PSY405 Notes Lecture 44

PERSONALITY APPRAISAL

Personality appraisal / assessment means:

👉 How psychologists collect, evaluate, and interpret information about a person’s personality. Personality isn’t a single thing you can “see” like height or weight. So psychologists collect data from multiple sources, compare them, and check how accurate they are. Think of it like investigating a person’s personality from different camera angles

PART 1: SOURCES OF PERSONALITY DATA

(Where does personality information come from?) There are four major sources:

1. Self-Report Data (S-Data) · 2. Observer-Report Data (O-Data) · 3. Test Data (T-Data) · 4. Life Outcome Data (L-Data)

Each has strengths and weaknesses. No source is perfect.

1️⃣ SELF-REPORT DATA (S-DATA)

What is it?

Self-report data means information a person gives about themselves. 📌 Definition (Academic): Self-report data are personality data obtained directly from the individual, typically through questionnaires, interviews, or diaries. You ask someone questions about themselves—and they answer.

How is S-Data collected?

1. Questionnaires

Can be:

Structured · Unstructured · 🔹 Unstructured (Open-ended Questions) · 📌 Meaning:

Questions with no fixed answers. The person can say anything.

📌 Examples:

“Tell me about yourself.” “Describe the kind of food you like.” “What are your biggest fears?”

Rich, detailed answers Shows how a person thinks and expresses themselves

📌 Problem:

Hard to score Two psychologists might interpret answers differently 👉 The psychologist must create rules to interpret responses.

🔹 Structured (Closed-ended Questions)

📌 Meaning:

Questions with fixed response options.

📌 Examples:

“I like fast food.” → Yes / No / Undecided “I am an introvert.” → Agree / Disagree “I believe in equal rights for women.” → True / False

Easy to score Standardized (same for everyone)

📌 Problem:

People may lie People may misunderstand themselves

What kind of things do people report?

Feelings Emotions Desires Beliefs Fears & phobias Fantasies Relationships Long-term goals Self-concept (how they see themselves) Self-esteem (how valuable they think they are)

📌 Definitions:

Self-concept: Your mental image of who you are Self-esteem: How much you like or value yourself