PERSONALITY TESTS (METHODS TO ASSESS PERSONALITY)

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PERSONALITY

The term Personality is derived from a Latin word Persona which means “Mask”. Generally we think mask is used to conceal one’s identity but the theatrical mask was originally used to either represent or project a specific personality trait of a character. The study of personality can be understood as the study of masks that people wear.

Personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of psycho-physical systems that determine his unique adjustment to his environment.
ALLPORT

By dynamic organization GORDON ALLPORT meant flexibility , by psycho physical system he meant working of brain and body in a coordinated manner and unique adjustment he meant the behavior of an individual.

Some Scholars take Personality as the aggregate of all physical, mental , intellectual and spiritual powers along with traits of a person. So, We can say Personality is a sum of different powers and traits.

DEFINITIONS

A person is the sum of innate and acquired tendencies.
VALENTINE

Personality is the whole quality of the individual.
WOODWORTH

We can define personality as an aggregated sample of personality traits.
GUILFORD

Everything we do is personality.
WATSON

PROJECTIVE METHODS TO ASSESS PERSONALITY

THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST (T.A.T.)

It was given by CHRISTINA D. MORGAN AND HENRY A. MURRAY , 1935
It is popularly known as Picture Interpretation Technique.
It involves describing ambiguous scenes showing characters.
The Complete set includes 31 Cards.
Usually 20 Cards are recommended to be used at a time from which 10 cards showing men, 10 showing women , 10 showing both and 1 Blank.
Generally cards are selected on the basis of the need and situation of the client.
Therapist use these cards to learn more about his client, to help him express his feelings and to assess his psychological conditions.
TAT is also used in Job Screening and to evaluate the crime suspect.
This method is criticized for not being standardized as it lacks rules for administration and formal scoring system.
This method is less valid and reliable as it is completely dependent on the person’s interpretation which varies greatly which makes it difficult to compare.

CHILDREN APPERCEPTION TEST (C.A.T)

It was given by LEOPOLD BELLAK AND SONYA SOREL BELLAK in1949.
In this standardized stimuli are present in the form of pictures of animals (CAT A) or humans (CAT H) in common social situations.
It is generally used to assess personality, maturity and psychological health of children aging 3 to 10 years.
Generally 10 Cards showing pictures of animals are used and the child has to write a story.
Its administration requires 20- 45 minutes which can used for an individual as well as group.

INK BLOT TEST ( I.B.T)

It was given by HERMAN RORCHACH in 1921.
10 Cards are used from which 5 with black and white ink blots, 2 with black, white and red ink blots and 3 with different colors inkblots.
The person has to identify the structures formed by the inkblots. the structures identified tells about the inner thoughts of a person and helps in identification of his personality.
The link given below will help you to get an idea about the different ink blots and its general interpretation https://www.rorschach.org/

SENTENCE COMPLETION TEST

This method was invented by Ebbinghaus in 1879 to test the mental ability of school children in Germany. By using this method he studied the development of reasoning ability and intellectual ability in children.
Carl Jung identified its use for personality assessment.
The beginning of using the formal sentence completion method was in 1928 with ARTHUR PAYNE AND ALEXANDER TENDLER used this method to study emotional reactions. All his sentences began with I and revealed something about annoyances, fears, aversions, interests and attachments of an individual.
In Sentence completion test respondents are provided with beginnings of sentences, then he has to complete the sentences in ways that are meaningful to them. The responses provide indications of mental state, attitudes, beliefs so it promotes the respondents to disclose their hidden feelings.
It is appropriate for children between 14 to 19 years of age where one has to complete the sentence according to his thinking FOR EXAMPLE:- I feel happy when ………………………

WORD ASSOCIATION TEST ( WAT)

GALTON first constructed WAT in 1870 but JUNG first used it as a personality test tool in 1904.
A list of 100 words was created by him to be used in the test.
WORD ASSOCIATION TEST is a mental function in which the subject or individual is required to respond to each of a series of words with the first word that comes to mind or with a word of a specified class of words.
It is used to test subconscious behavior of an individual so also used in SSB for selecting suitable Future Officers.

PICTURE FRUSTRATION TEST (P.F.T)

It was given by ROSENZWEIG in 1949 to measure frustration level of an individual or subject.
It generally consists of 24 cartoon pictures, each portraying two persons in a frustrating situation. 12 cards showing females and 12 showing males.
Each picture contains two “speech balloons,” a filled one for the “frustrator” and a blank one for the frustrated person. The subject is asked to fill in the blank balloon with his or her response to that particular situation.
Scoring of the responses is done in relation to a number of psychological defense mechanisms

PSYCHO DRAMATIC TEST (PDT)

It was given by J.L. MORENO in 1949.
Psychodrama is an experiential form of therapy that helps to explore issues through acting. It incorporates role playing and group dynamics to help that person gain greater perspective on emotional concerns, conflicts and other areas of difficulty in a safe and trustworthy environment.
It leads to an increased sense of competence and self efficacy. It also contribute to a better understanding and helps in resolution of trauma.
It is an individualized technique as it is adaptable to the individual’s needs and situation.
Generally used to help individuals and utilized in a variety of settings including business, teaching, management and training.

DRAW A PERSON TEST (DPT)

It was developed by Dr. FLORENCE GOODENOUGH in 1926.
It is widely used to measure Intellectual maturation in children, to elicit their personality type and unconscious thoughts.
Administration involves the administrator requesting children to complete three different drawings on separate pieces of paper and are asked to draw a man, a woman, and themselves.
Freedom is given to the child to make the drawing in his own way.
There is no right or wrong type of drawing but a child has to make a full drawing of a person i.e. head to feet and not just the face.
There is no time limit but generally children take 10-20 minutes to complete all the three drawings.
The purpose is to assist professionals in identifying children’s cognitive developmental levels with little or no influence of other factors such as language barriers or special needs.

CLOUD PICTURE TEST

It was introduced by WILLIAM STERN in 1937.
It consists of three pictures that resembles clouds rather than Ink Blots. Picture A offers most distinct forms and shades, Picture B has no similarity and regularity and Picture C is the vaguest.
The subject is shown pictures of a cloud and asked about its resemblance, the subject tells about cloud’s resemblance.

There are some other methods to measure or assess personality like- Subjective Methods ( Self Introspection, Case Study, Questionnaire, Personality Inventories, Bell’s Adjustment Inventory and Interview) Objective Methods ( Observation, Sociometry, Rating Scale, Situational Test) which are used to assess personality of an Individual or Group.

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