Psychology 257 – Personality
Assessment Interview Questions & General Guidelines
1. Interview time line:
1. Plan the interview for a minimum of two interviews, approximately 2-3+ hours.
2. The personality assessment is a class assignment and information you gain will not be
released. Actual names and identifying information are fictitious.
3. Interview I Gather basic family information (data) (1 ¾ hrs).
4. Administer the Social Networks and Young Schema Questionnaire.
5. Score test and develop additional questions for session II.
6. Interview II is for completing missing information and asking clarifying questions that
emerged after session I interview (1 ¾ hrs). 1
2. Identify person for case project (index person)
a. Person cannot be a relative, close friend or significant other.
b. Ask your index person to assist you with the project for your personality class.
c. Confidentiality must be preserved – names will not be released under any conditions.
d. Actual names and identifying information are fictitious.
e. Do not release results of your case study to the index person.
 Do not release information on schemas. If your index person is interested
in his/her schemas refer them to Young, J.E. & Klosko, J.S. (1993, 1994).
Reinventing your life. New York: Plume Books.
3. Arrange for a comfortable place to conduct your personality interview.
 The place should be free of distractions.
 Private.
 Two sessions will be necessary – approximately 3 + hours.
1. Index Person completes social network and schema questionnaire during 1st
interview.
2. Develop clinical questions from test results.
 SNI indicates distance from significant others.
 SNI indicates closeness to significant others.
 YSQ identifies 18 maladaptive schemas – see handout for scoring
& schema definitions.
3. Explain the genogram layout. Use the template to show and explain how you
will be collecting your clinical information.
4. Collect data by drawing the relationships on paper in front of your index
person. Explain the genogram (relationship to significant others in family
network) to your index person.
4. The exploratory interview:
 Open the interaction by saying that you would just like to know more
about “you” (the index person).
 Interview by asking the following questions. Don’t settle for the first
answers that they give you.
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Dig, dig, dig, and write down their answers.
Record your answers. It doesn’t inhibit people when you write
information on a notepad/clipboard. If anything, people like for you to
record this information.
Have a notebook & clipboard to record your answers.
Tape-recorders are helpful in recording information. However, you
need permission from your person to record their voice. Have them
sign a consent form allowing you to record their voice.
The 1st interview questions!
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What’s your name and how did you get it?
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How many are in your family? What number are you?
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If you could be an animal, what would you be, and why?
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If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
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What do you most like to do for fun?
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In one word, what is the most important thing to you and why?
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What is your favorite thing to eat? When did you first eat it?
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Who was the most influential person/people in your life and what did
you learn from them?
The 1st interview questions continued.
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If I were to walk into the place where you live, what would I see hanging on
the walls, placed on the tables, or shelves?
If I were to look at the reading material, tapes, CDs, DVD’s, and videos
where you live, what would I see?
If I were to observe you and the people you care about enjoying an activity
together, what would I see?
What do you value more than anything else in life and why?
What changes have there been in the family in the last year?
How has the family coped with these changes?
Who leads your family now - who asserts their needs and opinions most
forcefully and makes the major family decisions?
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your family's recent ability to
solve your major problems?"
Has anyone in your family or ancestry had (a) significant trouble with the
law, (b) any of the four addictions, or (c) hospitalizations for psychological
problems? (Four types of addiction are substances, including sugar, fat,
and carbohydrates (comfort foods); relationships, (co-dependence),
excitement (rage, risk, sexual arousal and relief), and activities (gambling,
shopping, overwork, cleaning, exercising, pornography, Web-surfing,).
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The 2nd interview relationship questions:
Have subject rate Family members on a chart from 1-10, with 10 being close and 1
being distant.
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How close is client/person to father & mother?
How distant is client/person to father & mother?
Is the relationship between parents conflictual?
Is the relationship between grandparent(s) conflictual?
Is the relationship between siblings conflictual?
Identify the family relationships that are in conflict?
Is the client/person relationship cut off or distant from family?
Does the client/person relationship seem enmeshed? Fused or to close?
Who has the parenting role and responsibilities? How effective is that person
in providing a safe, stable environment?
Are there any family members who have had a mental illness of any kind?
Who are they and how are they related to client/person?
What kind of treatment was helpful for them or available to them?
Who does everyone in the family go to when he or she need help or someone
to talk to?
What family members does client/person see as the “strong one?” The weak
one? The one with all of the problems?
Your appraisal of subject’s perception of Self (use scale of 1-10 with 10
being high and 1 being low. (.i.e. low self image)
The 2nd interview family process questions: You can use these in putting
together the genogram as a "guide" in talking to family members.
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When there was a birth or adoption, how did members of the family react?
When someone died or left the family in another way, how did members of the
family react?
What types of jobs do family members choose? Are there any patterns in this?
How do/did family members get along? Did/Do some family members get along
better than others?
Is anyone in the family particularly helpful or unhelpful? (i.e., Who did/do people
turn to for help? Who do/did they know not even bother asking?)
Are/were there any special talents that anyone has/had in the family?
Is/was anyone expected to be especially good or bad at anything?
How did/do family members spend their leisure time? Together? Apart?
Did/do family members behave differently outside the family? How?
What is/was the effect of sibling position (e.g., oldest, youngest, middle)?
What were/are sibling relationships like?
When a crisis hit, how did family members react? How did it help or hurt the
family?
When there was a special success or triumph in the family, how did family
members react?
14. Are/were family members active in religious organizations? What is/was the
religious climate of the home?
15. Are/were family members active in community organizations?
16. Were/are there any family themes you can identify (e.g., "We are a strong
family." "Members of this family are honest, even if it hurts.")?
17. What coincidences do you see in the family (e.g., most of the children in this
family are born near a Friday the 13th and if they are born on Friday the 13th,
they are always boys--an actual coincidence from a student's genogram).
18. How were family members affected by major historical events (e.g.,The War on
Iraq, Gulf War, war in Vietnam, the civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's)?
19. Where do you see alliances in the family? What contributed to these alliances?
20. What relationships do you see as conflictual? Why do you think they were this
way?
21. What relationships do you see as cooperative? Why do you think they were this
way?
22. How were family members characterized (e.g., favorite child, leader, follower,
peacemaker, troublemaker, etc.)
23. Was there any particular moment in the life of a family member when he/she had
a dramatic change in how he/she viewed the family?
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The 2nd interview medical questions: Major chronic illnesses
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Stroke, Prostrate cancer.
High blood pressure of living members.
Miscarriages, abortions, still births.
Heart disease.
Diabetes.
8. Mapping the family structure in genogram format
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Explain the genogram form to index person.
Show index person how you are going to map the family structure.
Family structure. Two generations is necessary for this assignment.
Family of origin of person.
Mother’s family.
Father’s family.
Children, Aunts, Uncles, & Spouses.
Your Identified person, (index person).
Siblings.
Pets or significant objects.
Basic Genogram Components:
http://www.genopro.com/genogram_components/default.htm
Cultural Background / Religious affiliation(s)
Psychological information is important. How is the person doing? Are they
depressed? Are they anxious? How much do you drink?
BASIC GENOGRAM STRUCTURE FORM 1ST GENERATION
Genogram Notes go here!
Father
Mother
Daughter
Father
Mother
Son