Personality Assessment: Classifying Yourself

Terri-Lynn Jones-Wood
August 3, 2015

Psychological assessments have been crucial to determining the different

personalities that exist in society today. There are many types of personality assessments
that can help aid in not only classification, but also in treatment for individuals with
serious psychological issues. These assessments are also extremely useful for continuous
research. Proper classifications are needed in order to further advance the scientific
community. Historically, personality assessments have been classified as either
projective or objective.
An objective personality assessment involves instruments in which the stimulus
is an adjective, proposition, or question that is presented to a person who is required to
indicate how accurately it describes his or her personality using a limited set of externally
provided response options. (Meyer & Kurtz, 2006, pg. 223) Objective assessments use
research to determine results. The results to an objective assessment are typically given
in the form of statistics and probabilities. The results are clear and straightforward
simply because the response options are specific. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a
popular and common objective assessment.
A projective personality assessment involves instruments in which the stimulus
is a task or activity that is presented to a person who is required to generate a response
with minimal external guidance or constraints imposed on the nature of that response.
(Meyer & Kurtz, 2006, pg. 223) Projective assessments are designed to uncover
emotions and desires that may not be readily known to the test-taker. Projective
assessments reveal unconscious instincts that may be motivating certain current
behaviors. The Rorschach Inkblot Test is a popular and common projective assessment.

These two types of assessments have historically been how psychologists classify
assessments. However, the terms have been misconstrued and blurred over time.
Objective is a term that usually has positive implications. The problem that arises with
that is that any other assessment not considered objective may be viewed as negative or
in a less positive light. Objective assessments present some scoring error concerns.
Scoring is not entirely objective when dealing with objective assessments because there
are quite a few pieces of literature that examine how certain biases affect the scores. This
also addresses the validity of these assessments. There are also other possible issues with
classifying objective assessments, solely based on the test-taker. The test-taker could
have limited self-knowledge or perception, or even give unclear responses.
The implications of projective assessments are sometimes misconstrued. Some of
the assessments focus more on problem solving than interpreting and discovering hidden
emotions and impulses.

According to an expanded definition of projective, the assessment is one

that would induce the individual to reveal his way of organizing experience by
giving him a field with relatively little structure and cultural patterning so that the
personality can project upon that plastic field his way of seeing life, his meanings,
significances, patterns, and especially his feelingsThe important and
determining process is the subjects personality which operates upon the
stimulus-situation as if it had a wholly private significance for him alone or any

entirely plastic character which made it yield to the subjects control. (Meyer &
Kurtz, 2006, pg. 224)

This completely contradicts the definition of a projective assessment. This

concept of a projective assessment supports the fact that certain personality
characteristics are inevitable. Certain characteristics will always exists and project,
regardless of the stimulus types or tasks that are implemented in the projective
assessment. The varied responses associated with projective personality assessments
make it difficult to interpret test scores that are most important and useful to
psychologists.
Thankfully, there are better, reasonable alternatives to the terminology for
objective and projective assessments. Objective assessments can be referred to as selfreport inventories or patient rated questionnaires. (Meyer & Kurtz, 2006, pg. 224)
Meyer and Kurt also suggest that these types of questionnaires can be broken down even
further by being classified by the individual providing the judgment of the assessments.
Therefore, we come up with the terms such as spouse-report scales and parent-rated
questionnaires and more.
When it comes to identifying alternatives for the terminology for projective, there
is a harder level of identification. No specific term can is fully sufficient enough to cover
all the bases of projective assessments. This is simply because the types of assessments
that are considered projective, inkblot tests and Thematic Apperception Test, are too
varying in their tasks to find an appropriate term that acclimates them all. There have
been possibilities presented; such as performance tasks or behavioral tasks, however

it is highly unlikely that any of these labels will be satisfactory enough for all
psychologists. (Meyer & Kurtz, 2006, pg. 224)
Changing the historical connotations and terminology of projective and objective
assessments will aid in advancing the understanding of these terms and how they are
implemented in psychology. Determining a globalized term allows for psychologists to
connect their understanding of these terms and classifies other types of tests. As
personality assessments advance and become more progressive, psychologists must
redefine historically embedded terms to fit these more convoluted and distinguishing
methods.
Competence in psychological assessment implies the ability to perform at a
suitable level while incorporating knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Development and
evaluation of competency is crucial to psychological assessments. There are eight
competencies that are important for achieving psychological assessment competency:

1. Knowledge of psychometric theory

2. Knowledge of psychological assessment
3. Knowledge of various psychology theories (cognitive, affective,
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

behavioral, etc.)
The ability to evaluate treatment outcomes
The relationships between clients and psychologists
The ability to establish and maintain professional relationship
The relationship between assessment and intervention
Technical assessment skills
(Krishnamurthy et. Al, 2004)

These major factors provide a basis for assessing competency in psychological

assessment.

