Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- PART ONE BASIC ISSUES
- PART TWO DIMENSIONS OF TESTING
- 4 Personality
- 5 Cognition
- 6 Attitudes, Values, and Interests
- 7 Psychopathology
- 8 Normal Positive Functioning
- PART THREE APPLICATIONS OF TESTING
- PART FOUR THE SETTINGS
- PART FIVE CHALLENGES TO TESTING
- Appendix: Table to Translate Difficulty Level of a Test Item into a z Score
- References
- Test Index
- Index of Acronyms
- Subject Index
- References
4 - Personality
from PART TWO - DIMENSIONS OF TESTING
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- PART ONE BASIC ISSUES
- PART TWO DIMENSIONS OF TESTING
- 4 Personality
- 5 Cognition
- 6 Attitudes, Values, and Interests
- 7 Psychopathology
- 8 Normal Positive Functioning
- PART THREE APPLICATIONS OF TESTING
- PART FOUR THE SETTINGS
- PART FIVE CHALLENGES TO TESTING
- Appendix: Table to Translate Difficulty Level of a Test Item into a z Score
- References
- Test Index
- Index of Acronyms
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
AIM This chapter focuses on the assessment of “normal” personality. The question of how many basic personality dimensions exist, and other basic issues are discussed. Nine instruments illustrative of personality assessment are considered; some are well known and commercially available, while others are not. Finally, the Big-Five model, currently a popular one in the field of personality assessment, is discussed.
INTRODUCTION
Personality
Personality occupies a central role both in the field of psychology and in psychological testing. Although the first tests developed were not of personality but of aptitude (by the Chinese) and of intelligence (by the French psychologist, Binet), the assessment of personality has been a major endeavor.
If this were a textbook on personality, we would probably begin with a definition of personality and, at the very least, an entire chapter would illustrate the diversity of definitions and the variety of viewpoints and arguments embedded in such definitions. Since this is not such a textbook, we defer such endeavors to the experts (e.g., Allport, 1937; 1961; Guilford, 1959b; Hall & Lindzey, 1970; McClelland, 1951; Mischel, 1981; Wiggins, 1973).
In general, when we talk about personality we are talking about a variety of characteristics whose unique organization define an individual, and to a certain degree, determine that person's interactions with himself/herself, with others, and with the environment. A number of authors consider attitudes, values, and interests under the rubric of personality; these are discussed in Chapter 6.
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- Psychological TestingAn Introduction, pp. 67 - 91Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006