Predicting and accepting personality test scores

Three studies are reported concerned with people's perception of their own personality, their acceptance of bogus ‘personality’ feedback, and the relationship between their ‘actual’ personality scores and their willingness to accept bogus feedback. In the first study subjects attempted to predict their own and a well-known other person's personality scores. They were fairly good at predicting some of their own scores (extraversion, neuroticism) but less so others, suggesting that people can recognize their own ‘correct’ personality feedback. In the second study subjects were given either positive (Barnum Statements) or negative (reverse Barnum Statements) ‘bogus’ feedback after a personality test. They tended to accept the positive feedback as more accurate than the negative feedback though this was not related to their actual scores. In the third study subjects were given four types of feedback statements after a personality test: general positive, general negative, specific positive and specific negative. As predicted, people tend to accept general rather than specific, and positive rather than negative feedback as true. Furthermore, acceptance was closely related to neuroticism and extraversion in a predicted direction. These results are discussed in terms of the uses and abuses of validation of personality feedback.     

初中生人格类型划分及人格类型发展特点研究

目的：划分初中生人格类型及考察初中生人格类型的年级与性别特点。方法：本研究使用初中生人格发展自我评定量表对某地区3602名初中生被试施测,使用潜在类别分析对初中生人格类型进行划分,使用无序多分变量的Logistic回归考察初中生人格类型的年级与性别特点。结果：依据人格类型划分的相关理论和潜在类别分析的拟合指数,初中生可划分为低控型,过度控制型和适应型三种人格类型,其中适应型人数占大多数。方差分析结果表明适应型在初中生人格五维度得分均显著高于另两类;过度控制型有低情绪稳定性和低外倾性,同时有中等程度的亲社会性、智能特征和认真自控水平,低控型人格类型在大部分人格维度得分均较低。随年级增长,初中生适应型人数比例有显著下降趋势,过度控制型和低控型比例有所上升。性别差异方面,女生人格类型的适应型人数比例显著高于男生,过度控制型和低控型比例则显著低于男生。结论：依据自我控制和自我适应理论,初中生三种人格类型的划分得到重复验证,人格类型有显著的年级和性别特点。     

CONSTRUCT VALIDATION OF THE COMREY PERSONALITY SCALES

To investigate the construct validity of the Comrey Personality Scales, this personality test and a biographical data inventory inquiring about past and present life circumstances were administered to 209 volunteer U.C.L.A. students. Biographical data variables were correlated with scores on the eight personality scales. Personality scale score estimates by the authors, based on examination of the respondents' biographical data responses, were also correlated with actual scale scores. The personality scales which received the best confirmation were Social Conformity vs Rebelliousness and Orderliness vs. Lack of Compulsion. Support for the construct validity of the other personality scales varied from moderate to negligible.     

Dissociative Experiences and Creativity in Fine Arts Students

Studies on creative personality have revealed that the relationship between personality and creativity remains unclear, and various types of creative thinking have been have been associated with various personality traits. To assess the influence of dissociative experiences on creativity in the context of fine arts education, in which the creative process plays a key role, a sample of fine arts students received a test of creative potential and the dissociative experiences test. The results revealed significant differences in creativity (creative imagination and creative experiences) between students scoring high or low in the number of dissociative experiences. High dissociative experiences scores were associated to high scores in creative imagination and creative experiences, and low scores in dissociative experiences were inversely related to creative imagination and creative experiences. Further studies are required to corroborate these findings.     

中学生考试心理素质及其发展

采用《中学生考试心理素质量表》对重庆市576名中学生进行调查,结果表明：中学生考试心理素质整体发展良好;中学生考试心理素质及其主要维度存在显著的年级和学校类型主效应,存在年级和学校类型之间的交互作用。中学生考试心理素质呈现出两个发展趋势大致相似的阶段：初中阶段总体发展水平相对高于高中阶段;高中和初中阶段分别存在一个由高到低逐年下降的现象。     

智力和人格内隐观对大学生应对方式和抑郁的影响——变量中心和个体中心分析

为考察智力和人格内隐观对大学生应对方式和抑郁的影响,采用智力和人格内隐观问卷、简易应对方式问卷和抑郁量表对624名大学生进行测查。结果如下：（1）变量中心的分析结果表明,整体上大学生智力和人格内隐观仅对积极应对的预测作用显著。（2）为考察智力和人格内隐观在大学生群体中的组合类型,采用个体中心的分析思路对智力和人格内隐观得分进行潜在剖面分析,可将大学生的内隐观划分为四种类型：智力/人格固存观型、智力/人格内隐观适中型、智力增长观/人格可塑观型、智力固存观/人格可塑观型。四类大学生在智力内隐观上的得分两两差异显著;除智力增长观/人格可塑观型与智力固存观/人格可塑观型外,四类大学生在人格内隐观上的得分也两两差异显著。（3）智力增长观/人格可塑观型大学生的积极应对得分显著高于其他三类大学生,而消极应对和抑郁显著低于其他三类大学生;智力固存观/人格可塑观型大学生的消极应对和抑郁显著高于其他三类大学生。     

