence for the validity of this measure.

A) discriminant
B) criterion
C) convergent
D) true

Question 11

Split-half reliability refers to the:

A) correlation between two halves of a sample.
B) correlation between the items comprising the first and second halves of a test.
C) correlation between half the items on a test and some other criterion.
D) correlation between half the items on one test and half the items on another test.

Question 12

A high correlation between an assessment device and an external standard of comparison is an indication of__________ validity.

A) behavioral
B) inter-rater
C) observer
D) criterion

Question 13

Sometimes researchers actually try to reduce__________ validity by obscuring the true purpose of a measure.

A) construct
B) convergent
C) discriminant
D) face

Question 14

Observer ratings can be based on:

A) interviews in which people talk about themselves.
B) direct observations of overt action.
C) interviews in which people talk about something other than themselves.
D) all of the above

Question 15

Why is face validity regarded as a convenience by researchers?

A) Some believe it is easier to respond to face-valid instruments.
B) Face-valid instruments make it difficult to guess what the researcher is measuring.
C) Face-valid instruments are often reliable for 40-50 years.
D) none of the above

Question 16

When a measure comes from someone other than the person being observed, this is called:

A) introspection.
B) observer rating.
C) psychometrics.
D) none of the above

Question 17

A measure that assesses several dimensions of personality is called a:

A) personology scale.
B) projective test.
C) inventory.
D) none of the above

Question 18

The most all-encompassing and, thus, most important kind of validity is:

A) construct.
B) criterion.
C) convergent.
D) discriminant.

Question 19

Which of the following is true about reliability and validity?

A) It is possible for a measure to be reliable but not valid.
B) Once you prove a measure is reliable, you know it is valid.
C) You can assess either the reliability or validity of a measure, but not both.
D) none of the above

Question 20

__________validity is generally seen as the most important means of establishing construct validity.

A) Criterion
B) Discriminant
C) Face
D) Convergent

Question 21

A measure that assesses several dimensions of personality is called an inventory

Question 22

Observer ratings can involve interviews.

Question 23

Which of the following statements about the MMPI is NOT true?

A) It uses a 7-point response scale.
B) It is used to diagnose clinical disorders.
C) It was developed using the criterion keying approach.
D) It has a true-false response format.

Question 24

Internal reliability is the extent to which raters agree with one another.

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT true about the empirical approach to developing measures?

A) It relies on theory.
B) It relies on data.
C) It allows psychologists to decide what qualities of personality exist.
D) none of the above

Question 26

Making multiple observations generally improves reliability.

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT required by the rational approach to developing personality measures?

A) demonstrating the measure is reliable
B) demonstrating the measure has never been administered before
C) demonstrating the measure predicts behavioral criteria
D) demonstrating the measure has construct validity

Question 28

Inter-rater reliability is most applicable to observational measures.

Question 29

The scale construction method that uses predefined groups to select items is called the:

A) criterion keying approach.
B) content keying approach.
C) theoretical keying approach.
D) normative group keying approach.

Question 30

In recent years, the MMPI-2 has become controversial because:

A) it is only valid for inpatient populations.
B) it is only valid for college students.
C) diagnostic categories are not as distinct as they were once thought to be.
D) it is too time consuming to complete.
True and False

Question 31

What are some difficulties with using a measure developed in one culture with a sample from a different culture?

A) The personality construct (e.g., self-esteem) might mean different things in different cultures.
B) People from different cultures might interpret the questions differently.
C) Questions might contain phrasing that is difficult to translate into another culture.
D) all of the above

Question 32

When participant responses to a test are consistent across time, the test is said to have strong test-retest reliability.

Question 33

Response sets are:

A) answer sheets for a personality test.
B) biased ways in which people respond to personality measures.
C) multiple pieces of information from the same person.
D) the particular response options the researcher gives participants (e.g., 1-7 ratings).

Question 34

If a trained observer rates how tired a person appears after a test, that observer is making an objective rating.

Question 35

The theoretical approach to assessment often results in measures that have a high degree of __________validity.

A) construct
B) face
C) discriminant
D) internal

Question 36

Which of the following is NOT suggested as a way to deal with social desirability?

A) Phrase undesirable responses to make them seem acceptable.
B) Find ways for people to admit their undesirable qualities indirectly.
C) Include items that measure one's degree of concern for social desirability, then use it as a correction factor.
D) Tell participants they will not receive credit if they are found to be deceptive.

Question 37

If we know that a scale is reliable, we also know that it is valid.

Question 38

A response set in which participants simply tend to answer "yes" to all questions is known as:

A) agreeableness.
B) acquiescence.
C) a positivity bias.
D) social desirability.

Question 39

If observer ratings involve interviews, participants must talk about themselves to the interviewer.

Question 40

The attempt to create a good impression on a personality measure is called:

A) social desirability.
B) self-consciousness.
C) assessment error.
D) none of the above

Question 41

Interpretation of the MMPI is based on comparing an individual's personality profile with those of patients who have a particular diagnosis.

Question 42

If a personality measure has discriminant validity, it does not measure characteristics it was not intended to measure.

Question 43

Assessing and correcting for one's concern with social desirability is one means of handling the problem of social desirable responding.

Question 44

One problem with administering psychological measures across cultures is determining whether the psychological construct has the same meaning.

Question 45

Acquiescence is a response set in which a person is biased toward agreeing with the questions asked.

Question 46

Identify and briefly explain three different types of reliability.

Question 47

What is the difference between subjective and objective personality measures? Give an example of each.

Question 48

Acquiescence is a response set that can not be resolved.

Question 49

The dictionary definition of "envy" is the same as the operational definition of "envy."

Question 50

Criterion validity is often regarded as the most important indicator of construct validity.

Question 51

To say that a measure has construct validity is to say that it measures what the researcher intended.

Question 52

According to the empirical approach to test development, it does not matter at all what the items look like.

Question 53

The MMPI was developed utilizing the content validation approach.

Question 54

The majority of existing personality measures described in the text were developed using the rational approach.

Question 55

Discriminant validity can be established more quickly than other types of validity

Question 56

Describe three different types of validity that are relevant to personality assessment, and briefly discuss the meaning of each.

Question 57

The criterion keying approach emphasizes the importance of a scale's ability to accurately predict whether a person is a member of some group.

Question 58

The most important type of validity for personality measurement is construct validity.

Question 59

An operational definition is a description of some kind of physical event.

Question 60

Most researchers think that face validity is among the most important types of validity

Question 61

Two approaches to developing personality measures were described in the text. Identify them and briefly describe or give examples of how personality psychologists might use them.

Question 62

Face validity can sometimes be detrimental to research. Give an instance/example of when this might be the case.

Question 63

Identify two ways in which cultural differences might threaten validity.

Question 64

Identify two types of response sets personality psychologists would like to avoid, and give one way to combat each problem.