Internal Factors That Influence the Behaviour of an Individual - Report Example

Running Head: PERSONALITY TESTS Personality Tests Institution Name Date Abstract Personality is the internal factors that influence the behaviour of an individual at different times and in different situations. The personality of an individual can be determined by psychologists by use of various personality tests discussed in the essay. One of the most interesting things and probably one of the bigger challenges that one would have deal with while dealing with personalities and different people is the endless variety of human personality. It has been accepted that no two people would be completely alike in the manner of their thoughts or their actions or in the way they react in different situations. The basic reason why test institution is required in cases of personality study is that classifications be made, personality disorders be identified and treated. Job selection is another area that therefore requires that the best possible methods in studying a factor of human life that is complex and difficult to predict. This is where the value of personality tests comes into the picture. These personality tests are administered to different or the same individual at different situations and at different times to check on the behaviour of the person. For effectiveness of these tests, they should be administered by an expert, in an appropriate environment and with proper preparation of the examiners. Two types of personality tests that are commonly used are objective and projective personality tests. Objective tests measure a person’s personality in laboratory settings where the individual is not aware of what is being measured. In the projective tests, the participants are given unstructured questions aimed at compelling them to give most of their inner details. In the essay, factors that i would consider, or other psychologists consider in determining whether a test is a good measure of personality are discussed. The major factors are validity and reliability which apply when that participant is in good mental state. Personality Tests Introduction Personality tests are tools used to assess the differences between persons and also the difference between the behaviour of the same person and his reactions when in different situations. Personality tests provide ways of exploring a variety of issues such as lifespan development changes in the individual, the relevance of various education procedures underwent by the individual and the influence of the environmental factors on the behaviour of a person (Eysneck, 2004). All these variables are measured with different types of test depending on the issues being measured. The personality tests are designed by psychologist and there are various factors that they consider, which I would also consider in determining whether the test is a good measure of personality. The origin of personality tests and its uses today The development of personality tests was stimulated by the need to identify people who are mentally retarded. The use of these tests started during the First World War where it was used in grouping of the military workforce. The variety of the tests that were used continued to increase even in the Second World War. Research on the use of the tests has however continued in various departments of the armed forces (Eysneck, 2004). Personality tests have also been on use in industries to select and classify the industrial workers. Intelligent tests originated from Binet’s test where he arranged a scale consisting of thirty items arranged in order of difficulty. The items were them tried on fifty normal children and a few who were mentally retarded. The items that were passed by the majority of the children were considered to be the easiest. Some of the factors that I (or the psychologists) would take into consideration in determining whether a test is a good measure of personality include standardization, reliability of the test, a qualified examiner, validity of the test, role of the test user, and the security of the test content and communication of test information. The most important aspects which psychologists take into consideration are validity and reliability (Anastasi, & Urbina, 1997). Standardization means the uniformity of the process that is used to administer the test and the scores obtained. There is need to ensure that the procedure must be uniform so that the scores obtained for different individuals or for the same individual in different circumstances can be compared. Uniformity is therefore necessary for standard results that can be generalized. To achieve uniformity, the person who is constricting the tests should provide details on the administration procedures of each newly developed test. There should also be an average performance from which different scores will be compared. Reliability of a test means the consistency of the scores obtained when the same test is administered several times to the same person. If a person obtains a score of 50 today and when the test is administered again after two days he scores 30, there is no reliability on the test. Before any personality test is released, it should be checked on reliability. Reliability can be determined by comparing the tests obtained by different people who had taken the test at different times, with different examiners and at different set of conditions. Validity is the extent to which the test fulfils what it was meant to measure. To check on the validity of a test, an external criterion that indicates what the test is supposed to achieve should be formulated. Validity of those tests which are designed for a wide variety of uses are validated against a number of separately obtained behavioural indicators, and the validity obtained from the steady accumulation of data obtained from different test times (Cohen, & Swerdlik, 2005). Validity and reliability are the most important factors that I would consider as a psychologist in determining whether a test is a good measure of personality. A qualified examiner is also essential in selection of the test to be administered, the actual administration of the test, assigning the score level and in the interpretation of the scores. A qualified examiner will be able to assess the validity of the score and also the level of difficulty. A qualified examiner will also be able to determine whether the test was an adequate measure of intelligence. When an examiner is well qualified, he or she will be able to know how to classify the scores and determine which of the scores to give high marks in terms of performance. A test user is the person who uses the scores to help him make practical decisions. The test user may be the one who had administered the test or not. Examples of test user are the school administrators, teachers, counsellors and industry or government workers. The test users may use the results to obtain new employees in the government and in the industries, teachers may use test results in class as a source of information when reaching some decisions concerning the students. Security of the tests contents should be maintained to avoid leaking of information and also to avoid fake results. When the tests contents are leaked out, the validity of the results goes down. Proper communication of test information helps to dispel any fears that may be associated with testing and therefore avoids any misconceptions. It also familiarises the test takers with the test procedures. Dissemination of information concerning the tests contents is a crime which is guarded by state laws. Test administration is another very important concept in today’s use of personality tests that as a psychologist I would consider to determine whether a test is a good measure of personality. This refers to the procedures applied when administering a test. Advance preparation of the examiners is one of the most important concepts in test administration. Emergencies are the most inappropriate in test administration. The