Deck 5: Personality Assessment I: Personality Testing and Its Consequences

Question 1

When we evaluate professional personality judgments, it is typically said that we are evaluating their ________, whereas when amateur personality judgments are evaluated, we are evaluating their ________.

A) accuracy; validity
B) validity; accuracy
C) reliability; validity
D) validity; reliability

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The two basic criteria for evaluating the validity of a personality judgment are ________.

A) rationality and empiricism
B) usefulness and practicality
C) agreement and behavioral prediction
D) consensus and ability to generate testable hypotheses

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A projective tests yields ________ data.

A) B
B) I
C) L
D) S

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Your responses to the personality test item "I am an intelligent person" would be ________ data, whereas your score on an intelligence test that reflects the number of problems you got right would be ________ data.

A) B; L
B) S; L
C) I; B
D) S; B

Question 5

Personality assessment would be relevant to which of the following constructs?

A) attitudes toward political leaders
B) extraversion
C) aggression
D) all of the above

Question 6

Personality assessment refers to ________.

A) a treatment for personality disorders
B) the analysis and interpretation of genetic markers of personality
C) the measurement of any characteristic pattern of behavior, thought, or emotion
D) the selection of a group of individuals with the most unique temperaments

Question 7

Although Funder draws a distinction between S and B data, the distinction between ________ tests is also discussed in the text.

A) clinical and non-clinical
B) projective and objective
C) quantitative and qualitative
D) subjective and objective

Question 8

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) yields what kind of data?

A) B
B) I
C) L
D) S

Question 9

The MMPI was designed to ________.

A) assess individuals with psychological disorders
B) assess normal individuals
C) identify the Big Five personality factors
D) assess Jung's psychological types

Question 10

An IQ test yields what kind of data?

A) B
B) I
C) L
D) S

Question 11

A psychologist administering the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) asks respondents to ________.

A) draw a person so that the psychologist may determine which parts are left out or exaggerated
B) describe their current level of hostility so that the psychologist can measure their type A tendencies
C) tell stories about pictures that the psychologist shows them
D) describe their perceptions of the causes of people's behavior so that the psychologist can measure attributional complexity

Question 12

What term refers to personality inventories that are designed to measure a wide range of traits?

A) big bandwidth inventories
B) high-fidelity inventories
C) omnibus inventories
D) Big Seven inventories

Question 13

When evaluated as psychometric instruments, most projective tests ________.

A) do not fare very well
B) have validity but little reliability
C) have generalizability but little validity
D) do as well as objective tests like the CPI and MMPI

Question 14

What does the acronym MMPI stand for?

A) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
B) Minnesota Multiple Personality Inventory
C) Michigan Major Personality Inventory
D) Michigan Multiple Personality Inventory

Question 15

If you were shown an inkblot and asked to describe what you saw, you would be taking the ________.

A) MMPI
B) CPI
C) Rorschach test
D) Thematic Apperception Test

Question 16

The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) was designed to ________.

A) assess individuals with psychological disorders
B) assess normal individuals
C) identify the Big Five personality factors
D) assess Jung's psychological types

Question 17

Recent research using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to study shyness indicates that ________.

A) "controlled" aspects of shyness can be predicted using S data, but uncontrolled or spontaneous aspects can be more accurately predicted using B data
B) "controlled" aspects of shyness can be predicted using B data, but uncontrolled or spontaneous aspects are more accurately predicted based on S data
C) S data were unrelated to any aspects of shy behavior, but B data predicted many facets of shy behavior
D) B data were unrelated to any aspects of shy behavior, but S data predicted many facets of shy behavior

Question 18

When taking a(n) ________ test, a person interprets an ambiguous stimulus in order to express the inner workings of his or her mind.

A) rationally constructed
B) projective
C) factor analytic
D) objective

Question 19

According to the text, one of the nonpsychometric functions of projective tests is to ________.

A) diagnose psychiatric disorders
B) increase the billable hours of clinical psychologists
C) break the ice between client and therapist
D) reduce countertransference between client and therapist

Question 20

As described in the text, according to some motivation researchers, the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) measures ________, whereas questionnaire-based measures predict ________.

A) what people want; actual performance
B) what people need; what people want
C) what people want; how motives are expressed
D) how motives are expressed; actual performance

Question 21

The factor analytic technique of test construction is designed to________.

A) identify individuals who are attempting to lie or sabotage a test
B) identify groups of test items that seem to be alike
C) identify items that mean the same thing to the respondent as they do to the researcher
D) create projective tests

Question 22

Factor analysis can ________.

A) give psychological meaning to groups of traits
B) unquestionably determine the basic dimensions of personality
C) identify groups of items that go together
D) tell which items best differentiate normal and abnormal populations

Question 23

According to the text, which projective test appears to have produced evidence that comes close to establishing its validity?

