CCSS4O57

INTRODUCTION TO
PERSONALITY
Personality Research Methods
 Chapter Outlines

The Hypothesis-Testing Approach

The Case Study Method
Statistical Analysis of Data
Personality Assessment
Summary
 The Hypothesis-Testing Approach (1 of 3)

• Theory: General statement about the relationship between constructs

or events
- Differ in the range of events or phenomena they explain
• Characteristics of a good theory
- Parsimonious - Explains the phenomenon in simple terms
- Useful - Generates testable hypotheses
 The Hypothesis-Testing Approach (2 of 3)

• Hypothesis: Formal prediction about the relationship between two or

more variables that is logically derived from the theory
• A theory is unaccepted if empirical investigations consistently fail to
confirm predictions
 The Hypothesis-Testing Approach (3 of 3)
Theory: Loneliness is caused by lack of social skills.

Prediction: Lonely people don’t initiate as many

conversations as nonlonely people.

Prediction: Lonely people have less accurate perceptions

of how people see them than nonlonely people.

Prediction: Lonely people make more socially inappropriate

statements than nonlonely people.

Test: Have judges count the number of inappropriate

statements made by lonely and nonlonely people
in a conversation with a stranger.

Test: Ask roommates of lonely and nonlonely people

to evaluate the frequency of inappropriate
statements.

Test: Construct a test of the rules governing appropriate

and inappropriate social statements; administer
the test to lonely and nonlonely people.

Figure 2.1 - Example of the Hypothesis-Testing Approach

 Types of Experimental Variables

• Independent: Determines how the groups in the experiment are divided

- Is manipulated by the experimenter
- Known as treatment variable
• Dependent: Measured by the investigator and used to compare the
experimental groups
- Known as outcome variable
 Dependent Variables

Many personality researchers

conduct laboratory studies to test
their hypotheses. These
investigations typically take place
in university settings, often with
undergraduate students as
participants and graduate
students as experimenters.
—3
 Interaction of Experimental Variables

• How one independent variable affects the dependent variable depends

on the other independent variable
• Covariates, Confounding variables, IVs
An Interaction Between Two Independent Variables
 Manipulated Versus Nonmanipulated Independent
Variables (1 of 2)
• Manipulated independent variable
- Begins with a large number of participants
- Randomly assigns participants to experimental groups
Researchers assume that all the differences will be evened out
 Manipulated Versus Nonmanipulated Independent
Variables (2 of 2)
• Nonmanipulated independent variable
- Exists without the researcher’s intervention
- Investigator does not randomly assign participants to a condition
- Researcher cannot assume the paticipants in the two groups are identical
- Difficult to find cause-and-effect relationships
 Prediction Versus Hindsight (1 of 2)

• Accurate predictions can be made if a scientist has a legitimate theory

• Purpose of research is to provide support for a hypothesis
 Prediction Versus Hindsight (2 of 2)

• Researchers:
- Generate a theory
- Make a hypothesis
- Collect data that supports or opposes hypothesis
• Unpredicted findings by the researchers are the basis for future
hypotheses and further research
 Replication (1 of 2)

• Examines participant populations different from those used in the

original research
• Helps to determine whether the effect applies to larger number of
people or is limited to the kind of individuals used in the original sample
 Replication (2 of 2)

• Determining the strength of an effect by how often it is replicated is

difficult
• File Drawer problem
- Investigators publish and report research only when they find significant
effects
- Failed attempt at replication makes researcher to decide something has
gone wrong
■ Leads research being stored in a file drawer and never reported
A Brief Summary of Research Designs (Pick your poison)

• Descriptive Methods (Observation and Surveys)

• Experimental Methods (Independent Groups, Repeated Measures, and Complex

Designs)

• Applied Research (Single-Case Designs and Quasi-Experiments)

Descriptive Methods

Sampling Behavior

• Time Sampling: Strategies for sampling behavior across time intervals

• Situation Sampling: Sampling behavior in different settings

Observational Methods

Direct Observation:
o Observation without Intervention
o Observation with Intervention
• Indirect (Unobtrusive) Methods:
o Physical Traces and Archival Records

