Testing and Personality

1. Testing and Personality

2. Resources • http://quizlet.com/252200/ap-psychology-personality-flash-cards/ • http://quizlet.com/9218190/myers-ap-psychology-unit-11-testing-and-individual-differences-flash-cards/

3. Standardization and Norms • Standardized- the test items have been piloted on a similar population of people who are meant to take the test and achievement norms have been established • Use of standardization samples

4. Reliability • The consistency of the test as a means of measurement • Split-half reliability- randomly dividing a test into two different sections and then correlating performance on the two halves • Equivalent form reliability- correlation between performance on different forms of the test • Test-retest reliability- the correlation of a person’s score taking the test two different times

5. Validity • The test measures what it is supposed to measure • The accuracy of the test • Content validity- how well a measure reflects the entire range of material it is supposed to be testing • Predictive validity- a measure of future performance • Construct validity- how highly something correlates with another measure already in place • Thought to be the most meaningful kind of validity

6. Types of Tests • Aptitude Tests • Measure ability or potential (SAT) • Achievement Test • Measure what one has learned or accomplished (APs) • Speed Test • Lots of questions in a short amount of time • Power test • Gauge the difficulty of problems that one can solve

7. Intelligence • Intelligence- the ability to gather and use information in productive ways • Fluid intelligence- our ability to solve abstract problems and pick up new info/skills • Seems to decrease with age • Crystallized Intelligence- involves using knowledge accumulated over time • Seems to hold steady with time

8. Theories of Intelligence

9. Intelligence Testing • The Stanford-Binet • Alfred Binet- came up with the idea of mental age • Created by Louis Terman: IQ = mental age/ chronological age • Assigned all adults the arbitrary age of 20 • WAIS (adults) and WISC (children 6-26) • David Weshcler • Standardized so that the mean is 100 and the SD is 15 • Also a WPPSI (preschoolers) • 11 subscales combined to create a verbal and performance score- can find learning disabilities

10. Intelligence Testing

11. Bias in Testing • Researchers seem to agree that although different races and sexes may score differently, they have the same predictive validity for all groups on IQ and SAT tests • Advantages seen to accrue to the white, middle and upper classes

12. Nature vs. Nurture • Heritability- measure of how much of a trait’s variation can be credited to genetic factors in a population, ranges from 0 to 1 • Flynn effect- performance on intelligence tests has been steadily increasing throughout the century • Monozygotic twins perform more similarly on intelligence tests than dizygotic twins

13. Personality • The unique attitudes, behaviors, and emotions that categorize a person • Schools of Thought

14. Freudian Theory- Stages of Development

15. Freudian Theory- Stages of Development • Fixations can develop from being either over or undergratified • Oral fixations • Anal expulsive (messy) • Anal retentive (neat and hyperorganized) • Sexual issues (libido is stuck in the phallic stage)

16. The Unconscious • Unconscious • According to Freud- a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings and memories • Contemporary viewpoint- information processing of which we are unaware • Preconscious • information that is not conscious, but is retrievable into conscious awareness

17. Ego Conscious mind Unconscious mind Superego Id Three Parts of Personality

18. Three Parts of Personality

19. Defense Mechanisms

20. Defense Mechanisms

21. Criticisms of Freud • Very little empirical (scientific) that supports it • Has little predictive power • Overestimates the importance of early childhood and of sex • Feminists object • Karen Horney and Nancy Chodrow • Freud assumed men were superior to women • Men might have womb envy

22. Psychodynamics/Neo-Freudian • Carl Jung • A personal unconscious- similar to Freud • A collective unconscious- passed down through the species and explains similarities between cultures • Contains archetypes- universal concepts we all shart • Shadow- evil side of personality • The reason why people are afraid of the dark • Persona- people’s creation of a public image

23. Psychodynamics/Neo-Freudian • Alfred Adler • Downplayed the unconscious and focused on the ego • People are motivated by the fear of failure- inferiority complexes • Also motivated by the desire to achieve- superiority • Also studied birth order

24. Trait Theories • Believe that we can describe people’s behavior by specifying their main characteristics, or traits • These traits are stable across different situations and times and motivate behavior • Some take a nomothetic approach- the same basic traits can be used to describe all people • Factor analysis- statistical technique used to reduce the number of terms used to describe people • Ex- strong correlation between punctuality, diligence, and neatness- conscientiousness

25. Trait Theories • Hans Eyesenck- we can describe all personalities by classifying all people along a introversion-extroversion scale and a stable-unstable scale