Instructor Feedback for College Writing Assignments in Introductory Classes

We compared three instructor feedback protocols to determine whether minimal instructor feedback could improve undergraduate students' writing skills in large introductory classes. The three feedback conditions were specific feedback, nonspecific feedback, and grade only. Sixty community college students participated in the study. Sections of an Introduction to Human Services course were randomly assigned to the three feedback conditions. Students wrote 9 timed essays during the semester. Pretest data were collected from the first essay at the beginning of the semester. Posttest data were taken from the final essay. Data for each student's essays consisted of the number of words written, the number of spelling errors, and the number of syntax grammar errors. Between the pretest and the posttest, students wrote 7 timed essays during class periods. Students in the specific feedback condition received a tally of spelling and grammar errors on grade criteria sheets and the location of the errors marked on their essays. In the nonspecific feedback condition, students received a tally of the errors on their grade criteria sheets but the locations of the errors were not marked on the essays. In the grade only condition, students received feedback on the number of points they had earned for each essay. Significant differences were found for pretest–posttest difference (gain) scores for the proportion of errors to the number of words written between the specific feedback condition and the grade only condition. Specific feedback decreased the proportion of errors to words written. The grade only condition maintained the same proportion of errors to words written from pretest to posttest. Significant differences were also found between difference (gain) scores for total errors between the specific feedback condition and the grade only condition and between the nonspecific feedback condition and the grade only condition.     

Effect of manipulating positive and negative feedback on goal orientations, perceived motivational climate, satisfaction, task choice, perception of ability, and attitude toward physical education lessons

This study examined the effect of different types of feedback on goal orientation, perception of motivational climate, satisfaction, and boredom in physical education (PE) classes, pupils' preferences for challenging versus easy tasks, pupils' attitudes towards PE lessons, and perception of gymnastic ability. 95 subjects in three treatment conditions (positive feedback, negative feedback, and both feedback types) participated in 14 lessons and completed pre- and postintervention measures. Results showed that subjects in the positive feedback group had significantly higher scores on learning-oriented motivational climate and enjoyment than the subjects of the negative feedback group. The negative feedback group reported higher scores on performance-oriented motivational climate than the positive feedback group. Results also showed that subjects in the group receiving both types of feedback had lower scores on learning-oriented motivational climate, higher scores on enjoyment than the negative feedback group, and lower scores on boredom than the positive feedback group. The effects of feedback on physical education students' motivation are discussed.     

Student Derogation of the Scholastic Aptitude Test: Biases in Perceptions and Presentations of College Board Scores

A consistent finding in laboratory research is that individuals are quite adept at dismissing and disavowing unfavorable feedback. Three studies extend this research to a nonlaboratory setting by examining how students who receive relatively low scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) respond to this "failure" feedback. Studies 1 and 2 revealed biases in both perceptions and presentations of test scores. Students with lower SAT scores regarded their score as invalid and also believed that a higher score would be more accurate. This was true even though actual SAT scores significantly predicted current college grade-point average (GPA), whereas the scores subjects estimated would be accurate did not. In addition, when reporting their SAT scores, students systematically inflated them, reporting scores higher than those they actually received. Study 3 suggests that the misreporting of SAT scores is attributable partly, but not entirely, to impression management.     

Possible barnum effect in the five factor model: do respondents accept random neo personality inventory-revised scores as their actual trait profile?

This study investigated a possible Barnum effect in personality traits, i.e., that persons accept a false trait profile as correct. Having answered the Norwegian translation of the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, a group of 75 students, 56 (five women military aviation cadets and 19 (10 women) graduate students, received a random T-score profile and were asked to rate their agreement on a 7-point scale. For all personality traits, i.e., facets and domains measured by the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, positive correlations ranging from .08 to .64 were found between the agreement ratings and the similarity between the random false scores and the actual scores. The respondents identified and rejected random T scores that deviated far from their actual scores, which works against the Barnum effect. Correct identification correlated negatively with Neuroticism r = -.41) and positively (r = .53) with Conscientiousness.     

The effects of token reinforcement,feedback and response cost on standardized test performance

The primary purpose of the present study was to compare the differential effects of token reinforcement, feedback, and response cost on the test performance of delinquent boys. Eighty students were randomly assigned to three experimental groups and one control group of 20 subjects each. Each experimental group received a standard and a modified administration of the verbal section of the WISC. For the token reinforcement group, the modified WISC administration permitted students to earn tokens contingent on correct responses; the response cost group forfeited tokens contingent on incorrect responses; and the feedback group simply received information regarding the accuracy of each response. The control group received two standard WISC administrations. The primary measure was the difference in verbal I.Q. scores between the standard and modified WISC administrations. Results indicated that the token reinforcement and response cost groups achieved significantly higher scores than the feedback and control groups. No significant differences were found between the token reinforcement and response cost groups nor between the feedback and control groups. The implications of these findings for clarifying the relationship between motivational condition and test performance are discussed.     

