Deck 12: Appraisal of Personality

Question 1

The tendency for individuals to respond to personality test items in a socially acceptable way, rather than in a way that truly reflects their personality, is known as:​

A)​social conformity.
B)​social acceptability.
C)​social desirability.
D)​response set.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following instruments was constructed primarily based on factor analysis?​

A)​NEO Personality Inventory 3 (NEO-PI-3)
B)​Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)
C)​Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
D)​California Psychological Inventory

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Within formal personality assessment, there are two major categories: structured instruments and __________. ​

A)​unstructured instruments
B)​structured interviews
C)​projective techniques
D)​performance techniques

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The MMPI-2 is primarily designed to identify:​

A)​delinquent and non-delinquent youth.
B)​mental retardation and mental illness.
C)​different degrees of mild maladjustment.
D)​patterns of personality and emotional disorders.

Question 5

Projective techniques, as distinguished from other personality instruments, have usually been designed to measure the:​

A)​level of aggression in terms of psychodynamic theory.
B)​more typical and superficial aspects of personality.
C)​​client's level of repression and hostility.
D)​covert and underlying aspects of personality.

Question 6

One of the initial steps in interpreting the MMPI-2 or MMPI-A is to:​

A)​examine the validity of the profile using the Validity Scale scores.
B)​examine how long the individual took to complete it.
C)​interpret the Basic scales.
D)​plot the scores on the profile sheet.

Question 7

The two major types of informal personality assessment techniques are observation and ______________.​

A)​performance techniques
B)​interviewing
C)​projective techniques
D)​unstructured instruments

Question 8

Research on the general stability of the five factors of personality over the lifespan indicates all of the following except:​

A)​agreeableness tends to increase throughout adulthood.
B)​social dominance, emotional stability and conscientiousness increase during early adulthood.
C)​personality changes most dramatically in adolescence and is largely set by the age of 30.
D)​aspects of adult personality can change into one's 70s.

Question 9

If an individual has an elevated L Scale (Lie Scale)on the MMPI-2, then the individual:​

A)​has a tendency to consistently lie.
B)​did not lie on any of the questions.
C)​lied on almost all of the questions.
D)​attempted to "look good" while answering some of the questions.

Question 10

Increasing the amount of time that counselors spend observing clients may be one way to enhance the __________________, and therefore, the validity, of observations.​

A)​subjectivity
B)​objectivity
C)​representativeness
D)​applicability

Question 11

In comparison to the original version of the MMPI, the MMPI-2:​

A)​contains more items.
B)​is more complex to administer and interpret.
C)​includes norms based on a more diverse and representative standardization sample.
D)​does not require clinicians to consider issues of acculturation, education or socioeconomic status.

Question 12

An introverted client who uses senses to perceive information, uses feelings to process information, and whose orientation to the outer world is judgment would have which of the following Myers-Briggs personality types? ​

A)​ISFJ
B)​INTJ
C)​ISTP
D)​ENFJ

Question 13

Which of the following is not one of the "big five" personality factors? ​

A)​Neuroticism
B)​Extroversion
C)​Openness
D)​Anxiety

Question 14

Which of the following instruments is designed to measure the "big five" factors of personality?​

A)​Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2)
B)​Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
C)​NEO Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3)
D)​California Psychological Inventory (CPI)

Question 15

The empirical criterion keying method of constructing a personality inventory means items are selected based on:

A)​their content.
B)​their relationship to some external criterion.
C)​whether they correlate with other similar items.
D)​whether experts judge them to be acceptable items.

Question 16

The most widely employed method ​ of personality assessment is:​

A)​observation.
B)​the MMPI-2.
C)​structured interviews.
D)​rating scales.

Question 17

Which of the following accurately describes the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF)?​

A)​It is the replacement for the MMPI-2.
B)​The MMPI-2-RF is the research version of the MMPI-2.
C)​It is a shorter version of the MMPI-2 and includes numerous clinical scales.
D)​It is an instrument designed to measure personality disorders as defined in the DSM-IV-TR.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT one of the higher-order scales on the MMPI-2-RF?​

A)​Somatic Complaints (RC1)
B)​Thought Dysfunction (THD)
C)​Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction (BXD)
D)​Emotional/Internalizing Dysfunction (EID)

Question 19

When constructing interviews to assess personality, counselors should be sure to:​

A)​develop questions that are conceptually related to personality assessment.
B)​include both formal and informal interview protocols.
C)​use both semi-structured and unstructured interviews to allow for more flexibility in client responses.
D)​include only open-ended questions.

Question 20

In addition to the ten clinical scales of the MMPI-2, there are validity scales that:​

A)​indicate the severity of pathology.
B)​provide an indication of the accuracy of the profile.
C)​indicate whether the person is an introvert or an extrovert.
D)​indicate whether the person has an internal or external locus-of-control.

Question 21

Have you had experience taking a personality test? What type of test was is, and what were your thoughts and feelings as the test-taker?​

Question 22

What are some factors that may lead to changes in personality?​

Question 23

The Exner Comprehensive System, which examines location, determinants, and content, is associated with which projective technique?​

A)​Rorschach Inkblot Test
B)​Early Memories Procedure
C)​Thematic Apperception Test
D)​Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank

Question 24

A widely used measure of the self-perceptions of children and adolescents is the:​

A)​Tennessee Self-Concept Scale - Second Edition (TSCS-2).
B)​Piers-Harris Children Self-Concept Scale, Second Edition.
C)​Child Self-Perception Scale (CSPS).
D)​Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventories (CSEI).

Question 25

In order to use a projective technique to make a clinical decision, the counselor should be:​

A)​trained extensively in using and interpreting the technique.
B)​knowledgeable of the five factors of personality.
C)​trained extensively in personality disorders.
D)​knowledgeable of psychoanalytic theory.

Question 26

Concerning measures of self-concept or self-esteem:​

A)​scores on these instruments have steadily declined in the last decade.
B)​there are major ethnic and racial differences on these instruments.
C)​the reliabilities of these instruments generally fall between 0.80 to 0.90.
D)​there is no universal agreement on the definition of the concepts nor how to measure them.

Question 27

What are some other social factors that should be taken into consideration when administering and interpreting a personality assessment?​

Question 28

What are some strengths and limitations of assessing personality using observations and interviewing?​

Question 29

In interpreting client drawings, a counselor can conclude that:​

A)​small drawings mean the child has low self-esteem.
B)​sad faces and dark colors mean the client is depressed.
C)​triangles mean the child has been sexually abused.
D)​no simple conclusions can be made as interpretation is complex.

Question 30

The term personality is used in everyday conversation by all kinds of people. What would you say your definition of personality is? Given your definition, how would you describe your own personality? ​