Deck 2: Personality Assessment: An Introduction to the Measurement of Personality

Question 1

A personality psychologist is measuring achievement motivation in grade-school children while a forensic psychologist is measuring the level of moral reasoning in a group of convicted rapists. While addressing different issues, both of these individuals are involved in the activity of:

A) Psychometric fraud
B) Personality actualization
C) Personality assessment
D) Personality validation

Answer 1

Personality assessment

Question 2

The purpose of personality assessment is:

A) To help gather information about the personality of an individual
B) To help establish group norms about the personality of a group of individuals
C) To help professionals communicate information about personality more precisely
D) a & c
E) a, b, & c

Answer 2

a, b, & c

Question 3

A clinical psychologist in California is discussing the personality test scores of a group of clients with a colleague in Florida. She tells her colleague that her clients are scoring relatively high on this particular test. This type of comparison can be made because of the existence of:

A) Modern internet connections
B) Group norms for the test
C) Multivariate statistical techniques
D) Social mores
E) c & d

Answer 3

Group norms for the test

Question 4

A director of personnel for an insurance company is thinking about hiring a particular individual for a sales position. Before doing so, the director will probably compare this individual's score on a personality test to the test scores of other successful agents by using:

A) Correlational data
B) Information from group norms
C) Control-group profiles
D) Base-line data

Question 5

A _____ is an individual who specializes in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of personality tests and other techniques of psychological assessment.

A) Psychometrician
B) Psychomotor manager
C) Psycholinguist
D) Psychoanalyst
E) Psychosocial psychologist

Question 6

After being admitted to a psychiatric hospital for observation, an individual is given a series of tests to help in diagnosing the disorder the person is experiencing. This is an example of a personality test being used in a(n):

A) Legal setting
B) Vocational setting
C) Educational setting
D) Clinical setting
E) Counseling setting

Question 7

In a recent episode of "Law and Disorder," the head detective looked over the pattern of results for a series of personality tests taken by a group of incarcerated drug dealers to help determine which of the officers in her squad might be collaborating with local gang members to smuggle drugs into the state prison. This represents the use of a _______.

A) Dopamine profile
B) Personality profile
C) Personality panel
D) Forensic-forecast profile
E) Anti-social profile deconstruction

Question 8

The use of personality tests to help select individuals to perform certain jobs is an example of using personality tests in a(n):

A) Clinical setting
B) Educational setting
C) Corporate setting
D) Legal setting
E) Research setting

Question 9

A store manager consults with the human resources director on using a new personality test to help select those employees who will be most likely to complete a 10-week sales training course. This is an example of personality assessment being utilized in a _____ setting.

A) Counseling
B) Educational
C) Clinical
D) Corporate
E) Remedial

Question 10

A sports psychologist working for a professional football team is considering using a personality test to assess the level of personality adjustment of a group of new players to help the head coach decide which players should be kept on the team. Before evaluating the players using the test, the sports psychologist decides to examine the consistency of the test. In order to assess the degree of consistency of a personality test, he will want to examine the test's:

A) Reliability ratio
B) Reliability coefficient
C) Standard deviation
D) Reliability ranking
E) Central tendency

Question 11

To determine the consistency of a new personality test to measure need for achievement, a researcher gives the test to a group of middle-level managers at the beginning of the year and again two months later. The researcher is attempting to determine the test's:

A) Validity coefficient
B) Test-rotation ranking
C) Stabilization factor
D) Standardization margin
E) Test-retest reliability

Question 12

A clinical psychologist is trying to develop a personality test to measure depression. She gives the test to a group of depressed individuals today and then plans to give them the same test four weeks from today. She is doing this to establish the test's:

A) Test-retest reliability
B) Face validity
C) Content reliability
D) Examiner reliability

Question 13

As the director of research for a company that develops personality tests, you make sure that at least three individuals score each test to check the degree to which there is consistency in the manner in which the test is scored. Your efforts reflect a concern for establishing:

A) Examiner reliability
B) Sequencing scoring
C) Examiner retention
D) Regulation of raters
E) Examiner rotation

Question 14

A school counselor gives the transcript of a personal interview to two of his colleagues to interpret. The purpose of this is to assess the _______ of their interpretation.

