(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Measurement of Personality

            Title: Describe and evaluate any one approach to the measurement of personality.
             Historically, perhaps one of the most commonly held images of psychology is within the analyst's office, where the client lies upon a couch and explores their problems. This may involve the use of the Rorschach technique where the client looks at cards containing ink bots and tell the analysts what they contain. This technique is categorised as "projective", meaning that the client puts their own interpretation on what the cards show. This essay will attempt to describe and then evaluate this approach to personality measurement. This will be achieved by explaining the procedure and rationale behind the Rorschach Ink blot test and will give a detailed description of the cards. The method will then be evaluated using psychological research including psychometric theory and a case study .
             In order to answer the question the first task is to find a valid definition of "personality". Generally, when this term is used by laypersons, what is being discussed is the nature or temperament of the person. This may include behaviour patterns, which if understood, allows us to make predictions about the individual's responses. Some definitions of personality allow people to be classified into certain types for example introverts or extroverts (Eysenck, 1965). The term personality may also be used to infer "normality" and "abnormality". .
             To find an absolute definition of personality is not easy and already one assumption is being made that is that there is a stable entity to measure. This point in and of itself would incur serious debate between psychologists. It must be concluded that the eventual definition of personality that is accepted (and there will be many to choose from) will depend upon the theoretical beliefs system of the psychologist. How they will approach the issue of personality definition will affect any further work that is undertaken.


Essays Related to Measurement of Personality

1. Effects Of Dietary Provisions On Depressive Mood

... may prevent depressive mood. Each study, through random selection, drew from a population of social-science students at the Utrecht University. The potential subjects filled in the Inadequacy Scale of the Dutch Personality Inventory measuring personal details, e.g. gender, age, and psychological history. This scale is also a measurement for neuroticism. "Neuroticism is closely related to negative affectivity, the disposition to see ... States (POMS) and mental stress tasks. Each subject had " electrodes for skin conductance and the finger sensor for pulse-rate measurement attached" (Mark...

  • Word Count: 1793
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Personality

... offer contradicting views, they all posses an element of truth and provide interesting insights into personality and its consistency over time. Because personality is such a vast topic, trait theorists break it down into quantifiable categories and characteristics for measurement. Trait theorists argue that words in the English language provide important information about personality, because any aspect of individual difference would be represented by some relevant words ... (Eysenck, 1994). Theorist Gordon Allport began with nearly 18,000 words to cover every aspect of personality. The...

  • Word Count: 1796
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Personality and Bereavement

... that a link to genetics can be found in both temperament and personality traits (Caspi, Roberts & Shiner, 2005). The other influence on traits and temperament can be described as experience, both positive and negative. Due to the impact of experience, the stability of personality is not constant over the lifetime. Personality can be seen as individual differences in a persons actions or reactions ... to a situation. Grief represents one experience impacting personality at various life stages. Outside of an emotional response, grief can also manifest as physical symptoms. The ... indivi...

  • Word Count: 2465
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Traits Approach To Personality Development

... situations. Illustrative states are anxiety, depression, fatigue, arousal, and curiosity. Whereas traits describe stable and general action patterns, he emphasizes that the exact disposition of an individual at a given moment requires measurement of both traits and states. The second concept is roles which expresses the fact that the same stimulus is perceived in a different way by an individual according ... trait level, which have a more narro! w definition but tend to correlate with each other. He demonstrated that multivariate factor-analytic research is able to determine the basic st...

  • Word Count: 2440
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Theories of personality critique

... factors such as the environment and the people around them, and it is seen that the dynamics of these interactions are the mould in which a person is formed and the personality traits they display. In divergence from the nomothetic approach of Eysenck, the measurement or quantifiable interpretation of personality is inappropriate in that one person's response cannot be comparable with another. It is further suggested by ... authorities in the field that personality assessment is not a valid way of understanding the psyche or the dynamics of personality of an individual. The manner in wh...

  • Word Count: 1295
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Personality - Nature or Nurture.

... and after 5 or 6, people start tailoring their actions. For this reason attention will be given to the development of the personality of the child. Some of the areas where personality is measured are sensitivity, social boldness, apprehension and dominance. But there are difficulties, most notably that of research and measurement. The most effective way is, arguably, to evaluate twins. However, separated twins are normally placed in families ... of a similar background, and the value of the data offered is limited. Placing one sibling in a more disadvantaged home has the ... ...

  • Word Count: 1799
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography

7. Influences Of Archaic Greek Statuary

... foot to shape parts the human body. This scheme lacks precision though be-cause no national or even city standards of measurement exist during the Archaic period. Due to this inconsistency, many forms of measurement for the foot were used. A "long foot" measured 32.65 cm. and a "short foot" was 29.4 cm. (Holloway, 77). In addition, since these statues were made all throughout the ... Greek lands, from the mainland to Asia Minor to the many islands in the Mediterranean like Samos, Naxos, and Paros, the proportions of each statue are expected to ... mouth that curves into a slight Archai...

  • Word Count: 2313
  • Approx Pages: 9
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

8. The Importance of Idiographic and Nomothetic Studies

... the belief that every person is unique, and in order to understand the personality of a person, it is important to understand the life trajectory of the individual" (Tyson). In this method, the measurement of traits is considered counterproductive because the response of one person may not be proportionate to another's (Idiographic Approach to Personality). People who take an idiographic approach in psychology are generally referred to ... idiographic approach conclude that a person is not simply a combination of various traits, but is a complex and integrated organism. These psychologi...

  • Word Count: 1395
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Methods of Defining Psychology

... to deal with adolescents, to teach, to match persons with jobs, and to get people out of their troubles. Accordingly, several branches exist of psychology: developmental psychology, animal psychology, educational psychology, psychotherapy, industrial psychology, psychology of personality, social psychology, are but some of them. Physiological psychology is a field akin to neurophysiology that studies the relation between behaviour and ... we think. Perception, memory, speech, and thinking are the main subjects of this branch. The study of decision making is a topic that has a great prac...

  • Word Count: 3678
  • Approx Pages: 15
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question