Personality Assessment1kc

Personality Assessment: 

Personality Assessment Kevin Colwell, Ph.D.

Slide2: 

Kevin Colwell, Ph.D. Dept. Of Psychology and Counseling 1500 N. Patterson St, Valdosta Psychology and Counseling Building Office #4 E-mail: kcolwell@valdosta.edu

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: 

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK Greene, Roger L. The MMPI-2: An interpretive manual See syllabus for additional required readings

Class format: 

Class format Lecture and discussion In class demonstrations Group practice or 'assessment labs'

Students will demonstrate knowledge of:: 

Students will demonstrate knowledge of: appropriate assessment practices and issues related to personality assessment various statistical concepts related to personality assessment (examples, reliability, validity, T scores, etc..) administration, scoring and interpretation procedures for the MMPI-2 and PAI basic administrative and interpretation strategies for the Rorschach, TAT and projective drawing tasks uses and limitations of projective tests in personality assessment major strengths and weaknesses of tests taught in class the integration of information from several sources (e.g., testing, interviews, etc..) in the writing of assessment reports and intervention notes and plans

Slide6: 

GRADES: 

GRADES 450 - 500 A 400 - 449 B 350 - 399 C 300 - 349 D 348 and below F

Issues of reliability, validity and ethics in personality assessment: 

Issues of reliability, validity and ethics in personality assessment Ch. 1,2

Role of the Clinician: 

Role of the Clinician Psychometrist vs. clinician 91% of practicing psychologists engage in assessment Approx. 10-25% of time Widening role of psychologists Questionable reliability and validity of many tests Managed care

10 most frequently used tests: 

10 most frequently used tests Wechsler intelligence scales MMPI Rorschach Bender TAT Projective drawings Wechsler Memory Scale Beck Depression Inventory MCMI California Psychological Inventory

Trends: 

Trends Decreased usage of projectives Poor validity and reliability Complex scoring Reliance on psychoanalytical theory Time and cost efficiency Use of behavior rating scales for children

Trends (cont.): 

Trends (cont.) Structured interview techniques (1980s-1990s) Diagnostic Interview Schedule Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Development of neuropsychological assessment Formalized behavioral assessment Behavioral checklists, functional behavioral analysis, physiological responses, self-report measures Computerized assessment More emphasis on treatment planning

Evaluating Psychological Tests: 

Evaluating Psychological Tests Theoretical orientation Practical considerations Standardization Reliability Validity

Standardization: 

Standardization Look at similarity between the standardization group and the individual being tested Are there different norms for different groups? Does test manual address standardization adequately? Is stratified random sampling done? What is size of the sample? Are administration procedures standardized?

Reliability: 

Reliability The extent to which a test yields a consistent, repeatable measure of performance Internal reliability or split-half reliability - correlate scores from two halves of the test to look for internal consistency. Unstable characteristics test-retest reliability - compare subject’s score on two different administrations of the test (or alternate forms). Trait or highly stable attributes Interrater/interscorer reliability – compare scores across examiners

Reliability Coefficient: 

Reliability Coefficient Degree of consistency Range from 1.00 to .00 coefficient of stability for test-retest Coefficient of equivalence for alternate forms Spearman-Brown for split-half reliability Pearson product moment correlation to calculate We prefer reliability above .80 for clinical and psycho-educational tasks and above .90 for decision making tasks

Factors that influence reliability: 

Factors that influence reliability Test length Homogeneity of items Test-retest interval Variability of scores Guessing Variation within test situation Sample size Examinee characteristics Examiner characteristics

Standard error of measurement (SEM) and Confidence Intervals: 

Standard error of measurement (SEM) and Confidence Intervals Estimate of amount of error associated with obtained score Based on test’s reliability – higher the reliability, more narrow the range of error Confidence interval – the band of error around the obtained SEM is a standard deviation score Usually – 95% for psychological testing 'the chance that Johnny’s true score is within the 108 to 116 range is approximately 95 out of 100'

Validity: 

Validity How well does a test measure what it was designed to measure? Accuracy and usefulness of a test Content validity – Does it measure a broad range of the content that is to be measured? Criterion-related Validity Concurrent validity – relation of test’s scores to a criterion that is presently available Predictive validity – to an individual’s performance at a later point in time Construct validity – Does the test measure a trait or psychological construct? Convergent – different measures, same domain Discriminant – tests that measure different characteristics should not correlate

Construct Validity ala Paul Meehl: 

Construct Validity ala Paul Meehl Validation procedures Group differences Factor analysis Internal consistency Tests of stability Proportion of test score variance

Test Utility: 

Test Utility Predictive Utility – extent to which a test accurately classifies individuals or how well it relates to later performance

Validity in Clinical Practice: 

Validity in Clinical Practice Is the test valid in specific situations with specific clients? Incremental validity Ability of test to produce information above what is already known Example – addition of MMPI to background data has consistently led to increases in validity

Clinical Judgement: 

Clinical Judgement Descriptions based on: Test data Case history Medical records Personal journals Verbal and nonverbal behavior

Clinical Judgement (cont.): 

Clinical Judgement (cont.) Data gathering and synthesis Optimal level of rapport Involves the clinical interview Accuracy of clinical judgement Examine the base rate Primacy effect Hindsight bias

Clinical vs. Actuarial Prediction: 

Clinical vs. Actuarial Prediction Meehl (1954,1965) Statistical decisions outperform clinical judgement Anticipation over prediction

Tasks in Clinical Assessment: 

Tasks in Clinical Assessment Evaluate the referral question Study the problem Data collection Interpreting the data Phases: Collect data Generate hypotheses and test them Accept/reject hypotheses Make general statements based on hyptheses Describe and discuss general factors

Contextual Issues: 

Contextual Issues Types of referral settings Psychiatric setting General medical setting Legal context Educational context Psychological clinic

Sources of Ethics and Assessment: 

Sources of Ethics and Assessment Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests (AERA) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA) Guidelines for Computer-Based Test Interpretations (APA)

Ethical Issues: 

Ethical Issues Professional relationship Invasion of privacy Inviolacy Labeling and restriction of freedom Competency Interpretation and use of test results Communicating test results Maintenance of test security and assessment information

Ethical Issues specific to this class: 

Ethical Issues specific to this class Dual relationships and obtaining volunteers Screening process to insure appropriateness of volunteer Practicing with classmates No-feedback policy Protecting confidentiality of volunteers Consent procedure Verbal assent for children

Test Bias with Minority Groups: 

Test Bias with Minority Groups Presence of systematic error in measurement of certain factors – academic potential, intelligence, psychopathology- among certain individuals or groups Believed that psychological tests bias in favor of European-American, middle class society

Test Bias and Personality Assessment: 

Test Bias and Personality Assessment MMPI – 2 AA score higher on F(Infrequency/psychopathology), 8 (Schizophrenia), 9 (Hypomania) – but not consistent More a function of moderator variables SES, intelligence, education, greater stressors experienced by minorities

Test Selection: 

Test Selection Consider the referral question E.g. personality disorders MCMI over the MMPI2 Table 2.1: Instruments by domain Mental Measurements Yearbook Tests in Print Faking Short Forms Tests to generate a treatment plan Faking Use of short forms

Computer-Assisted Assessment: 

Computer-Assisted Assessment Advantages: Save time Potentially improve test-re-test reliability Reduce tester bias Improve efficiency Limitations Untested reliability and validity shorter better than longer 60% made accurate predictions Shouldn’t be used to replace clinical judgement Need to meet test qualifications Make sure narrative is linked to research and placed in context