Personality assesment - Essay Example

Personality Assessment Order No. 484759 Every individual is unique and have their own differences that constitute their personality. These differences are physical, social and psychological in nature and this is the reason why no two individuals are alike. Such differences take shape according to the individual’s upbringing and the environment he comes from. According to (Wiggins & Pincus 1992) personality assessment is mostly considered to be an assessment of personal traits. Assessment of one’s personality could also be based on beliefs, values, intentions, motives, gender, cultural diversity and other variables, but the trait model is considered to be the best.

(Funder 1991, Tellegen 1991) personality psychologists predominantly make use of the ‘Five Factor Model’ for the assessment of an individual’s personality. (Digman 1990, Goldberg 1993a) This model reflects an individual’s psychological, social and cultural components that contribute towards his personality. It also reveals if an individual has had a troubled history or comes from a very poor socio- economic background. Research has given us an invaluable theory of personality which could be used for assessing the different personality variables.

Personality assessment helps us to get a better idea of an individual and also helps us understand the individual’s behavioral pattern in a better light, thereby avoiding many conflicting issues. The 8th edition of Robert Feldman’s (2006) book on Understanding Psychology, stimulates the understanding and capabilities of students through his broad vision and insightful thinking. He strongly felt that if students understood psychology then they would learn it well. The principles and concepts contained in his book cover the areas of five important perspectives – Cognitive, behavioral, neuro-scientific, psychodynamic and humanistic.1. Validity – Validity is considered to be the subjective judgment which could be based on either experience or other empirical indicators.

Validity is also considered to be the maximum extent to which a test measures what’s needed to be measured. For a test to be considered valid it has to be first of all reliable; but reliability of the test does not guarantee its validity. The different types of validity include – 1) Face validity, 2) Construct validity, 3) Criterion validity, 4)Convergent validity and 5) Discriminant validity. 2. Reliability – Reliability is nothing but consistency. Reliability is considered to be the extent to which any test provides consistent scores.

Measuring procedures do have an error potential and minimizing such error is the aim of reliability tests. A test score is made up of 2 parts – a) True score and b) Measurement error. While testing for consistency, the aim of reliability is to determine the extent of the true score and error measurement. Reliability can be strengthened by measuring the same test many times using different measures and techniques. The different types of reliability tests include – a) Test- retest reliability, b) Split half reliability, c) Alternate forms, d) Inter- rater reliability, e) and Internal consistency.

Reliability tests may be used to categorize individuals based on their differences related to height, sociability, temperament etc. Such tests are also used in order to make important decisions. 3. The norm – This is referred to the normative or standard measure that may be used or administered under uniform conditions irrespective of when, where, to whom or by whom the test is given. Such normative tests are used so that the scorers would arrive with the same set of responses and with same scores.

Subjective evaluation does not qualify as standardized tests. These tests are designed so as to measure general performance and not the person’s absolute ability in any task. The interpretation of such nominative tests should be exercised with great caution in order to present the right to value in terms of the individual who is being tested.ReferencesDaniel J. Ozer, Steven P. Reise, 1994, Journal Article on Personality Assessment, Annual Review of psychology, vol. 45, 1994http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?

a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001658226Essentials of a Good Psychological Testhttp://wilderdom.com/personality/L3-2EssentialsGoodPsychologicalTest.htmlRobert Feldman, (2006) Understanding Psychology, 8th edn., McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages. Pgs. 800