PSY 331 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Rorschach Test, California Psychological Inventory, Takers
Personality Testing
Objectives:
1. Identify the most widely used personality tests.
2. Describe the use of personality tests.
I. Objective Personality Tests
A. Many of the most widely used tests in personality testing are based on simple pencil-and-
paper responses. Objective tests, known also as forced-choice tests, require a person
to select one of a small number of possible responses.
B. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is a widely used general
personality assessment. The items on this assessment reveal habits, fears, delusions,
sexual attitudes, and symptoms of psychological disorders.
Features of the MMPI include:
1. It was originally developed to help diagnose psychological disorders.
2. Scoring is based on patterns of responses.
3. Most psychologists feel that the scores should be supplemented and confirmed with
interviews and observations.
4. Some critics question the test’s validity.
C. Another personality test is the California Psychological Inventory or CPI.
Features of the CPI:
1. The CPI is similar to the MMPI, but does not have any of the questions that reveal
psychiatric illnesses.
2. It measures traits such as responsibility, self- control, and tolerance.
D. A third popular personality test in the Meyers-Briggs Test (MBTI).
Features of the MBTI:
1. The Meyers-Briggs Test (MBTI) is used to predict things like adjustment to stress,
leadership, and job success.
2. This test focuses on how a person takes in information, makes decisions, and approaches
day-to-day tasks.
3. The MBTI characterizes personality on four different scales:
• Extraversion vs. introversion
• Intuition vs. sensing
• Feeling vs. thinking
• Judging vs. perceiving
4. The creators of the MBTI believe that each person’s personality is a combination of these
characteristics.
II. Projective Personality Tests
A. Projective tests, unlike an objective tests, encourage test takers to respond freely, giving his
or her own interpretation of various ambiguous stimuli.
B. Examples of popular projective tests include the Rorschach inkblot test and the Thema6c
Apperception Test or TAT.
C. Features of the Rorschach Inkblot Test:
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Document Summary
Objectives: identify the most widely used personality tests, describe the use of personality tests, objective personality tests. Many of the most widely used tests in personality testing are based on simple pencil-and- paper responses. Objective tests, known also as forced-choice tests, require a person to select one of a small number of possible responses: the minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (mmpi) is a widely used general personality assessment. The items on this assessment reveal habits, fears, delusions, sexual attitudes, and symptoms of psychological disorders. It was originally developed to help diagnose psychological disorders. Judging vs. perceiving: the creators of the mbti believe that each person"s personality is a combination of these characteristics. Projective personality tests: projective tests, unlike an objective tests, encourage test takers to respond freely, giving his or her own interpretation of various ambiguous stimuli, examples of popular projective tests include the rorschach inkblot test and the thema6c.