Analysis & Critical Thinking

• Data Analysis: Qualitative and Quantitative approaches

• Biases: Influence of the Observer and Observer Bias
Descriptive Methods

Sampling in Survey Research

• Basic Terms of Sampling:population, sample, representativeness, selection bias

• Approaches to Sampling:nonprobability/probability sampling, stratified random sampling

Survey Methods & Designs

• Methods: Mai! Surveys, Personal Interviews, Telephone Interviews, and Internet Surveys
• Designs:
o Cross-Sectional Design
o Successive Independent Samples Design
o Longitudinal Design

Questionnaires

• Questionnaires as Instruments
• Reliability and Validity of Self-Report Measures
Experimental Methods - Independent Groups

Random Groups Design

• Logic of Experimental Research
• Block Randomization techniques
• Threats to Validity: Managing Threats to Internal Validity
a. Randomly assigning intact groups to different conditions of the independent variable creates a
potential confounding due to preexisting differences among participants in the intact groups.
b. Block randomization increases internal validity by balancing extraneous variables across
conditions of the independent variable.
c. Selective subject loss, but not mechanical subject loss, threatens the internal validity of an
experiment.
d. Placebo control groups are used to control for the problem of demand characteristics, and
double-blind experiments control both demand characteristics and experimenter effects.
Alternative Designs
• Matched Groups Design
• Natural Groups Design
Analysis
• Establishing External Validity of Experimental Findings
Experimental Methods — Repeated Measures

Rationale

• when few participants are available, more efficiently, increase the sensitivity of the experiment,
study changes in participants’ behavior over time.

The Challenge of Practice Effects

• Practice Effects
• Balancing Techniques:
o in the Complete Design: block randomization, ABBA counterbalancing
o in the Incomplete Design: “waiting list”

Analysis & Issues

• Differential transfer occurs when the effects of one condition persist and influence performance in
subsequent conditions.
Experimental Methods Complex Designs

Describing Effects
• Example of a 2 x 2 Design
• Main Effects: Effects of single variables
• Interaction Effects: Interaction between variables
Interpretation
• Interaction Effects and Ceiling and Floor Effects
FIGURE 8.5 Illustration of an interaction effect for a 2 X 2 X 2 complex design.

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Applied Research Quasi-Experiments

• Researchers often struggle to get permission for true experiments in natural settings and to access
participants.
• Though some view random assignment as unfair for potentially depriving individuals of new treatment, it
remains the fairest and best method to determine a treatment's effectiveness.

Quasi-Experimental Designs
• The Nonequivalent Control Group Design (OEO)(O_O)
• Sources of Invalidity in the Nonequivalent Control Group Design
• Interrupted Time-Series Designs (OOOOOEOOOOO)
• Time Series with Nonequivalent Control Group
Applied Research Single-Case Designs

The Case Study Method

• Characteristics of the method

• Advantages and Disadvantages of the Case Study Method
• Thinking Critically About Testimonials
Single-Subject (Small-n) Experimental Designs

• Characteristics of Single-Subject Experiments

• Specific Experimental Designs
• Problems and Limitations Common to All Single-Subject Designs
a. Interpreting the effect of a treatment can be difficult if the baseline stage shows excessive variability or increasing or
decreasing trends in behavior.
b. The problem of low external validity with single-subject experiments can be reduced by testing small groups of
individuals.
 The Case Study Method (1 of 2)

• In-depth evaluation of individuals

• Participant is a psychotherapy client suffering from a problem that
interests the investigator
• Researcher records in detail:
- Person’s history
- Current behavior
- Changes in behavior
 The Case Study Method (2 of 2)

• Data are usually descriptive

• Psychologists rely on in-depth analysis of the patients while formulating
ideas about personality
• Helped behaviorists to illustrate:
- Various aspects of their theories
- Effectiveness of their therapies
 Limitations of Case Study Method

• Generalizing from a single individual to other people

• Determining cause-and-effect relationships with the case study method
• Interference of investigator's subjective judgments with scientific
objectivity
 Strengths of the Case Study Method

