Deck 1: Basic Concepts in Psychological Measurement

Question 1

What is the best reason to expect that observer reports of personality could in some cases be more valid than self-reports would be?

A)Observers will see the person's behavior in only a limited range of settings,which makes it easier to provide accurate reports.
B)Observers are not necessarily aware of the person's thoughts and feelings,which makes it easier to provide accurate reports.
C)Observers might have a more objective perspective on the person's personality than he or she does,which makes it easier to provide accurate reports.
D)Observers can compare the person with other people,which makes it easier to provide accurate reports.
E)None of the above

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Suppose that scores on an Anxiety scale are normally distributed and are calculated as standard scores (i.e. ,with a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one).In a typical group of 100 people,about how many would you expect to have standard scores between -1 and +1?

A)16
B)32
C)50
D)68
E)95

Answer 2

D

Question 3

According to simulations by Schönbrodt and Perugini (2013),what is the approximate minimum sample size at which the correlation obtained in a random sample will likely be fairly close to the population correlation?

A)10
B)50
C)250
D)1250
E)6250

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following techniques would be included as part of the nomothetic approach to studying personality?

A)Measuring several personality characteristics in a large group of people
B)Studying the biography of a famous person
C)Analyzing the characters of a great novel
D)Conducting a one-on-one interview with a personality-disordered patient
E)Thinking introspectively and critically about all aspects of one's own personality

Question 5

Which of the following could be considered as an advantage of the idiographic approach to studying personality?
1)It allows efficient study of many personality characteristics in many people
2)It provides a direct way to find and demonstrate general laws about personality
3)It provides a way to generate new ideas about personality.

A)1 only
B)2 only
C)3 only
D)1 and 3 only
E)2 and 3 only

Question 6

Which of the following ways of modifying a test would be most likely to decrease its internal-consistency reliability?

A)Removing the items that are only weakly correlated with the other items
B)Removing the items that are strongly correlated with most other items
C)Adding new items that are only weakly correlated with the current items
D)Adding new items that are strongly correlated with the current items
E)None of the above modifications would systematically influence internal-consistency reliability.

Question 7

When researchers measure people's psychological characteristics,which of the following do they generally assume to be true?

A)Equal differences (intervals)between scores really do mean roughly equal differences in levels of the characteristic.
B)Equal ratios between scores really do mean roughly equal ratios in levels of the characteristic.
C)A score of zero really does mean a total absence of the characteristic.
D)When scores are ranked,equal differences between ranks really do mean roughly equal differences in levels of the characteristic.
E)All of the above.

Question 8

Suppose that a scale had rather high reliability,but very low validity.Which of the following is most likely to be true of this scale?

A)It doesn't measure anything at all;it's almost entirely error.
B)It measures the right characteristic,but with much error of measurement.
C)It measures some characteristic with little error,but it is the wrong characteristic.
D)It could easily be improved by adding a few more items.
E)It could easily be improved by removing a few items.

Question 9

Suppose that a self-report scale measuring Anxiety correlates -.60 with observer reports of Calmness.Which of the following statements best describes this scale?

A)It has poor convergent validity.
B)It has good convergent validity.
C)It has poor discriminant validity.
D)It has good discriminant validity.
E)None of the above;this correlation is relevant to reliability,not validity.

Question 10

Which of the following tests should have the highest internal-consistency reliability?

A)Test A: 10 items,average inter-item correlation = .20
B)Test B: 5 items,average inter-item correlation = .10
C)Test C: 10 items,average inter-item correlation = .10
D)Test D: 5 items,average inter-item correlation = .20
E)Test E: 7 items,average inter-item correlation = .14

Question 11

Which of the following correlations between two variables would tell you that those variables are essentially unrelated to each other?

A).94
B)-.96
C)-.04
D)both A and B
E)both B and C

Question 12

Suppose that you want to evaluate the discriminant validity of a self-report Laziness scale.Which of the following results for this scale would be evidence that it has good discriminant validity?

A)It correlates -.50 with observer reports of Hardworkingness.
B)It correlates -.50 with observer reports of Sociability.
C)It correlates .00 with observer reports of Hardworkingness.
D)It correlates .00 with observer reports of Sociability.
E)None of the above;these correlations are relevant to reliability,not validity.

Question 13

Suppose that you wanted to obtain ratings of many persons' levels of a personality trait by having one or more raters observe an interview with each person.To get a high level of inter-rater (inter-observer)reliability,which of the following would be the best strategy?