A) Test-retest reliability
B) Examiner reliability
C) Predictive reliability
D) Construct validity

Question 15

Providing detailed training and standardization of the procedures for scoring personality tests are two courses of action for increasing:

A) Face validity
B) Construct validity
C) The honesty of those taking the test
D) Examiner reliability

Question 16

A military psychologist is developing a test of leadership effectiveness. In her tests, she makes sure to have questions that look like they are related to military situations. Her concern represents an emphasis on:

A) Interrater reliability
B) Face validity
C) Construct validity
D) Military protocol
E) Standardization of situations

Question 17

A researcher is developing a personality test for assessing hostility. The researcher makes sure he has items that cover interpersonal, social, and cultural aspects of hostility. The researcher's concern represents an emphasis on:

A) Face validity
B) Congruent validity
C) Content validity
D) Item reliability

Question 18

If you are developing a test to measure honesty, you want to make sure you have items in the test that assess honesty in a variety of different situations. Your efforts represent a concern for the test's:

A) Face validity
B) Content validity
C) Construct validity
D) Criterion validity

Question 19

A sales manager uses the overall yearly dollar sales at the end of the year for each new sales trainee to assess the extent to which the test he uses to select trainees has any validity. The sales manager's concern represents an emphasis on _____ validity.

A) Predictive
B) Promotional
C) Concurrent
D) Conceptual
E) Contextual

Question 20

As a sales manager for a sporting goods company, you have given a personality test to ten new sales agents. Based on your previous experience, those who score the highest on the test have generally had the best sales records. Your use of the test is an example of:

A) Predictive validity
B) Concurrent validity
C) Face validity
D) Reliability validity

Question 21

On the first day of police officer training class, you give your 10-item test of anxiety and a more established 45-item test of anxiety to the trainees. You then compare the scores of a self-report measure of anxiety provided by each trainee after they have completed their first experience in a high-speed training exercise. Your test predicts the self-report measures just as well as the longer, more established test. Your efforts represent an attempt to assess the _____ validity of your test.

A) Predictive
B) Preventive
C) Concurrent
D) Simultaneous
E) Proactive

Question 22

As part of a research project designed to establish the criterion validity of a test measuring depression, the person who is scoring the test of depression given to a group of individuals at a mental health clinic is also the same person making the clinical judgments of how depressed these individuals are. This procedure is likely to create:

A) Criterion confusion
B) Criterion contamination
C) Construct alternativism
D) Content contamination
E) a & c

Question 23

A _____ is an attribute that can be measured by a personality test, even though it cannot necessarily be seen, whose existence can be used to help explain and predict behavior.

A) Criterion
B) Centurion
C) Crouton
D) Construct

Question 24

The process by which a researcher conducts research to establish the existence of a construct is referred to as:

A) Concurrent validity
B) Projective validity
C) Construct validity
D) Construct alternativism
E) Construct creationism

Question 25

Conducting research designed to assess the extent to which a test can predict behaviors in a manner consistent with the definition of the construct is the _____ step in the process of validating a construct.

A) Second
B) Fourth
C) Third
D) Fifth
E) First

Question 26

As part of the personnel screening process of job applicants, a personality psychologist has been asked by the personnel manager of a chain of department stores to help evaluate a personality test measuring assertiveness to make sure it is not measuring aggressiveness. To do this, the personality psychologist gives the two tests to the potential employees and then observes their verbal responses during a training situation in which customers are highly persistent in demanding that they be given their money back for a jacket purchased at the store, even though it is obvious that the jacket has been worn several times. This example illustrates an attempt to establish the _______ of the test of assertiveness.

A) Discriminate validity
B) Construct confirmation
C) Independent validation
D) Parallel separation

Question 27

In an investigation of a group of individuals living in an industrial city in France, a personality psychologist finds that the degree of happiness is only moderately correlated with how much money individuals have in the bank. The personality psychologist repeats this study with a group of tribal individuals living deep in the jungle and finds that happiness is only moderately correlated with how many goats individuals have in their herd. Such research represents an attempt by the research to establish the ________ of the relationship between happiness and wealth.

A) Suitability
B) Invincibility
C) Culpability
D) Believability
E) Generalizability

Question 28

A personality test that has a fixed-format in the way individuals can respond to the items on the test and the way individuals can score the test is a(n) _____ technique.

A) Projective
B) Model-formated
C) Objective self-report
D) Subjective personal-report
E) Personalistic

Question 29

Although they are both used by clinical psychologists working in a mental health center, one personality test is designed to measure anxiety while another is designed to measure depression. These tests are examples of _____ personality tests.

A) Single-dimension
B) First-order
C) Primary-process
D) Single-order
E) Single factor

Question 30

A personality test is designed to measure masculinity-femininity, ego strength, social introversion hostility, and depression. This test is an example of a _____ personality test.