A) Draw-A-Person Test
B) Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
C) Buss-Perry Aggression Q-Sort
D) Draw-A-Face Test

Question 24

Which of the following is a limitation of projective tests?

A) Clinicians tend to find them relatively unhelpful despite their considerable validity.
B) Projective tests are relatively inefficient and expensive to administer.
C) Although projective tests discriminate between known groups, the content of the items may seem absurd to test takers.
D) Respondents uniformly hate taking projective tests because of their length.

Question 25

If a test consists of a list of True/False questions and is graded using a computer-scored answer sheet, then it is a(n) ________.

A) projective test
B) Q-sort
C) objective test
D) commonality scale

Question 26

Which personality scale could be used to identify individuals who cannot read text?

A) the F scale
B) the MMPI Lie scale
C) the PPI Illiterate Responder scale
D) the CPI Commonality scale

Question 27

The basis of the ________ method of test construction is to come up with items that seem directly, obviously, and logically related to what it is you wish to measure.

A) rational
B) empirical
C) philosophical
D) factor analytic

Question 28

Which of the following is an objective test?

A) MMPI
B) TAT
C) Rorschach inkblots
D) Picture Story Exercise

Question 29

The reason that objective tests include so many items is to increase the ________ of the test.

A) criterion-related validity
B) reliability
C) content validity
D) construct validity

Question 30

Currently, the consensus among most personality researchers is that there are ________ fundamental personality traits.

A) 3
B) 5
C) 7
D) 16

Question 31

According to the text, the last step in a factor analysis is to ________.

A) calculate correlation coefficients between all item pairs
B) administer the items to a new sample
C) find new criterion groups
D) name the factors

Question 32

The "Big Five" are ________.

A) the five key steps in the process of factor analysis
B) steps in the construction of rational tests
C) factor analytically derived dimensions of personality
D) the primary methods of test construction used by personality psychologists

Question 33

What is the most common method of test construction?

A) factor analytic
B) rational
C) empirical
D) a combination of factor analytic and empirical methods

Question 34

The approach to personality test construction that examines a set of correlations among many items in order to identify which items are highly correlated is called the ________ approach.

A) nomothetic
B) idiographic
C) rational
D) factor analytic

Question 35

The improvement in reliability gained by adding additional "good" test items can be precisely calculated using the ________ formula.

A) Pearson Product Moment
B) alpha
C) Tucker-Lewis
D) Spearman-Brown

Question 36

What is the name of the newer, shorter version of the TAT?

A) Q-Sort Card Projection
B) Picture Sort Test
C) TAT-R
D) Picture Story Exercise

Question 37

The ________ method is NOT a basic method for constructing objective personality tests.

A) rational
B) empirical
C) factor analytic
D) consensus validation

Question 38

All projective tests ________.

A) involve stimuli with no clear meaning
B) involve the construction of stories and narratives
C) require choosing among multiple, predetermined alternatives
D) rely on computer scoring methods

Question 39

Increasing the number of items on a test makes it a better instrument according to which principle?

A) construct validation
B) operational definition
C) aggregation
D) incremental validation

Question 40

If everybody read, interpreted, and answered an item in exactly the same way, then that item ________.

A) would not be very useful for the assessment of individual differences
B) would be very informative about personality
C) was developed using the rational method of test construction
D) is empirically derived

Question 41

Integrity tests administered in employment screening provide good measures of ________.

A) conscientiousness
B) intelligence
C) drug use on the job
D) sociability

Question 42

The primary criterion for item selection in the empirical method of test construction is determining whether the item ________.

A) makes the scale more reliable
B) discriminates between two known groups
C) loads highly on its primary factor
D) will be challenged in a legal context

Question 43

Eliminating the use of personality tests in employment screening will ________.

A) prevent biases from affecting hiring decisions
B) decrease the likelihood that women and minorities will be discriminated against in hiring
C) increase the use of lie detector tests and drug tests in employment screening
D) not prevent traits from being judged but will change the ways traits are judged

Question 44

What is the first step in the empirical method of scale construction?

A) Gather lots of items.
B) Identify the groups.
C) Administer items to a large sample.
D) Conduct a factor analysis on existing scales.

Question 45

Which of the following is NOT one of the Big Five?

A) psychoticism
B) conscientiousness
C) neuroticism
D) agreeableness

Question 46

A test created using the empirical method yields what kind of data?

A) B
B) I
C) L
D) S

Question 47

One objection to the use of vocational interest tests is that these tests ________.

A) measure conscientiousness rather than vocational interest
B) may discourage women or minority group members from joining certain fields
C) measure performance ability rather than job interest
D) can be used to tell individuals what kind of occupational group they most resemble

Question 48

According to the text, what is the best approach to test construction?