Free-response self-discrepancies across, among, and within FFM personality dimensions

An approach for personality-based self-discrepancy (PBSD) measurement is proposed, whereby self-beliefs and incongruities among their contents are assessed with respect to five-factor model (FFM) semantic dimensions. Selves Questionnaire attributes from 191 college students were coded against L. R. Goldberg's (1990) FFM factor analysis to construct personality scores for actual, ideal, and ought self domains, as well as several PBSD indices. Multivariate analyses were conducted to test self-discrepancy and personality-structure hypotheses, and to demonstrate this strategy's operational flexibility. Profile analyses indicated that empirical self-discrepancies depend upon whether and how personality structure is incorporated. Methodological alterations influenced self-discrepancy findings negligibly. Initial evidence for PBSD construct validity and predictive specificity is presented, and the approach's implications, advantages, and extensions are discussed.     

Can people accurately estimate their own personality test scores?

This study examined the relationship between subjects' actual test derived scores and their estimates of what those scores would be. Fifty-six subjects completed three questionnaires (Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire; FIRO-B; Myers—Briggs Type Indicator MBTI), and then estimated the scores on each dimension (15 in all) for themselves and another person that they knew well. The results showed significant positive correlations on 10 of the 15 dimensions for themselves. The dimensions that they were best at estimating were Morningness-Eveningness; Extraversion, and Thinking on the MBTI; and Wanted and Expressed Inclusion on the FIRO-B. Eight correlations reached significance concerning their ability to predict another known person's scores but were lower than for their own estimate-actual score correlations. Whereas subjects believed that they were like the other person they nominated (12 of the 15 correlations were significantly positive), in actual fact their test derived scores showed only five significant findings, two positive and the others negative. The results are discussed in terms of lay theories of personality and their relationship to personality assessment.     

Preference for situations involving effort, time pressure, and feedback in relation to type A behavior, locus of control, and test anxiety

Eighty subjects from an introductory psychology course rated the desirability of eight course structures that differed according to all combinations of the presence or absence of effort required for success, time pressure, and the provision of feedback. Subjects also completed questionnaire measures of the Type A behavior pattern, test anxiety, and external locus of control. Results showed that the Type A behavior pattern was negatively related to external locus of control and that externals tended to have higher test anxiety scores than internals. Multiple regression analyses that involved the personality variables and age and gender showed that the Type A variable predicted preference for course structures that involved effort and feedback and that external control predicted preference for course structures that were independent of effort and provided little feedback. Test anxiety and desirability ratings were positively correlated for the course structure that was not dependent on effort, had little time pressure, and had little feedback. The results were consistent with the view that individuals seek out and prefer situations that are consistent with their personality characteristics.     

Do confusing information and egocentric instructions influence perception?

In an investigation of psychological differentiation, Witkin's personality dimension, 12 field-dependent and 12 field-independent students were selected from a population of college men in summerschool based on their Embedded Figures Test scores. They were assigned to conditions, given egocentric or gravitational instructions, and provided clarified or obscuring feedback about their performance on the Rod and Frame Test. Although instructions had no effect, students with clarified feedback performed better than those whose feedback was confusing. Field-independent men had less difficulty with the confusing feedback than did field-dependent men.     

Personality,husband-wife similarity,and Holland's occupational types

The present investigation had two purposes. The first was to investigate the generalizability of the theorized personality characteristics of men within Holland's occupational types to groups of men typed by their actual vocations instead of their vocational interests. The second purpose was to investigate the extent to which the wives of men in each of the occupational groups were similar to their husbands in terms of personality characteristics. Multiple discriminant analysis of the groups' 16PF scores resulted in significant overall groups differentiation and in two significant discriminant functions labeled tender-mindedness and self-confidence. The second finding was that Social and Enterprising men were significantly similar to their wives on personality dimensions consistent with the defining characteristics of the respective Holland groups. Implications of the present results and suggestions for future research are presented.     

大学生心理承受力词汇内隐观的初步研究

本研究以内隐人格假设和词汇学假设作为研究的方法学基础,在619名大学生预调查的基础上编制形容词调查表,然后对1566名大学生的心理承受力进行正式调查,结果表明：(1)我国大学生心理承受力主要包含六个因素：意志能动性、人际适应性、理智性、自我适应性、包容性和超然性;(2)大学生对心理承受力成分的看法印证了专家关于压力抵抗人格特征的观点。     

Personality,achievement test scores,and high school percentile as predictors of academic performance across four years of coursework

This research examined the role of three Big Five-related personality traits (Prudence, Sociability, and Ambition) as unique predictors of academic performance. Two successive undergraduate classes (entering in 1998 and 1999) completed personality inventories upon entering college. The authors obtained grade point averages (GPA’s) for all students in the Spring of 2003. Two of the traits, Prudence and Sociability, contributed unique variance to GPA when the effects of high school percentile rank and achievement test scores were controlled for both classes. There was a decline in incremental validity for these two personality traits as predictors of GPA later in student tenure. Ambition was unrelated to academic performance for both classes.