A) Secondary-process
B) Multiple-factor
C) Multiple-dimension
D) Higher-order

Question 31

If you were asked on an exam to identify the most-widely used and extensively researched clinical personality inventory, what should your answer be?

A) California Psychological Inventory
B) Edwards Personal Preference Schedule
C) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
D) NEXUS Personality Inventory
E) Indiana Multi-Axis Inventory of Personality Dimensions

Question 32

_____ scales are designed to detect the truthfulness and consistency of responses that individuals give on personality tests.

A) Vertical
B) Validity
C) Psychometric
D) Veridical

Question 33

A special feature of the MMPI is:

A) 25 different principal clinical subscales
B) Four validity scales
C) The ability to combine subscales into personality profiles
D) a & c
E) b & c

Question 34

The scale on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality-2 (MMPI-2) designed to assess the extent to which individuals are responding to the items in a manner designed to present themselves in a favorable or extremely positive manner is the _____ scale.

A) Did not say
B) Lie
C) Frequency
D) Coercion

Question 35

The Correction validity scale of the MMPI assesses:

A) The number of items an individuals leaves blank
B) The tendency for the person to guard against admitting psychopathology
C) Carelessness while answering the items
D) The number of total items answered
E) The speed at which the person answered all of the items

Question 36

The scale on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality-2 (MMPI-2) designed to assess carelessness on the part of the individual's answers to the test items is the _____ scale.

A) Cannot Say
B) Lie
C) Back-Page F
D) Correction

Question 37

It has been suggested that special attention needs to be paid to the ______ subscales of the MMPI because individuals from different cultural backgrounds may be basing their responses to the test items on different linguistic and cultural traditions.

A) Validity
B) Global
C) Ethnic
D) Identity
E) Value

Question 38

A _____ involves looking at the scores on several subscales to determine a particular response pattern.

A) Pattern analysis
B) Factor formation
C) Score scatter plot
D) Profile analysis
E) Subscale subset

Question 39

On a test of nonverbal sensitivity, Jane selects the "agree" option for all of those items for which she is uncertain. Jane's response pattern is referred to as a(n) _____ response set.

A) Acquiescence
B) Social desirability
C) Frequency
D) Forced-choice

Question 40

To make herself look good, Julia selects "true" to all of the items on a personality test that ask about being considerate and helping others. Julia's response pattern is referred to as a(n) _____ response set.

A) Face-saving
B) Self-serving
C) Social desirability
D) Acquiescence
E) Frequency

Question 41

A characteristic strength of objective self-report personality tests is the:

A) Standardized nature of their response format
B) Standardized nature of their scoring procedures
C) Freedom they give to the nature of the answers they allow
D) a & b
E) b & c

Question 42

A characteristic strength of the objective self-report techniques of personality assessment is:

A) A complete freedom of response to items
B) The standardization of scoring procedures
C) The ease of group testing
D) a & b
E) b & c

Question 43

A characteristic limitation of objective self-report personality tests is:

A) The limitations in the consistency in which they can be scored
B) Their failure to allow individuals to elaborate on their answers
C) A failure to provide profile analyses
D) The absence of validity scales
E) c & d

Question 44

A characteristic limitation of objective self-report techniques of personality assessment is:

A) That individuals taking the test will be honest in how they respond to the items
B) The limited amount of response freedom to answer the items
C) The flexibility of scoring the items
D) a & b
E) a & c

Question 45

A characteristic feature of projective techniques of personality assessment is:

A) Individuals are asked to respond to ambiguous stimuli
B) They allow for considerable response freedom
C) They are designed to assess unconscious processes
D) a & c
E) a, b, & c

Question 46

Projective techniques require individuals to make up responses to ambiguous stimuli. This type of procedure refers to a(n) _____ method of personality assessment.

A) Indirect
B) Objective
C) Retrospective
D) Prospective
E) Affective

Question 47

The freedom of response associated with projective techniques means that:

A) The individual scoring the test can use a personalized scoring technique
B) The format for scoring the test is open to subjective interpretation
C) The person taking the test can respond to the test stimuli in any number of ways
D) The person taking the test is free to select only those items to which she wishes to respond
E) a & b

Question 48

An individual is asked to finish this sentence, "If I were in charge of the world, I would …" This is an example of a(n) _____ projective technique.

A) Association
B) Completion
C) Expressive
D) Constructive

Question 49

In his response to the fourth TAT card he sees, David focuses his story around the middle-aged man on crutches standing in the front of other soldiers. In David's response, the middle-aged man is the ______.