A) the rational method
B) the factor analytic method
C) the empirical method
D) a combination of all three approaches

Question 49

Inventories derived from the empirical method sometimes have items that seem strange or even objectionable to test takers ________.

A) in order to catch test takers who are faking responses
B) because those items correlated with outcomes of interest to the test developers
C) to identify test takers who are prudish and close-minded
D) because those items seemed the most content-valid to the test developers

Question 50

Which of the following approaches to test construction is the most atheoretical?

A) rational
B) factor analytic
C) content validation
D) empirical

Question 51

A test created using the rational method yields what kind of data?

A) S
B) I
C) L
D) B

Question 52

Imagine that you want to develop a test to measure depression. You gather a set of 100 potential test items and ask a sample of people diagnosed with clinical depression and a sample of nondepressed people to respond to the items. For your final version of the test, you decide to keep only the 15 items that the depressed and nondepressed groups answered differently. You are using a(n) ________ method of test construction.

A) factor analytic
B) rational
C) projective
D) empirical

Question 53

Which of the following is NOT a major limitation of the factor analytic approach?

A) Usually the factors that emerge do not make sense in even well designed research.
B) The results are only as good as the items that are included in the analysis.
C) The factors are only as good as the criterion groups used to validate the measure.
D) It is up to psychologists to label the factors.

Question 54

The Woodworth Personality Data Sheet was designed to measure psychiatric problems in what group?

A) college students
B) U.S. Army recruits
C) potential employees of Target stores
D) high school students

Question 55

The sole basis on which items are selected for empirically derived personality scales is whether ________.

A) their content adequately reflects the construct to be measured
B) they are correlated with other items on the scales
C) the respondent will be willing and able to give an accurate self-assessment for them
D) they are answered differently by different kinds of people

Question 56

If you were to fully develop a personality test without even looking at the item content, you would be using the ________ method of test construction.

A) factor analytic
B) rational
C) projective
D) empirical

Question 57

Dr. Akita is designing a test to measure sociability. She writes items that seem directly and obviously related to sociability, such as "I like to go to parties" and "I enjoy the company of other people." Dr. Akita is using the ________ method of test construction.

A) empirical
B) factor analytic
C) rational
D) projective

Question 58

Which of the following statements does NOT apply to rationally constructed personality scales?

A) The items must all be face-valid indicators of what the tester is trying to measure.
B) The person who completes the form must be able and willing to report an accurate self-assessment.
C) Each item must mean the same thing to the person who fills out the form as it did to the psychologist who wrote it.
D) Items are selected with the aid of statistical analyses such as item response theory (IRT).

Question 59

According to the text, which of the following is NOT one of the conditions that must hold for an S data personality test to accurately measure an attribute of personality?

A) The test taker must be able to make an accurate self-assessment.
B) All of the items must be valid indicators of the construct.
C) The test taker must be willing to report the self-assessment accurately.
D) The test must contain both positively and negatively worded items.

Question 60

Faking responses in order to influence test results is most difficult on ________ constructed tests.

A) factor analytically
B) empirically
C) rationally
D) nomothetically

Question 61

Most people do not enjoy responding to the commonality items on the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) because they view those items as invading their privacy.

Question 62

One study reported that the correlation between one scoring system for the Rorschach inkblots and mental health was about .33.

Question 63

Face validity refers to whether the items on a scale are easy to read and understand for test takers.

Question 64

Projective tests are not popular in the practice of clinical psychology.

Question 65

Empirically developed tests have created some serious legal problems for companies that administer such tests to employees or potential hires.

Question 66

Personality judgment can occur in applied settings without the use of objective tests.

Question 67

Factor analysis has very few important uses in personality psychology.

Question 68

For a test item to be useful for assessing personality, it is necessary that all test takers have the exact same interpretations of the items.

Question 69

The MMPI is an omnibus personality inventory that yields S data.

Question 70

Data supporting the validity of projective tests is widespread.

Question 71

An important aspect of the definition of personality is its relative consistency across time and situations.

Question 72

Not all items on objective tests are absolutely objective.

Question 73

Integrity tests are purposely designed to place liars in difficult dilemmas when they respond to the questions.

Question 74

The consensus among trait researchers is that three broad traits are truly essential.

Question 75

The factors that emerge from a factor analysis are frequently easy to name.

Question 76

According to the underlying theory of projective tests, the stimulus itself (e.g., an inkblot or a TAT card) directly causes responses to each stimulus.

Question 77

The entity or construct that causes items to group together in a factor analysis is called a factor.

Question 78

Someone who is unconcerned with item content is most likely using the empirical method.

Question 79

Most rationally constructed scales fail at least one or more of the criteria for valid S assessment.

Question 80

According to one survey described in the textbook, at least 80 percent of clinical psychologists reported using Rorschach inkblots at least occasionally.