Personality Assessment Instruments Essay

Personality Assessment instruments are comprised of theories and techniques to measure an individual’s personality traits. The traditional psychoanalytical theories provide a framework for understanding negative behavior as well as concepts that predict future behavioral outcomes. Because of the possibility of predictive personality traits, career counselors and organizations have used personality assessment instruments to screen possible employers for qualification. In addition, personality assessment instrument have also been used to detect disordered personalities or other unresolved issues that cause negative behavior patterns in an individual. In this paper I will discuss three Personality Assessment Instruments widely used in measuring an individual’s personality; Myer-Briggs Type Indicator, Rorschach Inkblot Test and self help books. I will discuss the validity, comprehensiveness, applicability and cultural utility of these personality assessments in also examine the strengths and weaknesses of why some work and some do not. The strength and weaknesses of each personality assessment instrument is key in understanding which instrument is â€Å"appropriate† to use. Myer-Briggs Type Indicator Largely based on Carl Jung’s Theory of Personality, The Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was created by Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myer, during WWII to evaluate personality types to know where to place women entering the industrial workforce. The MBTI would assess women for jobs they were best qualified for. Seeing how successful the MBTI was in placing women in the workforce, today it is still used as an assessment instrument by career counselors and organizations for team building (McCaulley, 2000). The MBTI is a self-report, forced-choice questionnaire. The letters represent the respective personality types which have 16 unique possible outcomes. The test has about 100 questions with only two choices to pick from. MBTI divides an individual’s personality into four areas (McCaulley, 2000); 1. Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I) . Sensing (S) or intuition (N) 3. Thinking (T) or feeling (F) 4. Judging (J) or perceiving (P) This scale is an important factor in determining the dominant, auxiliary, tertiary and inferior behaviors of the individual (McCaulley, 2000). Each individual is measured by the four-letter type formula. Each group of letters reveals the dominant function of the individual and followed by the auxiliary. Each of the 16 combination of letters explains the person’s personality and what area they best function in. Rorschach Inkblot Test Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychiatrist, created ill-defined designs on paper using ink. After much trial and error, Rorschach settled on 10 inkblot cards used to show to patients and illicit a response. It was determined that different patients in a particular psychiatric group gave different responses. The test was created to understand the mind of an individual. During the assessment, the patient is shown a card and is expected to explain the thoughts that come to mind when analyzing the card (Cervone, 2010). The test-giver waits to see the type of response that comes from the patient. And the question of how the patient responds or perceives the inkblot determines the type of personality the patient may have. If the patient’s response matches the inkblot structure’s intended meaning, then the patient’s thoughts are geared towards their reality. If the patient’s response does not correspond with the inkblot then the patient is perceived to have a dysfunctional personality. Self-Help Books Widely popular, Self-help books are a great way for a person to understand psychological disorders and possible treatments. There are a variety of books written by scholars and psychologist who have done extensive work in their area of expertise. Many people who are skeptical about going to therapy choose self-help books as a way to self-administer treatment (Redding et. al, 2008). The problem people face when relying on these books for help is that there is no discussion to make sure that the person understands what they are reading. Also, the books cannot assess the person to see if they can help the person like the MBTI and Rorschach Inkblot do. There is no way to measure if the specific book can help the person. Personality Assessments: from Theory to Practice In this next section I will examine the validity, comprehensiveness, applicability and cultural utility. Throughout my research I have discovered that some critics have argued that each of these personality assessment instruments have weaknesses that do not support what it claims to produce. Others critics have shown the strengths’ in these widely used personality assessment to be applied in various cultures that have shown consistent scoring. Validity One of the most widely used personality assessment instruments is self-help books. They are easily accessible by most people seeking to resolve psychological issues. However, it is difficult to say if what the writer proposes to be a solution works effectively for the reader (Redding et. al. , 2008). The problem with the validity of self-help books is that not all are written by professional psychologist. Often people are faced with serious psychological disorders that they wish to resolve on their own as opposed to therapy (Redding et. l, 2008). Another issue with self-help books