A)Obtain ratings of each person by one rater who is highly trained in observing interviews.
B)Obtain ratings of each person independently by two raters who are moderately trained in observing interviews.
C)Obtain ratings of each person independently by several raters who are not trained in observing interviews.
D)Obtain ratings of each person independently by several raters who are highly trained in observing interviews.
E)Obtain ratings of each person by one rater who is not trained in observing interviews.

Question 14

In comparison with self- of trait levels possess?
1)Don't require understanding of specific trait terms
2)More efficient measurement (i.e. ,require fewer items)
3)Are valid even if persons are unwilling to respond accurately

A)1 only
B)2 only
C)3 only
D)1 and 2 only
E)1 and 3 only

Question 15

If we wanted to make a scale that had high internal-consistency reliability but still had good content validity,which of the following would we need to have?
1)Items that are substantially correlated with each other
2)Items that together cover all aspects of the intended characteristic
3)Items that are all virtually uncorrelated with each other
4)Items that all focus on the same specific aspect of the intended characteristic.

A)1 and 2
B)1 and 3
C)2 and 3
D)2 and 4
E)3 and 4

Question 16

Why is test-retest reliability usually measured over a short period of time (such as a few weeks)rather than over a long period of time (such as several years)?

A)Long-term changes in people's scores might reflect real developmental changes in the trait,not just short-term fluctuation.
B)Psychological tests have not yet been developed to show high reliability over such a long interval.
C)It is very difficult to obtain measurements from the same large group of people at two points of time several years apart.
D)If a characteristic shows high test-retest reliability over a period of a few weeks,then the same result will be virtually always be observed across a period of several years.
E)None of the above;test-retest reliability usually is in fact measured over very long time periods.

Question 17

In questionnaires assessing people's interests,the respondent is asked to indicate how much he or she would enjoy various activities.Listed below are sets of three activities that might be included in a test of artistic interests.Which one of the following sets of three activities would have the best content validity for measuring artistic interests?

A)Reading classic novels,reading poetry,doing creative writing
B)Attending classical music concerts,learning to play an instrument,taking voice lessons
C)Visiting a sculpture exhibit,attending classical music concerts,watching sports on TV
D)Reading poetry,visiting a sculpture exhibit,going shopping
E)Attending classical music concerts,reading poetry,visiting a sculpture exhibit

Question 18

Suppose that self-reports of "mathematics anxiety" correlate -.25 with performance on a mathematics test.What is the expected average score on the mathematics test for persons who are 2 standard deviations above the mean on mathematics anxiety?

A)2.0 standard deviations below the mean
B)1.0 standard deviations below the mean
C)0.5 standard deviations below the mean
D)0.25 standard deviations below the mean
E)0.125 standard deviations below the mean

Question 19

The use of self-report methods of personality assessment depends on which of the following assumptions?
1)People understand the psychological causes of their typical behaviors,thoughts,and feelings
2)People are able to describe their typical behaviors,thoughts,and feelings rather accurately
3)People are willing to describe their typical behaviors,thoughts,and feelings rather accurately.

A)1 only
B)1 and 2 only
C)1 and 3 only
D)2 and 3 only
E)1,2,and 3

Question 20

Suppose that,on average,persons who are 1 standard deviation above the mean on job satisfaction are 0.36 standard deviations above the mean on job performance.Which of the following would equal the correlation between job satisfaction and job performance? (Assume that the relation between job satisfaction and job performance is linear. )

A).13
B).60
C).72
D).18
E).36

Question 21

Which of the following can be considered a major difficulty in the measurement of personality through direct observations of behavior (whether in natural or in artificial settings)?

A)It's very time-consuming and expensive to measure many traits reliably in many persons.
B)Observers of behavior show very poor agreement (i.e. ,low inter-observer reliability).
C)Behaviors provide little if any information about personality traits.
D)Both A and B above
E)Both A and C above

Question 22

One method of personality measurement involves obtaining "biodata"-that is,records of various outcome variables (e.g. ,health information,criminal records,career information,etc. ).Which of the following can be considered a complication of this method?

A)In general,life outcomes have nothing to do with personality
B)Any given life outcome might reflect several different personality traits
C)Any given life outcome might reflect many influences other than the individual's personality
D)Both A and B above
E)Both B and C above