Introduction to
Clinical Psychology
Science, Practice and Ethics
Chapter 8
Personality Assessment
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Personality: Definition
“it is our conviction that no substantive
definition of personality can be applied
with any generality…personality is
defined by the particular empirical
concepts which are part of the theory
of personality employed by the
observer” (Hall & Lindsey, 1970, p.9).
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Projective Methods
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Projective hypothesis: What people
see when they are presented with
ambiguous stimuli reveals important
information about their personality.
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Projective Methods:
Characteristics
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Projective hypothesis
Unstructured
Disguised purpose
Global
Identify unconscious processes
Influenced by psychoanalytic thinking
Tend to be used idiographically
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Rorschach: History
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Hermann Rorschach – 1921
Developed in United States
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Beck
Klopfer
Piotrowski
Hertz
Rapaport
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Rorschach: Common problems
identified by the 1960s
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Lack of standardized rules for
administration and scoring
Poor inter-rater reliability
Lack of adequate norms
Unknown or weak validity
Susceptible to situational influence
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Rorschach:
Exner’s Comprehensive System
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An empirical approach
Atheoretical
Standardized administration & scoring
Improved reliability
Improved validity
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Rorschach Administration
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Response (or Association) phase
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“what might this be?”
Inquiry phase
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“I want you to help me see what you saw.
I’m going to read what you said, and then
I want you to show me where on the blot
you saw it and what there is there that
makes it look like that, so that I can see it
too. I’d like to see it just like you did, so
help me now.”
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Rorschach: Scoring
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Location (W, D, Dd)
Form
Movement
Color
Texture
Shading
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Rorschach Scoring
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Exners system has over 50 totals,
ratios and percentages to be
interpreted
Several index scores are produced
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Egocentricity index
Schizophrenia index
Depression index
Suicide Constellation
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Criticisms of Exner System
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Inter-rater reliability estimates inflated
Validity data not consistent
Good reliability estimates based upon
carefully trained examiners
Not cost-effective
Interpretations not cross-validated
Supporting research not peer-reviewed
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Rorschach Interpretation
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Human movement – generally positive
Color – emotion
Texture – dependency needs
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Thematic Apperception Test
Henry Murray - 1935
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Needs
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Primary
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Water
Food
Sex
Shelter
Secondary
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Achievement
Autonomy
Affiliation
Recognition
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TAT
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31 Cards – black and white sketches
Tell a story – what led up to it? How
did it turn out?
Interpretation
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Hero or heroine
Hero’s needs
Situational forces impacting hero
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TAT: Evaluation
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Administration inconsistency
Scoring inconsistencies
Fair evidence of reliability and validity
of some indices (e.g., need for
achievement)
However, not clear how these findings
generalize from research to clinical
setting
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Projective Drawings
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Draw a person
House-Tree-Person
Draw-a-Family
Kinetic Family Drawing
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Projective Drawings:
Evaluation
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Questionable reliability
May be a valuable clinical tool to aid
interviewing – but not a psychological
test
Illusory Correlation – the tendency to
see relationships between things that
people think belong together.
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Personality Assessment:
Objective Approaches
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MMPI/MMPI2/ MMPI-A
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Millon Scales
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MMPI
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Published in 1943
Most widely used self-report inventory
of personality and psychopathology
Empirical criterion keying method of
test construction
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MMPI: Basic Clinical Scales
Scale
1 (Hypochondriasis) Hs
2 (Depression) D
3 (Hysteria) Hy
4 (Psychopathic Deviate) Pd
5 (Masculinity-Femininity) Mf
6 (Paranoia)
7 (Psychasthenia) Pt
8 (Schizophrenia) Sc
9 (Hypomania) Ma
10 (Social Introversion) Si
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MMPI: Validity Scales
Scale
Cannot Say ?
