Assessment&Personality

The ought self - (the morally desirable self, even if it’s not your ideal self)

dejection-related emotions (depression)

Agitation-related emotions (anxiety)

That positive emotions can further build human competencies & achievements

What occurs when your challenges are exactly in sync with your competencies

• 1. creates a standard we can't reach
• 2. ignores adaptive benefits of negative effect

Terror created by the awareness of death & desire to live. Suggests that people adhere to cultural worldviews and beliefs in order to suppress death and mortality-related thoughts.

Experiments which induce mortality salience

• - people prefer own group & reject outgroups
• - become more protective of cultural icons & leader
• - more aggressive if political beliefs attacked
• - give more to charity
• - increase interest in sex as love not physical

Subliminally perceiving something that is discrepant with yourself before it reaches consciousness

• 1. Distortion (allows experience into awareness, but in a form consistent with the self)
• 2. Denial (preserve the self from threat by denying it)

• A set of cards with personality characteristics that the patient sorts from most to least representative of them.
• Measures self-concept

0-1 years, mouth

2-3yrs, toilet training (retentive/expulsive)

4-5yrs, masturbation & sexual identity

6yrs-puberty, development continuing but not yet apparent

puberty+, sexual maturity

Phallic stage fixation - want to marry mother, kill father

Phallic stage fixation - want to love father, reject mother

People seem to be subliminally attracted to things they have seen before, even though they don’t remember they’ve seen them

• Induced fear in people through electric shocks
• told half the people to repress their anxiety.
• Those who repressed it were then much more likely to see other people as fearful

• Gave people a word puzzle which when solved primed them with an achievement type word. Then tested people where achievement is the issue,
• The primed people did better, even though the priming is sublimnal and they did not remember it

• Sensitive to the departure of their mother, but greeted her on return,
• comforted easily & able to return to play

• Little protest over separation from mother & when she returns,
• avoidance – turning, looking or moving away from her

• Difficulty separating from mother & reuniting with her when she returns – mixed please
• to be picked up & squirming to be put down

• More happy, friendly, trusting, longer lasting
• (Mental model of love: it's real & it stays)

• Less accepting of lovers' imperfections
• (Mental model of love: cynical, romantic love doesn't last)

• Obsessive, preoccupied, extreme emotions, sexual attraction & jealousy, love at first sight
• (Mental model of love: Falling in love easy, but doesn't last)

• 1. Secure + Secure
• 2. Avoidant men + Ambivalent women

That attachment styles can be predicted from the couples parting rituals

They depend on a high level of praise & fear rejection at work

They use work to avoid social interaction

• That women tend to be relatively less concerned with men’s earning capacity
• & men were relatively less concerned with housekeeping skills (evolutionary factors moderated by social factors)

MZ twins (DZ share 50%)

• It is defined as the difference in correlation between MZ and DZ twins.
• The difference between those two is the measure of how heritable aparticular trait is

• That some genes influence a person’s tendency to have low serotonergic activity
• & if you have these genes & exposed to seriously stressful life events
• -these two together tend to predict the likelihood that you become depressed

approx 40%

approx. 35%

approx. 5%

Temperament

Using EEG recordings, that activation in the left frontal regions were associated with approach-related emotions

That right-frontal activation was associated with withdrawal-related emotions

Depressed individuals

By prolonging the action of serotonin (& reduce the span of emotional feelings)

Woman at peak fertility/near ovulation (or taking modest doses of testosterone) choose more revealing clothing

That those receiving oxytocin had faster & more effective recognition of sexual & relationship words (facilitating the processing of positive social cues for bonding & reproduction)

An emotional release by talking about one's problems (steam engine metaphor)

• The id is unconscious
• the pleasure principle, representing unconscious urges & desires

• The ego is partly conscious
• Operates according to the reality principle & represents the self

• The superego is partly conscious
• It is the moral guardian & represents the ego ideal

The unconscious

Bolstering your self-esteem by affiliating yourself with a larger group or more powerful person

Justifying your behaviour with a false but plausible excuse

Behaving in a way that is opposite to your true feelings

Intelligence of children

The Army Alpha & Beta Tests

Both were used to support eugenics

For different age groups (WPPSI 3-7), (WISC 7-16), (WAIS 16+)

• 1. Behavioural observation
• 2. Interview
• 3. Self-report

Process by which individuals are observed in order to attain measures of target behaviours (eg, Mary Ainsworth & attachment style)

• Pro - reduces the biases that result from the intrusion of the researcher or measurement instrument
• Con - reduce the degree the researcher has control over the type of data collected

An ordered, one-dimensional scale from which respondents choose one option that best aligns with their view

• 1. Acquiescent responding
• 2. Reactivity
• 3. Accurate introspection

• The tendency to agree with the question (eg, responding with 6's & 7's for whole scale)
• Addressed by reverse scoring

• Reactivity is demand characteristics:
• - social desirability responding
• - self-promotion
• - experimenter demand

• 1. cover stories
• 2. filler items
• 3. anonymity assurances
• 4. nonreactive measures

The ability to actually answer the question (some non-conscious processes inaccessible to respondents)

Bcos nearly always, Observed score = True score + Error

• 1. Increase reliability
• 2. Increase Validity

• 1. random error
• 2. systematic error

• Error from unpredictable influences that vary from measurement to measurement (can go either way)
• eg, data entry error

• Biases that influence scores in a similar way across multiple measurements (goes in one direction, always up or always down)
• eg, depression measure also picking up anxiety

Reliability (consistency of measurement)

Validity

• 1. Careful item selection & scale design (clarity & structure)
• 2. Controlled test administration (standardised settings & instructions)
• 3. Use of appropriate scoring procedures (subjective vs. objective measures)

