Personality Assessment Instruments - Research Paper Example

?Personality Assessment Instruments Personality Assessment Instruments Personality Assessment Instruments When somebody asks us for the personality characteristics of a certain acquaintance, sometimes we find ourselves in dispute with the person asking on grounds of indifference in description. With the use of the personality assessment instruments though, such disputes are settled. However, many are skeptical as to the accuracy of the description obtained from personality assessment instruments. To determine the accuracy of personality assessment instruments such as the Myers-Briggs, Rorschach inkblot, and Self-help books, the three will be compared and contrasted as to their strength and weakness in relation to their validity, comprehensiveness, applicability, and cultural utility. The strength of Myers-Briggs lies in the construct validity of the test questionnaires in which it is supported with a solid scientific background. The self administered test is based on the principle of Karl Gustav Jung to measure the psychological preferences of individuals interested to know their perception of the world and decision making. Along this line, the score does not rely on the clinician but comes from the individual who answers the test. Without the participation of the person being measured, the validity of the test is low. Apart from this, Myers-Briggs is also strong in its applicability. It is almost applied in every aspect of life to include career guidance, managing employees, interpersonal relationship, education, and counseling among others. In the study by Tucker (2009), he suggested that the test is also helpful in assessing the personality of a future leader and could also be used in other sectors such as business and schools. Although, Myers-Briggs includes a wider areas of personality interest which is broken into extraversion/introversion aspect, intuitive perception, thinking/feeling judgment, and judging and perceiving, the comprehensiveness of the answers is limited making this as one of its weaknesses. The person has no other choice from the answers except to pick one since the questions are designed for such purpose. Since the test is a self report method of preferences in life, the person may alter some of his answers making the result unreliable as to his genuine primary preference. Likewise, the non sensitivity of the cultural background of the test taker is another weakness of the test. The exclusion of the cultural background of the participant may alter answers in which if the person’s disposition is not understood, the answer may generate false results. On the other hand, the strength of the Rorschach Inkblot test is situated in the comprehensiveness of the answers among participants. Unlike the Myers-Briggs test, the Rorschach test allows the person to go beyond his answers. The individual can provide reasons as to what elicited his choice. Rorschach test is administered by showing cards to the participant with the clinician writing the answers. The clinician may go back to each 10 cards and ask the participant to give reasons of his choices (Krebs & Blackman, 1988). Rorschach test has also a stronghold as to its applicability. It is very useful for well trained clinicians in their attempt to establish the background of their patient. In addition, the test fares better in assessing the specific needs of the patients under the expertise of the therapists. It is also useful in predicting a wider multitude of behaviors. Not only are the clinician benefits from this test but also the clients. Individuals with limitations on literacy comprehension, those who find standard test intimidating, and clients with learning disabilities are found to be supported with this test. The cultural usefulness of the test also adds up to its strength. Rorschach could be use in any culture provided that the therapist has an understanding of the cultural background of the participant so that the interpretation is within the cultural context. Compared with the Myers-Briggs test, the weakness of Rorschach Inkblot test is situated in its validity. It fails to meet the traditional standard. The result of the test might be unclear and bias since the responses of the client is interpreted by the clinician instead of the clients who participated in the test through matching one half of the responses with the other half. In this regard, there is the tendency that if the same person will take the test for the second time, the result would create a different interpretation. Rorschach test requires manuals to help in interpreting scores where in each pattern of responses is outlined therein indicating certain personality traits. In situations where the clinician is not expert or well trained, the result is affected. Often times, therapists disagree with the interpretation making the validity of the test poor. The self-help books compared with Myers-Briggs and Rorschach test derive its strength from its applicability. Proponents of this method to assess personality believe that the participants may improve their emotional problems. This is through achieving behavioral change through elevating the low self esteem of the participants so that they will overcome their anxiety and depression. Their psychological problem to adequately assess their self worth in the society and their social status will be improved. With Self-help books, the person increases his self awareness, and his performance is enhanced making his life worth satisfying to live. With the popularity of self-help books, the cultural utility is also one of its strength. It had reached many users around the globe who understand English instructions because it is cost effective. Many find it a better alternative as preventive and educative measures. In contrast with Myers-Briggs and Rorschach, the self-help books have no scientific support highlighting one of its weaknesses. With this, its validity could not be measured objectively giving majority of the experts skeptical of the result. In the study by Arkowitz & Lilienfeld (2006), they revealed that self- help books have created various interpretations by many experts in their findings. Some claim the use of self-help book provides minor problems. Others claim the result is uneven as it is helpful to some but not to others. Yet other findings suggest that condition where it is applied affects its result as users who are motivated provides good results while those who are not may not benefit from it. In one review, it reveals that self-help books have a combination of treatments which is confusing to measure. It also offers false promises as many self-help books claim exaggerated promises. As a result, if the person fails to change, there is the tendency for him to put the blame on himself and may perceive himself as a hopeless case. In the same study of Arkowitz & Lilienfeld, they revealed that a patient suffered more due to the minimal visits to a therapist. Apart from this, the effectiveness is not established since most books are not empirically tested. Personality assessment tests have their own strength and weaknesses as to their validity, comprehensiveness, applicability, and cultural utility. The most valid instrument is the Myers-Briggs test while the most applicable test is the Rorschach Inkblot instrument. The Self-help books are not at par with the Myers-Briggs and Rorschach as to its validity and comprehensiveness but it gains its recognition with its widespread popularity. The personality of a person is not measured with a single instrument but with a combination of several personality assessment instruments. References Arkowitz, H., & Lilienfeld, S. (2006). Do Self-help books help? Retrieved from http://faculty.fortlewis.edu. On December 17, 2011. Krebs, D., & Blackman, R. (1988). Psychology. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich publisher. Florida. Tucker, J. (2009). The correlation between Myers-Briggs test type and preparedness for leadership. Proquest. Read More