What are personality assessments?
In psychology, when we consider personality assessments in a broader term, they can serve a variety of purposes such as the diagnosis of a mental illness, identifying interpersonal styles, prediction of behaviour and many more, depending on the type of client group the clinician is working with (Smith & Archer, 2014). This article will specifically refer to personality assessments as the administration, scoring and interpretation of scales which measure personality features and attributes (APA, 2011). Importantly, psychologists use assessment batteries that have been rigorously researched and found to be robust in their psychometric properties. As a result, in the clinical realms, psychologists use very different assessment tools compared to what the general public may be familiar with. Personality assessment is a complex task, requiring clinical knowledge, experience and skill from the clinician to administer, interpret and use the results appropriately (Smith & Archer, 2014).
What are the purposes of personality assessments?
1. To describe abnormal behaviour and assist with diagnosis
From conception, personality tests were developed to assist with diagnosis. Its benefits include providing a more standardised administration and interpretation compared to clinical interviewing only (Smith & Archer, 2014).
2. To describe and predict everyday behaviour
Personality assessments are not only for mental illnesses and inappropriate behaviours, but also to better understand one’s strengths, attributes and usual coping mechanisms under stress (Smith & Archer, 2014).
3. To inform psychological treatment
Information gleaned from a personality assessment is useful when planning treatment in psychotherapy. In other words, the personality attributes of a therapy client can significantly shape the treatment program that is developed for the client (Smith & Archer, 2014).
4. To monitor treatment
There are various tests developed to measure change during psychotherapy treatment. These tests are to compliment the work of the clinician, used at the beginning of therapy and periodically thereafter.
5. To use personality assessment as treatment
Contrary to the typical data collection approach of personality assessments, there is a humanistic approach called Therapeutic Assessment model (TA) (Finn & Hale, 2013). The TA utilises the actual assessment and the feedback of the results as a therapeutic and collaborative therapy approach. When using the TA model, the client becomes an active collaborator to reach a better understanding of their personality attributes, interpersonal dynamics, and current challenges (Smith & Archer, 2014).
What types of personality assessments are there?
· Self-report (“Objective”)
Self-report personality assessments simply ask a series of questions. The format of the questions and the allowed responses can vary greatly depending on what is being measured. They are usually delivered either as questionnaires or as structured interviews, some only measuring one issue I.e. self-esteem, while other tests measure multiple aspects of personality I.e. depression, anxiety, personality attributes, drug abuse, thought disorder etc. (Smith & Archer, 2014).
· Performance-based (“Projective”) (the TAT, the RISB, C-TCB)
These tests are commonly allowing great flexibility of response format. Within reason, the examinees can determine the extent and content of their answers. It is argued that as a result of this unstructured approach, important characteristics and attributes will emerge. It is important to note, that despite the flexibility provided to the examinee, many of these projective tests still bind the clinician to standardised administration, interpretation and scoring/coding procedures (Smith & Archer, 2014).
Some common personality tests:
· Self-report personality assessments include:
o Minesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
o Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)
o [Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) not for clinical use]
· Performance-based personality tests include:
o Rorschach Inkblot Test
o Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)
o Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank (RISB)
Comparisons of assessments:
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was first published in 1944 (Stein & Swan, 2019). Since then, it attracts about two million people per year to complete it, yet it is rarely used by psychologists for clinical purposes (Stein & Swan, 2019). The basic concept of the MBTI is adapted from Carl Jung, which is seen both as a strength and a point of criticism for MBTI. However, it is argued that Jungian theory is based on ideas and anecdotal observations rather than grounded in scientific data (Stein & Swan, 2019). Therefore, it is difficult for modern researchers to use such theories as the ‘scientific’ basis of their work. The MBTI is based on 16 suggested personality types, which are made up of 8 mutually exclusive opposites (Stein & Swan, 2019). These are: extroversion – introversion, intuition – sensing, thinking – feeling, judgement – perception. Critics of the MBTI argue that some of the 8 dichotomies are not true opposites nor are they mutually exclusive (Stein & Swan, 2019). Overall, despite its ever-strengthening popularity, in scientific spheres it is seen as pseudoscience and does not pass the scrutiny of scientific evaluation (Stein & Swan, 2019).
On the other hand, the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is a commonly used test in both inpatient and outpatient settings, such as in the hiring process for certain occupations, forensic settings, personal injury claims and medical decision making (Morey, 2003). The PAI is a useful tool for clinical screening, diagnosis, normal personality traits, suicidality, violence and treatment planning (Morey, 2003). The results can be compared against four different reference groups or norms, these are:
· University students
· Older adults
· African Americans and
· Clinical subjects (Morey, 2003).
The PAI is a 344-item questionnaire with 22 non-overlapping scales, (e.g. aggressive attitude, affective instability, self-harm etc.) (Morey, 2003). It aims to pick up manifestations of a wide variety of clinical syndromes (e.g. depression, anxiety, mania, paranoia and many more) in the over 18 population and is compatible with contemporary theory and practice (Morey, 2003).
If you are considering having a personality assessment done, but you are unsure or perhaps have some questions, please do not hesitate to book an appointment and seek further clinical advice.
Co-Author: Sharyn Jones, B Psych (Hons).
Sharyn Jones is a Brisbane psychologist with 10 years of experience working with adults, adolescents, children and their parents. Using a combination of cognitive behavioural and solution focused therapies, she aims to facilitate positive changes in client’s lives so that they can achieve and obtain their desired goals.
To make an appointment with Sharyn try Online Booking. Alternatively, you can call Vision Psychology Brisbane on (07) 3088 5422 or M1 Psychology Loganholme on (07) 3067 9129.
Co-Author: Katalin Mezei, BA (Hons) Psych & Crim, G. Dip Psych, MSc Health Psych
Katalin Mezei is a Provisional Psychologist now based in Brisbane, having completed my undergraduate and Master’s training in the United Kingdom. My aim is to help people identify my clients’ core values and help them live according to them.
To make an appointment with Katalin please call Vision Psychology Brisbane on (07) 3088 5422 or M1 Psychology Loganholme on (07) 3067 9129
References
Archer, R.P. and Smith, S.R. (2014). Introducing Personality Assessments. In Archer, R.P. and Smith, S.R. (Eds). Personality Assessment (pp. 1-36). Routledge. American Psychological Association https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/personality
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Brown, G. (1996). Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI-II) [Database record]. APA PsycTests.
Finn, S.E. & Hale, M. (2013). Therapeutic assessment: Using psychological testing as brief therapy. In K. F. Geisinger, B. A. Bracken, J. F. Carlson, J.-I. C. Hansen, N. R. Kuncel, S. P. Reise, & M. C. Rodriguez (Eds.), APA handbook of testing and assessment in psychology, Vol. 2. Testing and assessment in clinical and counseling psychology (pp. 453–465). American Psychological Association.
Lamber, M.J., Morton, J.J., Hatfield, D.R., Harmon, C., Hamilton, S., Shimokawa, K., et al. (2004). Administration and scoring manual for the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ 45.2) (3rd ed.) Wilmington, DE: American Professional Credentialling Services LLC.
Stein, R. & Swan, A.B. (2019). Evaluating the validity of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: A teaching tool and window into intuitive psychology. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 13:12434. Wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/spc3