• 1. Temporal stability
• 2. Internal consistancy

• Temporal stability is whether the test will return similar results over time
• subtypes are:
• 1. test-retest
• 2. alternate forms

• Internal consistency is whether different parts or scoring of the test will return similar results
• subtypes are:
• 1. split-half
• 2. Cronbach's α
• 3. interscorer

• (form of temporal stability)
• Administer 1 form of a test ... wait ... administer another form of same test to same group

• 1. Cost
• 2. Carryover effects (eg, practice)
• 3. Fatigue

• (form of internal consistency)
• Administer test once to a group ... randomly take half of the items ... correlate them with the other half of items

• (form of internal consistency)
• It is mathematically equivalent to the average of all possible split-half estimates
• (the extent to which items 'hang together')

• (form of internal consistency)
• It is whether two scorers yield the same results
• (used with subjectively-scored measures)

0.9 and above

Between 0.8 and 0.9

Above 0.7

• 1. Increase the number of items
• 2. Discriminability analysis (exclude items that don't 'hang together')

The consistency of measurement & freedom from random error

• The accuracy of measurement & inferences made from measurement
• (ie, are the conclusions well-founded & free from systematic error)

• 1. Content (eg, does it cover all the aspects of a construct)
• 2. Criterion (relates to concrete criteria in the real world?)
• 3. Construct (degree to which it measures the correct construct)

• 1. Concurrent validity (eg, self-rated depression validated by clinical diagnosis)
• 2. Predictive validity (eg, entrance exam validated by university marks)

• 1. Convergent validity (correlates highly with other measures it should)
• 2. Discriminant validity (does not correlate highly with other measures it should not correlate with)

• 1. Bodily-Kinesthetic
• 2. Musical Rhythmic
• 3. Intrapersonal
• 4. Logical-Mathematic
• 5. Naturalistic
• 6. Interpersonal
• 7. Visual-Spatial
• 8. Verbal-Linguistic

Wechsler scored participants on a comparative rating to their age group, which is then converted into an IQ score.

can achieve IQ consistency (IQ stays consistent with normal ageing)

Learning disabilities are diagnosed by noting discrepancies between general ability measure & specific achievement measures

• 1. Some children don't meet the criteria (LD could affect both general & specific ability)
• 2. Non-universal application of rules
• 3. Largely test-based diagnosis

• 1. Intraindividual discrepancy (is there difficulty in more than one area)
• 2. Discrepancy intrinsic to individual (is the discrepancy related to CNS dysfunction or information processing problems?)
• 3. Related considerations (are other skills intact?)
• 4. Alternative explanations (Could discrepancy be due to other factors (cultural? economic?)
• 5. LD diagnosis

• 1. Perceiving emotions
• 2. Using emotions to enhance thinking
• 3. Understanding how emotions work
• 4. Managing emotional states

(assessed by MSCEIT)

A test bias where conclusions are appropriate for one subgroup but not for others (eg, computer testing for IQ in middle class vs. lower class)

• 1. Unequal access to information (assessing knowledge not IQ)
• 2. Unfamiliar question wording (language dependent)

Evidence against bias in content validity (after classifying a pool of standardised IQ items in terms of most to least cultural)

• 1. Calculate predictions using regression line
• If both groups fit the regression line equally well, not biased
• If scores for the 2 groups do not cluster around the regression line, biased

• 1. Inconsistency in factor analysis (after breaking data down to the basic variables)
• 2. Inconsistency in rank ordering of difficulty (eg, ask a thai what is the capital of thailand)
• 3. Inconsistency of convergent/discriminant validity (correlates with what it should, & doesn't with what it shouldn't)

• 1. Focus on variability
• 2. Increased focus on standardisation, reliability & validity
• 3. Test batteries regarded as better than individual tests (improved diagnostic accuracy, provides global & individual scores, pattern of scores)

• 1. Diagnosis (brain imaging not answer all questions)
• 2. Patient care & planning (able to self-care? help carers understand patients)
• 3. Treatment planning & evaluation (choosing treatment & evaluating benefits)
• 4. Research (understanding brain-behaviour relationships)
• 5. Forensic neuropsychology (evidence of brain damage & functional issues?)

• 1. Brain imaging does not identify residual strengths/weaknesses
• 2. General similarities in pattern of brain function but interindividual differences
• 3. Discrepancies between anatomic findings & cognitive functioning

To locate tumours & areas involved in brain-damage

To see which brain areas are active at a particular time

Retrograde/anterograde amnesia

Memory to do something in the future

• Ability to correctly diagnose as non-normal
• "true positive"

• Ability to correctly diagnose as normal
• "true negative"

• 1. Strategy formation & planning
• 2. Self-monitoring & self-control
• 3. Self-initiation of actions

• 1. Novelty critical for validity (cant give same test twice)
• 2. Data from one source can be problematic (try multiple, eg self/proxy report, clinical assessment, brain imaging)

That level of emphasis on independence during a culture's child-rearing practices is correlated to measures of n-Ach derived from that culture's folk tales

It is a drive to relate to people on a social basis. Persons with affiliation motivation perform work better when they are complimented for their favorable attitudes and co-operation

• 1. Attention
• 2. Positive stimulation
• 3. Social comparison
• 4. Emotional support

• 1. High in Intimacy motivation
• 2. High in Power motivation
• 3. High in Achievement motivation

It can wipe out actual differences in ability (competitive muscular leg endurance task)

• Self efficacy beliefs influence the goals chosen
• High self efficacy causes greater effort & persistence
• Tasks approached with better mood
• More able to deal with stress

Behaviour, personality & the environment are mutual causes of one another

• 1. cognitive strategies that distract
• 2. picturing the rewards as mental photos
• 3. imagining the marshmallows as non-food (eg, clouds)

Their delay of gratification scores linked to their cognitive & social competence in adolescence