Introduction
Projective tests have captivated the attention of people around the world as they are commonly depicted as fascinating methods of assessing the mystery behind an individual’s personality. Projective tests are based on the idea that “when presented with a vague, unstructured, or ambiguous stimulus or task” an individual “will reflect aspects of the personality [sic] that might be otherwise unavailable to consciousness or for assessment” (Halperin & McKay, 1998). These tests started garnering attention in the early 1900’s when there was an increased emphasis placed on the understanding of personality and how behavior occurs when the patient is unaware (Butcher, 2010). The majority of projective tests, of which there are many, can be grouped into one of the following categories: drawings, inkblot techniques, and verbal/storytelling techniques (Halperin & McKay, 1998). Projective drawings are one of the more frequently used assessment devices, but there is still a considerable amount of controversy surrounding its validity. This paper will explore the use of projective tests in evaluating personalities and its overall effectiveness as a psychological test.
Analysis
House-Tree-Person Test
One of the most commonly used projective tests with children is the House-Tree-Person test in which a child is instructed to draw a house, a tree and a whole person on a blank piece of paper. The drawings are then evaluated by psychologists in order to determine the personality of the child based on its interpretation of the task.
When the House-Tree-Person (HTP) test is used, there is no set script to instruct the child on what to draw and if different key words are used by the experimenter, it can create confusion in the child and add...
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The professional text that someone in my field would use is the ASQ-3. The ASQ-3 Ages & Stages Questionnaires is designed to screen children’s developmental performance that must be completed by the parents. It is a series of 21 questions with questions ranging in the areas from communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social skills specifically for 36 month to 38 month old toddlers. For the communication section, an example of a question asks is “When you ask your child to point to her ears, feet, hair, eyes, and nose, does she correctly point to at least seven body parts?”. In the gross motor section, a question ask “Does your child jump with both feet leaving the floor at the same time?”. A fine motor question that was asked was, “When drawing, does your child hold a pencil between her thumb and fingers like an adult does?”. The parent filling the questionnaire would bubble either yes, sometimes or not yet. There are 6 questions in each are
This essay will explore one of the possible combinations of theories on personality and explain how it can be applied in practical therapy.
of decisions can and cannot be made on the basis of test data, and how should those decisions be made? What credentials, if any, are necessary to administer and interpret psychological tests? What rights do examinees undergoing psychological evaluation have? Public scrutiny of psychological testing reached its zenith in 1965 with a series of probing and unprecedented congressional hearings (see Amrine, 1965). Against a backdrop of mounting public concern about—as well as legal challenges to—psychological testing, many psychologists in the 1960s began to look anew at the testing enterprise. Beyond being a mere instrument of measurement, a psychological test was conceptualized by many as a tool of a highly trained examiner. The value of a particular
I believe our personalities make up who we are and how others perceive us at times. Personalities are our own unique qualities, that we possess as individuals. In writing this short paper, I have found that psychologists use assessments to define an individual’s personality to determine their qualities and what makes them different from other individuals. Through the Big Five Personality test, I found it difficult to define and understand an individual personality
In today’s culture psychologist, sociologist, and scientist investigate several types of personalities. Personality is the pattern of behavior, though process, emotions, and reactions to the people that surround us on daily basis. Several test have been developed for testing personalities. Some test can be simple and short while others lengthy and complicated. Scholars demonstrated knowledge about personalities looking back many thousands of years. The Greeks published a well documented history in profiling people according to personality traits. Two interesting character personalities are conformist type personality and manipulative type personality.
observer. B.A. Mahler (Ed.), Progress in experimental personality research (Vol. 8). New York: Academic Press.
Crying is important in infant development, as it’s infants’ way of communicating with the world surrounding them. The types of crying an infant does is thus important to understand, to know what the infant needs as he/she cannot explain themselves with the spoken language. Furthermore, crying is important to know whether or not the infants lungs have filled with air, since they couldn’t be crying without that, but also crying infants render signs that, for an example tells whether the newborn baby’s central nervous system works and functions. There are three types of cries: a basic cry, anger cry, and an in pain cry. The basic cry is what some experts
A person’s personality has been the subject of psychological scrutiny for many years. Psychologists have drawn up several theories in an attempt to accurately predict and determine one’s personality. Foremost amongst these, is the “Big Five Trait Theory” which stemmed from Raymond B. Cattell’s theory.