is that they do not test people to see if they have applied the information coming from the book to the area in their life where they face challenges nor can it pinpoint the exact disorder a person is dealing with. I would have to say that the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator holds the most validity out of the three personality assessment instruments and is the most favored. The MBTI has been tested and based on the 16 different possible personality types most people have fallen under one of the combinations. The MBTI follows the theory of personality traits by Carl Jung. Jung’s theory distinguishes two dichotomous pairs of cognitive behavior: extraversion and introversion (McCaulley, 2008). The MBTI has been shown to be successful in determining an individual’s personality that fits a specific career or in organizing groups for team building. On the other hand, when a person has been assessed using the Rorschach inkblot test, disordered personality can be revealed thru extensive testing. The validity of the Rorschach inkblot test as but argued that there is a bias in the testing because Hermann Rorschach’s training was in psychoanalytical theories. Another problem that arises with the Rorschach in examining its validity is the scoring of the test. Many of the scorers give a higher score to the test taker if their response matches those of previous scorers (Sendin, 2010). Comprehensiveness Self-help books focus on an areas in an individual’s life such as alcohol addictions, Attention Deficit Disorder, How to deal with a Break-Up. And while the books can be informative the theory behind the solution must be examined. Most self-help books are written in the opinion of the author writing the book. Some of these opinions may not be in accord with the reader’s background so it is difficult to say if the reader is able to comprehend what the author is conveying (Redding et. al, 2008). It also depends only what the reader is looking for. If the reader is open to alternative solutions as opposed to traditional one then the book will help but because a person is not tested on the self-help books they are reading it is hard to determine how comprehensive the book is. MBTI has 16 possible personality types that this world-wide instrument uses to address issues faced by individuals, groups and family counseling that are challenged with communication, career planning, learning and life -long development (McCaulley, 2000). When assessing an individual’s personality not only is this helpful in career counseling but also when determining why individuals or family members are having communication problems. Applicability Self-help books can be easy to understand. Some of the methods are broken down in simple steps that anyone can apply. However, if one wants to assess the type of personality that can handle a certain job the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator is more appropriate to use. This assessment instrument has been used by career counselors and employers to match individuals to specific studies or industries (McCaulley, 2008). I would not recommend using the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator when assessing an individual’s personality for disorders. The Rorschach Inkblot has been a successful instrument in examining the mind of a person (Cervone, 2010). However, the Rorschach inkblot was constructed according to Hermann Rorschach’s training in psychoanalytical theory. Cultural Utility Each culture is made of its own belief system and traditions. What applies in one culture may not necessarily apply in another. Some assessments can be used in most cultures and give the same results across the board. However, not all cultures will accept the theories behind the assessment. The issues that I have noticed in researching the MBTI and Rorschach Inkblot test is that in applying to different cultures there has been challenges faced by psychologist. For one, psychologists have not had extensive training in cultural diversity. Nor have they had training in language. Most ethnic low income groups have had poor health service in which there has been a misdiagnosis due to language barrier (Dana, 2000). Also to consider are groups who come from another country and have different views on the mental health system. For example, in administering the MBTI and Rorschach Inkblot test to Russian Jews challenges are faced because of their cultural belief. Russian Jews are highly suspicious of mental health professionals and find it difficult to believe that community health agencies do not have ties to the government (Dana, 200). As a result, they deny any mental health issues. The fear that exists with Russian Jews is because of the way they saw the Soviet Government force people to commit to a mental health institute (Dana, 2000). Consequently, self help books have been successful in reaching a mass audience because books have been published in various languages. Conclusion As you can see Personality Assessment Instruments have been very useful in helping to examine an individual’s personality for career choices, in team building and examining a disorder. However, specialist have has revealed their weaknesses and show that these instruments cannot be applied in any situation without further investigation. Each personality assessment instrument is unique with it’s own characters. In order to be able to better serve the mental health industry only a particular assessment can be used for a specific analysis.