In order for a psychological assessment to be competent, it must demonstrate the

ability to evaluate treatment outcomes. In order for an assessment to perform at an
appropriate level, it has to be accurate in its evaluation. The treatment needs to be
suitable for whatever the potential personality disorder an individual may have. If
treatment outcomes are invalid, that calls into question not only the assessments, but also
the competency of the individuals that created those assessments.
Another way in which psychological assessments must be competent is through
knowledge of various psychological theories. The techniques and skills used to assess
cognitive, affective, behavioral, and personality dimensions of human experience must be
up to date and valid. The psychological assessments would be deemed invalid and
incompetent if the creator is not knowledgeable of different facets of psychology that can
give invalid results. Diagnosis would be invalid, as well as treatment that follow a
diagnosis.
The most important of ways in which psychological assessments must be
competent is through the relationships between clients and psychologists. This is
important when it comes to culturally competent psychologists, especially during a time
when there is a lack of clinicians and physicians that are culturally competent. Many
psychologists learn multicultural theories and lack the experiences associated with
working with culturally diverse clients during their training. Developing a level of
multicultural competence is crucial for clinicians because it will help to build a stronger
rapport and relationship between clients and clinicians.
Psychologists must realize that their own cultural views and beliefs could be
detrimental in influence towards their perceptions and interactions with individuals who

are culturally different from them. This is problematic because it can cause invalid
scoring results if a psychologist scores the assessment. It can also lead to communication
issues between clients and psychologists. These two things can, in turn, hinder a client
from receiving the appropriate treatment.
The Alcohol Dependence Scale is a scale that provides a brief measure of the
extent to which the use of alcohol has progressed from psychological involvement to
impaired control. The Alcohol Dependence Scale evaluates the degree of severity of
alcohol dependence. The assessment is a five-minute assessment for adults and has
sometimes been used in special cases with adolescents. The assessment is twenty-five
questions and covers alcohol withdrawal symptoms, impaired control over drinking,
awareness of compulsion to drink, increased tolerance to alcohol, and salience of drinkseeking behavior. It is a content valid assessment because it spans a variety of topics.
The assessment can be administered in three different ways:
1. Pencil and paper self-administered
2. Computer self-administered
3. Interview
These three forms of assessment make the Alcohol Dependence Scale more accessible for
individual patients. The assessment requires a basic level of training to administer and
can be scored and interpreted in five minutes. Typically an administrator scores the
assessment, however a computer can score it as well. The Alcohol Dependence Scale is
used as a research and clinical instrument across the psychology community. It can be
used for research involving a quantitative index for the severity of alcohol dependence. It
is also crucial to matching clients with the appropriate level of treatment and for
treatment outcome evaluations.

Referral Question
Evaluation for decision making problems and insomnia issues related to alcohol
dependency

Client Information
Name: Manuel Rodriguez
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Socioeconomic Status: Lower Class
Level of Education: High School Diploma

Manuel has been drinking alcohol consistently since he was seventeen years old.
He started drinking as a result of pressure from friends in school and took a liking to the
social pastime. Manuels family thinks that it was the divorce of his parents that caused
him to start drinking. After Manuel started drinking, he began having issues with
sleeping. His brother thinks that the insomnia began as an effect of the constant drinking.
He believes that Manuels body is always awake because it is always dependent on
alcohol to function. Manuel has also had issues with making positive decisions for his
life. Manuel was a straight A student in school before he started drinking. He was slated
to attend an Ivy League university, but decided to forgo college for an immediate job
opportunity. Manuel currently works at a factory and makes nine dollars an hour.

Manuel lives at home with his mother and spends most of his evenings going out to bars
with coworkers for drinks. His mother believes that he needs to be evaluated because she
thinks he has a substance abuse problem. There are multiple times that she has
encouraged him to look into evaluation.
Manuel recently got into an altercation with one of his siblings while heavily
inebriated. He yelled at his younger brother and proceeded to hit him continuously,
causing him to need stitches. During this altercation, Manuel remembers nothing. It is to
be assumed that Manuel blacked out. This incident has forced Manuel to confront the
possibility of an evaluation. Manuels mother does some research and finds that he can
take the Alcohol Dependence Scale assessment. She contacts her doctor, who agrees that
the assessment would be perfect for Manuel.
The Alcohol Dependence Scale can determine Manuels level of dependence on
alcohol and whether or not he needs treatment to follow. Research has shown that
alcohol dependence is associated with deficits in decision-making. As of late, Manuel
has made a few decisions that have been detrimental to, not only his life, but also the
lives of his family. Poor control of his inhibitions can be caused by excessive alcoholic
consumption. Choosing to excessive consume alcohol is a poor decision as well.
According to Chakravorty, MD et. Al, alcohol dependence is commonly associated with
insomnia and individuals are 2.6 times more likely to have insomnia as those without a
history. Insomnia is classified as having difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying
asleep, or terrible quality of sleep. Manuel has had difficulty falling sleep and terrible
quality of sleep.

In doing the Alcohol Dependence Scale, Manuel can figure out whether or not he
is truly dependent on alcohol. The assessment would be crucial in helping Manuel get
the treatment that he deserves. If Manuel scores nine or higher on this assessment he will
be deemed highly alcohol dependent and the appropriate steps can be taken after.

References
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introduction to tests and measurement (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

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