Psychology2016

Theories of Personality 537

Practice Quiz How much do you remember?

Pick the best answer.

1. Which of the following is an example of a halo effect?
   a. Terrance unknowingly tends to rate his new client’s behavior
   slightly higher during testing after noticing the client is wearing a
   class ring from his own alma mater.
   b. James tends to distrust all instructors, regardless if they are new
   or if he has had them for multiple classes.
   c. Madeline always seems to like the last person she interviews for
   a job because she remembers the most about them.
   d. Aileen provided her diagnosis only after conducting her own
   assessment and compiling information from two of her profes-
   sional colleagues.


2. Frequency counts and rating scales are especially helpful in assessing
   a. internal thought processes.
   b. observable behaviors.
   c. self-efficacy.
   d. personal values.
   3. Which of the following personality assessments might be best
   suited for objectively identifying abnormal patterns of behavior or
   thinking?
   a. Personal interview
   b. MBTI
   c. MMPI-2-RF
   d. TAT
   4. What is the function of a validity scale?
   a. to determine if a person is giving an accurate response
   b. to determine how a subject really feels
   c. to help better explain the results of a personality test
   d. to offer a diagnosis of abnormal behavior plus a positive
   therapeutic treatmen

Applying Psychology to Everyday Life

Biological Bases of Personality

13. 16 Identify some biological bases of personality.
    In 1796, Dr. Franz Joseph Gall, a German physician, developed a theory of personality
    traits based on the shape of a person’s skull. This theory became very popular in the nine-
    teenth century and was known as phrenology. Gall believed that certain areas of the brain
    were responsible for certain aspects of personality and that the skull itself would bulge out
    according to which of these traits were dominant (Finger, 1994; Simpson, 2005). As psy-
    chology became a scientific area of its own, nonscience-based ideas such as phrenology
    were soon relegated to the realm of pseudoscience.

interview: largely self-report through unstructured or semistructured interview;

problems—people can lie or interviewer can be biased (halo effect)

behavioral assessments: direct observation is used to quantify behavior through

rating scales and frequency counts; problems—observer bias

and lack of environmental control

personality inventories: standard list of questions, often

with “yes/true” or “no/false” answers, typically more objective and reliable, many

have validity and reliability scales built in; problems—still able to provide false

answers and, although difficult, can “fake bad” or “fake good”

see Table 13.3

Assessment of Personality

(can be assessed through various methods, based on perspective endorsed)

NEO-PI-R

MMPI-2-RF

projective tests: ambiguous visual stimuli are used and clients are asked to

describe what they see, unconscious concerns or fears are

“projected” onto stimulus (e.g., Rorschach Inkblot Test and TAT);

problems—nature of tests result in possible subjectivity in

interpretation; reliability is suspect

Concept Map L.O. 13.14, 13.15

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