A) Axis
B) Nexus
C) Press
D) Icon
E) Hero

Question 50

In the scoring of the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), a(n) _____ refers to any important environmental factor that may influence or interfere with the needs of the hero of the story.

A) Target
B) Primary factor
C) Psychic barrier
D) Press
E) Defensive response

Question 51

A characteristic strength of projective techniques of personality assessment is their:

A) Standardized scoring format
B) High degree of freedom of expression for individuals taking them
C) Ambiguous nature makes it easy for individuals to figure out what the test is measuring
D) a & b
E) a & c

Question 52

A characteristic strength of the projective techniques of personality assessment is:

A) The freedom of response they allow
B) That it is difficult for individuals to figure out what is being assessed
C) They supposedly assess a more global sense of the individual's personality
D) a & b
E) a, b, & c

Question 53

A characteristic limitation of projective techniques of personality assessment is:

A) The response freedom they offer makes scoring them difficult
B) The general nature of their validity has been questioned
C) Their attempt to measure global aspects of personality is questionable
D) Their overall low reliability
E) a, b, c, & d

Question 54

A characteristic limitation of the projective techniques of personality assessment is:

A) The general complexity of the scoring procedures
B) The generally low reliability of the scores
C) The questionable nature of the validity of these measures
D) b & c
E) a, b, & c

Question 55

Behavioral assessment techniques attempt to measure:

A) Observable actions
B) Environmental cues that elicit responses
C) The thoughts and feelings that influence the nature of response
D) b & c
E) a, b, & c

Question 56

A social worker observes the behavior of a group of homeless individuals to find examples of achievement motivation. This form of behavior assessment is an example of:

A) Real-world role playing
B) Controlled cultural observation
C) Naturalistic observation
D) Life-cycle analysis

Question 57

A personality psychologist studies aggression by watching children interact on a playground and counts the number of aggressive acts. This researcher is engaging in:

A) Controlled observations
B) Naturalistic observation
C) Role playing observations
D) Ecological observations
E) Reactive observations

Question 58

In a study of personality and problem solving, a personality psychologist monitors the number of suggestions made by shy and non-shy individuals in same-sex dyads while they work on puzzles involving making a pyramid out of blocks during a 10-minute session in one of the Psychology Department's laboratory rooms containing both computerized video- and sound-recording equipment. This is an example of research using _______.

A) Fixed role playing
B) Behavioral analysis
C) Controlled observations
D) Convert observations
E) Social formatting

Question 59

Under the advice of his therapist, Ralph is told to record when, where, and why he begins to feel anxious. This is an example of a(n) _____ technique.

A) Self-monitoring technique
B) Self-consciousness facilitation
C) Role-playing
D) Objective self-awareness

Question 60

As part of her treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, Francis is asked by her therapist to check off from a list of 100 situations those situations that make her feel fearful. This is an example of a(n):

A) Fear-format face sheet
B) Fear survey schedule
C) Frightfulness assessment inventory
D) Fear-response reaction inventory

Question 61

In an attempt to overcome his shyness, Arnold monitors the thoughts he has about what he feels others are saying about him while he is attending a singles dance at the community center. Arnold is using ______ to deal with his shyness.

A) Reverse psychology
B) Cognitive behavioral assessment
C) Thought programming procedures
D) Cognitive dissonance assessment
E) Thought substitution assistance

Question 62

Which are examples of cognitive behavioral assessment techniques?

A) Self-monitoring
B) Thought sampling
C) Self-statement inventories
D) a & b
E) b & c

Question 63

A characteristic strength of behavior assessment techniques is:

A) They make it possible to assess unconscious personality processes objectively
B) Their emphasis on both overt and covert forms of behavior
C) Their high degree of sophistication takes them out of the hands of amateurs
D) a & c
E) a, b, & c

Question 64

A characteristic strength of the behavior assessment techniques is:

A) The variety of the methods they represent
B) The fixed-format response they employ
C) The emphasis on both overt and covert expressions of behavior
D) a & b
E) a & c

Question 65

A characteristic limitation of behavior assessment techniques is:

A) The potential for observational biases, particularly self-report biases
B) Being aware that you are being monitored or observed can change the nature of how you behave
C) The possibility of different individuals interpreting the same behavior differently
D) a & c
E) a, b, & c

Question 66

A characteristic limitation of the behavior assessment techniques is:

A) Different raters may view the same behavior differently
B) The possibility of biases in the self-monitoring of individuals
C) The possibility that being observed may alter one's behavior
D) b & c
E) a, b, & c

Question 67

As part of his study on personality differences in stress reactions, Professor Rogers takes blood samples and pulse ratings from all of the subjects after they have been exposed to intervals of unpredictable noise. The blood and pulse ratings are examples of _______ assessment techniques.