26. Trait Theories • Raymond Cattell- developed the 16 PF (personality factor) test.

27. The “Big Five” Personality Factors Trait Dimension Description Emotional Stability/ Calm versus anxious Neuroticism Secure versus insecure Self-satisfied versus self-pitying Extraversion Sociable versus retiring Fun-loving versus sober Affectionate versus reserved Openness Imaginative versus practical Preference for variety versus preference for routine Independent versus conforming Agreeableness Soft-hearted versus ruthless Trusting versus suspicious Helpful versus uncooperative Conscientiousness Organized versus disorganized Careful versus careless Disciplined versus impulsive Trait Theories

28. Trait Theories • Gordon Allport- personal traits are key • For some people, one trait influences virtually everything they do- cardinal dispositions • Also central dispositions and secondary dispositions • Problem with trait theories- underestimate the situation

29. Biological Theories • Little evidence that specific personality traits are heritable • However, much evidence that genes play a role in temperament, the emotional style of a person and their way of looking at the world

30. Biological Theories • Hippocrates- personality determined by the levels of the 4 humors of the body • Blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm • William Sheldon- personality determined by body type • Endomorph (fat)- friendly and outgoing • Mesomorph (muscular)- confident and assertive • Ectomorph (thin)- friendly and outgoing

31. Behaviorist Theories • Personality is determined by the environment • Reinforcement contingencies one is exposed to create personality • Changing environment can change personality • Criticized for leaving cognition out

32. Internal personal/ cognitive factors (liking high-risk activities) Environmental factors (bungee-jumping friends) Behavior (learning to bungee jump) Social-Cognitive Theories • Alfred Bandura • Reciprocal Determinism • the interacting influences between personality and environmental factors • Self Efficacy • Optimism about own ability to get tings done

33. Social-Cognitive Theories • George Kelly- Personal Construct Theory • People, in their attempts to understand their world, develop their own personal constructs • Fair/unfair, Smart/dumb, Exciting/dull • They use these constructs to evaluate their world • People’s behavior is determined by how they interpret the world • Fundamental postulate- people’s behavior is influenced by their cognitions and that knowing how people behaved in the past can predict their future behavior

34. Social-Cognitive Theories • Julian Rotter • Personal Control • our sense of controlling our environments rather than feeling helpless • External Locus of Control • the perception that chance or outside forces beyond one’s personal control determine one’s fate • Internal Locus of Control • the perception that one controls one’s own fate

35. Humanistic Theories • Not deterministic- people are able to determine their own destinies through free will • Focus on • Self-Concept • all our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, in an answer to the question, “Who am I?’ • Self-Esteem • one’s feelings of high or low self-worth

36. Humanistic Theories • Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers- both believed people are motivated to reach their full potential or self-actualize • Maslow- Hierarchy of Needs with self-actualization on the top • Rogers- Unconditional Positive Regard • an attitude of total acceptance toward another person • People must feel accepted!

37. Assessment Techniques • Projective Test • ambiguous stimuli designed to trigger projection of one’s inner dynamics • Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) • people express their inner feelings and interests through the stories they make up about ambiguous scenes • Rorschach Inkblot Test • seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots

38. Assessment Techniques • Barnum Effect- “There is a sucker born every minute” • People are naturally curious about personality assessments and this makes them susceptible to being perceived • People have the tendency to see themselves in vague descriptions of personality

39. Practice Questions • 1) According to Freud, which part of the mind acts as a person’s conscience? • Eros • Ego • Libido • Superego • Id

40. 2) Cettina fills out a personality inventory several times over the course of a year. The results of each administration are extremely different. Cettina’s situation suggests that this personality inventory may not be • Reliable • Standardized • Normed • Projective • Fair

41. 3) One of your classmates remarks that “Mary is all id.” What does she mean? • Mary uses a lot of defense mechanisms • Mary is a highly ethical person • Mary is a perfectionist • Mary frequently pursues immediate gratification • Mary is in constant conflict over the proper course of action to take

42. 4) One personality trait that is thought to be highly heritable is • Generosity • Sense of humor • Neatness • Introversion • Diligence

43. 5) Juan has a huge crush on Sally, but never admits it. Instead, he tells all who will listen that Sally is really “into him”. Psychanalysts would see Juan’s bragging as an example of • Displacement • Reaction formation • Sublimation • Denial • Projection

44. 6) Someone who has an external locus of control is likely to have • A positive self concept • A high sense of self-efficacy • A strong libido • A belief in luck • A high IQ

45. 7) Astor scores at the 84th percentile on the WISC. Which number most closely expresses his IQ? • 85 • 110 • 115 • 120 • 130

46. 8) Santos is 8 years old, and according to the Stanford-Binet, he has a mental age of 10. What is his IQ? • 80 • 100 • 120 • 125 • 150