The study of personality traits is beneficial in identifying the many variables that exist from human to human; the combinations of these variables provide us with a true level of individuality and uniqueness. In the field of psychology, trait theory is considered to be a key approach to the study of human personality (Crowne, 2007; Burton, Westen & Kowalski, 2009). This paper aims to identify a number of significant contributors who have played crucial roles in both the development and application of trait theory. This paper then moves focus to these theorists, outlining their theory and analysing both the strengths and weaknesses of those theories. An illustration of the methods used in trait measurement is given and includes the arguments for and against such procedures.
For psychologists, one of the more popular theories espoused is the trait approach to personality, or “the idea that people have consistent personality characteristics that can be measured and studied” (Kalat, 2002, 512). However there are several problems that arise. First, there are significant cross-cultural differences, so one set of personality traits for one culture may differ considerably for another. The next problem would concern the creation of a test that could accurately measure these traits. While psychologists have for the most part addressed these issues, I will focus on the latter of the two. There has been a number of multiple personality tests put to use such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), the Rorschach Inkblots and others. In our class we were instructed to take the 16 PF personality test in which we would judge for ourselves how accurate the test was based on our own personal experiences. In judging the usefulness of this test we took into consideration its reliability and validity. For a test to be reliable it must be able to accurately reflect consistent results for various people that can be agreed upon by researchers and therapists alike. Reliability in turn relates to validity. To be valid a test must be dependable producing data that can be used to detect a mental illness or otherwise certain personality dimensions within psychologically healthy individuals. Furthermore personality tests must be standardized, having data capable of being “interpreted in a prescribed fashion” (Kalat, 2002, 528). These standards are based on a comparison of a large number of people who have taken the test, one group with a particular disorder and another group who consist of the normal range. These allow researchers to identify people who score within a certain range to be more typical of a particular disorder. While the 16 PF personality test meets these criteria, whether or not the test is accurate remains to be explored. Within the next couple of pages I will describe the results of the test and discuss whether or not the data is an accurate reflection of my own personality.
In today’s highly competitive job market it is extremely challenging and important for businesses to fill a vacancy with the right candidate (Cann, 2013). Due to high demand of potential candidates, developing a portfolio of employability skills which include psychometric testing is considered important in every workplace (Mills et al., 2011). Thus, I recently took three practice psychometric tests on verbal, numerical and inductive/logical reasoning. This essay is a reflection of my personal experience of psychometric testing. First, I will talk about what the literature comments on in relation to the strengths and weaknesses of psychometric testing. Then, I will assess whether literature reflects
Personality tests tell a person a lot about why a person is who they have become. I believe that these test if taken truthfully can identify deficiencies that individuals can work on to benefit not only themselves but others in the organizations that they work in. Some models state that it is in human nature and chemicals that decided how a person acts but I believe it is based on life experiences and a personality can change as long as a person knows the deficiencies and works to change them.
The development of personality has long been an area of extreme interest to psychologists and psychoanalysts alike, and many different theories of personality have developed over the years. From Sigmund Freud to B.F. Skinner, everyone seems to have not only an opinion of what personality is and how it develops, but also an idea as to what is the best way to measure and report their findings. In order to test their theories, it was necessary to formulate methods of research that were effective, ethical and would provide a solid foundation for future personality research. Although both the clinical and experimental methods of personality research have lent themselves to our present day understanding of the human psyche and personality, each has done so in vastly different ways. Freud and his colleagues, who pioneered the clinical research method, chose to observe their clients in an up-close and personal fashion.
It may have its limitations because people do not have the same personality in every situation. For example, a teen or adolescent will talk and interact with their parents way differently than with their friends. With this in mind, a person will exhibit many different personalities throughout the day. Which one is the correct personality or corresponds with who the person truly is. Also, the test only provides answers to how the individual’s personality is at one particular time. Through the first eighteen years of life, a person will change drastically because interests, aspirations, and social situations change. Maybe future improvements of the test can incorporate predictions as to how traits and personalities will change overtime. Nevertheless, the Big Five personality test is the best test developed and is a great way of understanding what makes us
Taking any type of personality test can lead to a lot of thought and reflection on yourself,