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Book Title: Research Methods in Psychology

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Book Description: While Research Methods in Psychology is fairly traditional— making it easy for you to use with your existing courses — it also emphasizes a fundamental idea that is often lost on undergraduates: research methods are not a peripheral concern in our discipline; they are central. For questions about this textbook please contact [email protected]

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Research Methods in Psychology is adapted from a work produced by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing through the eLearning Support Initiative. For questions about this textbook please contact [email protected]

Research Methods in Psychology Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Table of Contents

Volume 1 — Foundations, Planning, Measures, and Psychometrics

Part I. Philosophical, Ethical, and Societal Underpinnings of Psychological Research (Chapters 1 – 6) Part II. Planning Research (Chapters 7 – 12) Part III. Measurement Methods (Chapters 13 – 32) Part IV. Psychometrics (Chapters 33 – 38)

Volume 2 — Research Designs: Quantitative, Qualitative, Neuropsychological, and Biological

Part I. Qualitative Research Methods (Chapters 1 – 11) Part II. Working Across Epistemologies, Methodologies, and Methods (Chapters 12 – 15) Part III. Sampling Across People and Time (Chapters 16 – 19) Part IV. Building and Testing Methods (Chapters 20 – 26) Part V. Designs Involving Experimental Manipulations (Chapters 27 – 32) Part VI. Quantitative Research Designs Involving Single Participants or Units (Chapters 33 – 34) Part VII. Designs in Neuropsychology and Biological Psychology (Chapters 35 – 38)

Volume 3 — Data Analysis and Research Publication

Part I. Quantitative Data Analysis (Chapters 1 – 24) Part II. Publishing and the Publication Process (Chapters 25 – 27)

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With significant new and updated content across dozens of chapters, the second edition of the APA Handbook of Research Methods in Psychology presents the most exhaustive treatment available of the techniques psychologists and others have developed to help them pursue a shared understanding of why humans think, feel, and behave the way they do. Across three volumes, the chapters in this indispensable handbook address broad, crosscutting issues faced by researchers: the philosophical, ethical, and societal underpinnings of psychological research. Newly written chapters cover topics such as:

• Literature searching
• Workflow and reproducibility
• Research funding
• Neuroimaging
• Data analysis methods
• Navigating the publishing process
• Ethics in scholarly authorship
• Research data management and sharing
• Applied Psychology 
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Education Psychology
• Human Development
• Neuroscience
• Public health

Harris Cooper, 

Duke University

Marc N. Coutanche, 

University of Pittsburgh

Linda M. McMullen, 

University of Saskatchewan (Canada) A.T. Panter, 

University of North Carolina 

at Chapel Hill ISBN: 978-1-4338-4123-1

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Psychologists use a variety of research methods and tools to learn about behavior and mental processes. The goal of this book is to introduce students to the “multimethod approach” to research in psychology, including observational, survey, and experimental methods. Students learn the strengths and weaknesses of each method, as well as ethical dilemmas when using them, so that they can become competent practitioners and thoughtful consumers of psychological research. Our approach is to engage students in the research process by describing contemporary research in psychology. Students learn about recent topics such as online dating and Facebook, cross-cultural observations of helping behavior, PTSD in orphaned chimpanzees, Medicaid and Medicare health outcomes, decision-making during Hurricane Katrina, clinical research and DSM-5 , and much more. Each chapter's “stretching exercises,” “stat tips,” review questions, and challenge questions develop students' critical thinking about the psychological research that appears in scientific journals and in popular media. Together with the companion Online Learning Center for students, the 10th edition of Research Methods in Psychology provides a clearly written, compelling introduction to research methods in psychology. Instructors and students can now access their course content through the Connect digital learning platform by purchasing either standalone Connect access or a bundle of print and Connect access. McGraw-Hill Connect® is a subscription-based learning service accessible online through your personal computer or tablet. Choose this option if your instructor will require Connect to be used in the course. Your subscription to Connect includes the following: • SmartBook® - an adaptive digital version of the course textbook that personalizes your reading experience based on how well you are learning the content. • Access to your instructor’s homework assignments, quizzes, syllabus, notes, reminders, and other important files for the course. • Progress dashboards that quickly show how you are performing on your assignments and tips for improvement. • The option to purchase (for a small fee) a print version of the book. This binder-ready, loose-leaf version includes free shipping. Complete system requirements to use Connect can be found here: http://www.mheducation.com/highered/platforms/connect/training-support-students.html

Brief Contents

General issues, 1 introduction, 2 the scientific method, 3 ethical issues in the conduct of psychological research, descriptive methods, 4 observation, 5 survey research, experimental methods, 6 independent groups designs, 7 repeated measures designs, 8 complex designs, applied research, 9 single-case designs and small-n research, 10 quasi-experimental designs and program evaluation, analyzing and reporting research, 11 data analysis and interpretation: part i. describing data, confidence intervals, correlation, 12 data analysis and interpretation: part ii. tests of statistical significance and the analysis story, 13 communication in psychology, appendix statistical tables, subject index.