Offers insight into the richness of a person's life

Valuable for generating hypotheses about the nature of human
personality
Acts as a useful research tool
Appropriate in examining a rare case
Suitable for arguing that the individual being studied is normal on the
dimensions of interest
Illustrates a treatment
Demonstrates possibilities
 Statistical Analysis of Data (1 of 4)

• Types of statistical tests appropriate for different types of data and

research designs
- Analysis of variance, t-test
- Chi-square test
- Correlation coefficient
- Regression
- Software: jamovi ([Link]
 Reliability & Validity in Personality Assessment

• Psychologists take the task of measuring personality much more

seriously
• Valid and reliable assessment is a key component of personality
research
 Reliability (1 of 2)

• Extent to which a test measures consistently

- Determined by calculating test-retest reliability coefficient
• Factors contributing to poor consistency
- Vague test questions or scoring procedures
- Fluctuation in response due to taker’s mood
• Internal consistency
- All items on the test measure the same thing
 Reliability (2 of 2)

• Internal consistency coefficient

- High coefficient indicates that most of the items are measuring the same
concept
- Low coefficient suggests items are measuring more than one concept
 Validity (1 of 3)

• Extent to which a test measures what it is designed to measure

• Easy to determine for some kinds of tests
• Face validity
- Way to decide whether a test measures what it says it measures is to look
at the test items
- Less certain than with more straightforward measures
 Validity (2 of 3)

• Congruent validity
- Extent to which scores from the test correlate with other measures of the
same construct
- Otherwise known as convergent validity
• Discriminant validity
- Extent to which a test score does not correlate with the scores of
theoretically unrelated measures
 Validity (3 of 3)

• Behavioral validation
- Step in determining the construct validity of a test
- Test scores predicting relevant behavior is important
- Usefulness of the test must be questioned if test scores cannot predict
behavior
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

16 Personalities Personality Test Personality Types ~ Career Suite Teams & Pros * Resources ~ ® © Log In

Extroverts Introverts
E are energized by people, enjoy a
variety of tasks, a quick pace, and
are good at multitasking.
often like working alone or In small
groups, prefer a more deliberate pace,
and like to focus on one task at a time.

Sensors Intuitives
S are realistic people who like to focus on
the facts and details, and apply common
sense and past experience to come up N prefer to focus on possibilities and the
big picture, easily see patterns, value
innovation, and seek creative solutions

Free Personality Test

with practical solutions to problems. to problems.

Thinkers Feelers
tend to make decisions using logical
analysis, objectively weigh pros and
cons, and value honesty, consistency,
and fairness.
F tend to be sensitive and cooperative,
and decide based on their own personal
values and how others will be affected
by their actions.
NERIS Type Explorer®

Judgers Perceivers

P
tend to be organized and prepared, prefer to keep their options open, like
like to make and stick to plans, and to be able to act spontaneously, and
are comfortable following most rules. like to be flexible with making plans.

Complete the Test View Detailed Results Unlock Your Potential

Be yourself and answer honestly to find out your Learn how your personality type influences many Find jobs that suit your personality and get career
personality type. areas of your life. guidance that actually helps.
. Despite its popularity, the MBTI has been widely regarded as pseudoscience by the scientific community.

. The validity of the MBTI as a psychometric instrument has been the subject of much criticism.

. Little evidence for dichotomies.

. The test-retest reliability of the MBTI tends to be low.

Stein, R., & Swan, A. B. (2019). Evaluating the validity of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator theory: A teaching tool and window into intuitive psychology. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13(2), e12434.

Bess, T. L., & Harvey, R. J. (2002). Bimodal score distributions and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: fact or artifact?. Journal of personality assessment, 78(1), 176-186.

Pittenger, D. J. (1993). Measuring the MBTI... and coming up short. Journal of Career Planning and Employment, 54(1), 48-52.

Edwards, Jim (2022-10-12). "How thousands of companies ended up using a bogus psychology test on their staff'. The Independent. Retrieved 2024-09-25.

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