examiner should put efforts to foresee emergencies. This can also help to achieve the uniformity of the procedures that are used in test administration. Preparedness of the examiner can be done in many ways. For example, familiarizing with the instructions to be given during the tests helps prevent misreading of the instructions and hesitations hence creating a more natural manner of test administration. Materials to be used in test administration need to be kept in order before the test time is due. Enough familiarity with the test procedures is also another necessary preparation. The examiner should also attend some training enough time before the test to make him or her competent with the administration procedures. This is very important especially on individual testing. This will help him/her in observing time and guarding the security of test contents. Testing conditions is also another important concept of test administration that I would consider as a psychologist. A suitable testing environment should be well chosen. The testing room should have adequate lighting, well ventilated and with enough space for each person. It should also be free from noise and other distractions. This is important since very minor discomforts due to the test environments can affect the performance of those taking the tests. The type of answering papers and also the test papers is also an important aspect of the testing conditions. This can be an issue especially when administering the test on children (Farmer, 2004). Another factor that I would consider on test administration is the way the examiner introduces the test. The examiner should make efforts to gain the interest of the test takers on the test, win their cooperation and help them develop confidence when handling the test. This will act as a means for motivating the test takers when doing the test. It will also eliminate the anxiety that develops when one is waiting for a test. Personality tests are classified into two; objective personality tests and projective personality tests. When a test meets all the above requirements, it should be probed by the psychologists as a good measure of personality. Objective personality tests Objective personality tests are the tests that measure an individual’s behaviour under the laboratory conditions. In this case, the participants are not aware of what is being measured. This type of test is appropriate since they are free from any possible distortions that can affect the performance of a test taker especially when the test is on a self report questionnaire. This is because the participants are not aware whether their personality is being tested. They therefore have nothing to influence them to answer the questions in a particular manner. Several problems however come with this form of test. When administering this form of a test, it is important for psychologist to consider the mental state of the participant. This is because the mentally retarded do not have the ability to comprehend the test. Since it is not defined what the test is measuring, the results of the performance are influenced by very small changes in the procedure taken. As a psychologist, when administering the objective tests, I would take note of the procedures taken since they have an influence on the scores. The validity and reliability of the objective tests is therefore low and are not accurate ways of assessing personality. Most psychologists do not use these tests due to the low validity and reliability, which are the factors that psychologists consider when determining whether the test is a good measure of personality. Projective personality test In the projective personality tests, the participants are given unstructured task to do for example telling a story. The basis for this test is that when people are faced with the unstructured task, they end up revealing most of their innermost details of themselves. The most commonly used projective tests are the Rorschach Inkblos Test which was introduced in 1921 by a Swiss psychologist known as Herman Rorschach. The tests involves presenting ten inkblots to a group of participants who were supposed to state what each inkblot represent, and indicate what each inkblot formed at the basis of their response. Other examples of projective tests include Thematic Appreciation Test where the participants are presented with different pictures and told to state what is happening on the picture, what led to the situations represented on the pictures and what will happen next (Kaplan, & Saccuzzo, 2005). The goal of such tests is to determine the underlying conflicts in an individual’s personality. The reliability and validity of the projective tests is however low. This is because the response of the participant will be determined by his or her current mood or the current concerns rather that the real characteristics. When using these tests, as a psychologist, I would study the mood of the participant before administering the tests. This will keep me aware of the responses which are influenced by the mood since this can be a limitation to accurate test results. Another reason is that the interpretation of the participant’s response depends on the expertise of the examiner. If the interpreter of the results is non expertise, the validity of the results will be low. When using the projective tests, the participants’ response is assumed to reflect his or her personal needs, thoughts, values and conflicts. In medical use, these tests are used as an opportunity for the patient to to give information that may be embarrasing in a face to face interview. When administering the projective tests, most psychologists consider the environment on which the test is being done. This is because they assume that the response of the participant is influenced by th environment. In this case, it is very important for the psychologist to keep at back of his or her mind the environment and the mood of the person whem checking at the scores. Conclusion In conclusion, one can state that there are various facets to personalities and hence various facets to personality tests. There are legal and ethical issues of confidentiality at work added to the ones that have been enumerated in the course of the paper. The two most important factors that need to be kept in mind if one has to have accurate results are that the tests being administered are reliable and valid. Beside this the paper has also outlined some of the major limitations that need to be kept in mind in terms of specific tests that could significantly affect test results. These would have to be kept in mind in the ultimate analysis of the test in the long run as well. Personality tests when well designed and administered can be effective measures of an individual personality. Both objective and projective tests can give usefull results when administered properly to th eparticipants. They can also give a clear understanding of a persons character traits. However, the mental state of the participants is the most inmportant factor that i or other psychologists would consider when determining the validity and reliability of the tests. References Anastasi, A., & Urbina, S., (1997). Nature and use of Psychological tests. Psychological Testing (7th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. p2 Eysneck, M., (2004). Personality. Psychology: An international perspective. UK. Psychological Press. Pp45-481 Kaplan, R.M. & Saccuzzo, D.P. (2005). Projective personality tests. In Psychological testing: Principles, applications, and issues (6th ed., pp.390-420). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson Learning Farmer, R.F. (2004). Issues in the assessment and conceptualization of personality disorders. Clinical Psychological Review, 20, 823-851 Cohen, R.J., & Swerdlik, M.E. (2005). Validity In Psychological testing and assessment (6th ed., 156-189) Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Passer, M., & Smith, R., (2005). The psychology of science and behavior, pub, McGraw Hill, p454  Read More