A) Psychographic
B) Psychophysical
C) Psychophysiological
D) Psychomotor
E) Psychosomatic

Question 68

A medical psychologist is studying the heart rate and muscle tension of a group of war veterans. He will be using which type of assessment techniques?

A) Electroencephalograph and electrocardiogram
B) Electrocardiogram and electromyograph
C) Electromyograph and electrodermal
D) Electrodermal and electroencephalograph

Question 69

A personality psychologist studying post-traumatic stress reactions in flood victims takes an electromyograph (EMG) measure from each individual, which is a measure of:

A) Brain wave activity
B) Electrical activity of the heart
C) Muscular tension
D) The skin's level of moisture (i.e. sweat)

Question 70

A sports psychologist interested in the effect of anxiety on athletic performance measures the amount of sweat his athletes display after being told they will have to run extra laps if they miss more than three shots during practice. The assessment of the level of sweat is an example of a:

A) Galley reaction
B) Galvanic skin response
C) Galvanized skin recording
D) Gallic skin response

Question 71

A galvanometer measures:

A) Muscular tension
B) Brain wave activity
C) Hormonal levels
D) Moisture level of the skin
E) Brain chemistry

Question 72

Measuring neurotransmitters, hormones, and genetic make up are examples of _____ assessment.

A) Biosocial
B) Biopsychology
C) Biomedical
D) Biochemical
E) Bioneurological

Question 73

As part of her study on the personality profiles of lucid dreamers, a sleep researcher measures the brain wave patterns of each individual every ninety minutes throughout the night for four consecutive nights. The measurement of brain waves is an example of an:

A) Electroencephalograph
B) Electrocardiogram
C) Electroshock
D) Electroscan

Question 74

To investigate differences in the brain functioning of individuals with an impulsive personality in comparison to those individuals with a non-impulsive personality, Professors Sweet and Ayr measure the amount of energy-providing substances (e.g., sugar and oxygen) used in the brain cells of these individuals by comparing video images of their brains while having them play a highly violent military combat video game. In this research, they are using the _________ technique to measure brain activity.

A) Electrodermal (EDM)
B) Galvanic (gVal)
C) Functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI)
D) Electroencephalograph (EEG)
E) Positron emission tomography (PET)

Question 75

To investigate differences in the brain functioning of individuals with an impulsive personality in comparison to those individuals with a non-impulsive personality, Professors Steele and Ayr measure the magnetic properties of their blood before and after the oxygen is used as energy in the brain cells of these individuals by comparing video images of their brains while having them play a highly violent military combat video game. In this research, they are using the _________ technique to measure brain activity.

A) Electroencephalograph (EEG)
B) Functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI)
C) Electrodermal (EDM)
D) Positron emission tomography (PET)
E) Galvanic (gVal)

Question 76

A characteristic strength of psychophysiological assessment techniques is they:

A) Provide different ways of assessing bodily processes that can be obtained at the same time
B) Are more reliable than the other techniques of personality assessment
C) Can be employed with other forms of personality assessment
D) a & b
E) a & c

Question 77

A characteristic strength of the psychophysiological techniques of personality assessment is:

A) The validity of the measures
B) The possibility of obtaining more than one measure at a time
C) Their ability to be associated with specific emotional states
D) Their consistency across individuals

Question 78

A characteristic limitation of psychophysiological assessment techniques is:

A) That any given bodily process has one and only one meaning
B) That bodily processes can be easily modified, which can invalidate the results
C) There is little variation in the manner in which individuals respond to a particular bodily process
D) a & b
E) a, b & c

Question 79

A characteristic limitation of the psychophysiological assessment techniques is:

A) The individual's emotional state at the time can affect the nature of the response being measured
B) The diversity of the measures is confusing
C) The measurement of bodily process is not as important as measuring cognitions
D) b & c
E) a, b, & c

Question 80

Which statement best represents the information presented regarding the different techniques of personality assessment?

A) Psychophysiological techniques are better than behavioral techniques
B) Objective self-report techniques are better than behavioral techniques
C) Projective and objective self-report techniques are better than psychophysiological techniques but not as good a behavioral techniques
D) Each technique has its characteristic strengths and limitations
E) Each technique is equally effective