Lie
L
Frequency F
Correction K
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MMPI: Evaluation
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Strengths
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Popular
Huge Data Base
Problems
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Original standardization sample
High item overlap across scales
High correlation between different scales
Poorly worded items
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MMPI 2
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Poorly worded items re-written
New items added
Normed on 2,600 representing US
population
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MMPI2: New validity scales
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F(B)
TRIN (True Response Inconsistency
Scale)
VRIN (Variable Response
Inconsistency Scale)
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MMPI2: Content Scales
ANX (Anxiety)
OBS (Obsessiveness)
HEA (Health Concerns)
FRS (Fears)
DEP (Depression)
BIZ (Bizarre
Mentation)
ANG (Anger)
CYN (Cynicism)
ASP (Antisocial Practices) TPA (Type A)
LSE (Low Self-Esteem)
SOC (Social Dis.)
FAM (Family Problems)
WRK (Work Int)
TRT (Negative Treatment Indicators)
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MMMPI-A
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Similar construction and properties
Designed for use with 14 to 18 year
olds
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MMPIs: Evaluation
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Easy to use (lots of supporting
materials)
Lots of research
Outdated (misleading ) labels
Interpretation is influenced by age,
ethnicity and culture
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Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory
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Theory-based
Development
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Stage I – (“theoretical-substantive”)
generate items to represent theoretical
framework
Stage II – (“internal-structural”) internal
consistency and inter-scale correlations
Stage III – (“external criteria”) correlations
with other tests of personality and expert
judges
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Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory
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Modifying Indices
Clinical Personality Patterns
Severe Personality Patterns
Clinical Syndromes
Severe Syndromes
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MCMI-III: Modifying Indices
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X
Y
Z
Disclosure
Desirability
Debasement
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V
Validity
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MCMI-III: Clinical Personality
Patterns
Schizoid
1
Avoidant
2A
Depressive
2B
Dependent
3
Histrionic
4
Narcissistic
5
Antisocial
6A
Aggressive
6B
Compulsive
7
Passive-Aggressive 8A
Self-Defeating
8B
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MCMI-III: Severe Personality
Pathology
Schizotypal
Bordeline
Paranoid
S
C
P
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MCMI-III: Clinical Syndromes
Anxiety
A
Somatoform H
Bipolar: Manic N
Dysthymia
D
Alcohol Dependence
B
Drug Dependence
T
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
R
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MCMI-III: Severe Syndromes
Thought Disorder SS
Major Depression CC
Delusional Disorder PP
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MCMI-III: Evaluation
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Shorter than the MMPI2
Diagnostic terms coordinated with DSM-IV
Useful for diagnosing personality disorder
Item overlap impairs differential dx
Acutely anxious and/or depressed patients
produce elevations on personality scales
Difficult to hand score
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NEO-Personality Inventory
Costa and McCrae (1985)
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Based upon Five-Factor Model
Domains:
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Neuroticism
Emotional Stability
Extraversion
Introversion
Openness to Experience
Closedness
Agreeableness
Disagreeableness
Conscientiousness
Lack of Consc.
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5-Factor Personality Model
Costa and McCrae (1985)
Neuroticism
Extraversion
Anxiety
Warmth
Angry hostility
Openness to
experience
Fantasy
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Trust
Competence
Gregariousnes Aesthetics
s
Straightforward
-ness
Order
Depression
Assertiveness
Feelings
Altruism
Dutifullness
Selfconsciousness
Activity
Actions
Compliance
Achievement
striving
Impulsiveness
Excitementseeking
Ideas
Modesty
Self Discipline
Vulnerability
Positive
emotion
Values
Tendermindedness
Deliberation
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Personality Assessment:
Contemporary Uses
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Formulating diagnosis
Formulating clinical picture of client
Making predictions
Basic and applied research
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Additional Clinical Tools
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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
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Extraversion (E)
Sensing (S)
Thinking (T)
Judging (J)
Introversion (I)
Intuition (N)
Feeling (F)
Perceiving (P)
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