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About the Author

John Shaughnessy

John J. Shaughnessy is a Professor of Psychology at Hope College, a relatively small, select, undergraduate liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. After completing the B.S. degree at Loyola University of Chicago in 1969, he received his Ph.D. in 1972 from Northwestern University. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society whose recent research has focused on practical aspects of memory. He is coauthor, with Benton J. Underwood, of Experimentation in Psychology (Wiley, 1975). He was selected by students in 1992 as the Hope Outstanding Professor Educator. He has served as chairperson of the psychology department and as a mentor in the College's Faculty Development Program for younger faculty.

Eugene Zechmeister

Eugene B. Zechmeister is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago, a large metropolitan university where he taught both undergraduate and graduate courses. For many years at Loyola he was the Undergraduate Program Director in Psychology. Professor Zechmeister completed his B.A. in 1966 at the University of New Mexico. He later received both his M.S. (1968) and Ph.D. (1970) from Northwestern University. Professor Zechmeister has authored books on human memory, critical thinking, and statistics, as well as research methods in psychology. He has been a Fellow of both the American Psychological Association (Divisions 1,2, and 3) and the Association for Psychological Science. In 1994, he was awarded the Loyola University Sujack Award for Teaching Excellence in the College of Arts and Sciences. He currently lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Jeanne Zechmeister

Jeanne S. Zechmeister was an Associate Professor of Psychology at Loyola University of Chicago, where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in research methodology since 1990. Professor Zechmeister completed her B.A. at University of Wisconsin-Madison (1983) and her M.S. (1988) and Ph.D. (1990) in Clinical Psychology at Northwestern University. Her research focused on psychological processes associated with forgiveness. Her effectiveness as a teacher is evidenced by her many years of high teacher ratings and by her being identified consistently each year by graduating seniors as one of their best teachers at Loyola. She has co-authored, with J.J. Shaughnessy and E.B. Zechmeister, the Research Methods in Psychology text since its 5th edition (McGraw-Hill, 2000, 2003, 2006) and Essentials of Research Methods in Psychology (McGraw-Hill, 2001). Dr. Zechmeister now writes professionally in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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Research Methods in Psychology

• Glynis M Breakwell - University of Bath, UK
• Daniel B. Wright - University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA
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Much has changed in psychological research in the last decade and much has changed in the fifth edition of Research Methods in Psychology to make sure that it is still an essential textbook for teaching Research Methods.

With 6 new chapters looking at the biggest issues in psychological research and a complete reframing of qualitative and quantitative methods, this book is at the forefront of ethical, innovative and sound research.

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Covers basic paradigms of research methods in psychology, while it offers an insight into more advanced methods. This textbook can be used across all levels from UG to Doctoral courses.

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Research Methods in Psychology

• Glynis M Breakwell - University of Bath, UK
• Daniel B. Wright - University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA
• Julie Barnett - The University of Bath, UK
• Description

Much has changed in psychological research in the last decade and much has changed in the fifth edition of Research Methods in Psychology to make sure that it is still an essential textbook for teaching Research Methods.

With 6 new chapters looking at the biggest issues in psychological research and a complete reframing of qualitative and quantitative methods, this book is at the forefront of ethical, innovative and sound research.

Within each chapter there are features to help students

·         Consolidate learning

·         Reflect on key studies

·         Improve critical thinking

·         Develop their evaluation skills

Take a look to see how we’ve redesigned this classic texts to meet the needs of the modern researcher and lecturer.

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Covers basic paradigms of research methods in psychology, while it offers an insight into more advanced methods. This textbook can be used across all levels from UG to Doctoral courses.

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Book Title: Research Methods in Psychology

Subtitle: 4th edition

Authors: Rajiv S. Jhangiani; I-Chant A. Chiang; Carrie Cuttler; and Dana C. Leighton

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Book Description: A comprehensive textbook for research methods classes. A peer-reviewed inter-institutional project.

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Book description.

This adaptation constitutes the fourth edition of this textbook, and builds upon the second Canadian edition by Rajiv S. Jhangiani (Kwantlen Polytechnic University) and I-Chant A. Chiang (Quest University Canada) , the second American edition by Dana C. Leighton (Texas A&M University-Texarkana) , and the third American edition by Carrie Cuttler (Washington State University) and feedback from several peer reviewers coordinated by the Rebus Community . This edition is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License .

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Research Methods in Psychology: Evaluating a World of Information Fourth Edition

The #1 research methods text―loved by instructors and students

• ISBN-10 0393893723
• ISBN-13 978-0393893724
• Edition Fourth
• Publisher W. W. Norton & Company
• Publication date December 15, 2021
• Language English
• Dimensions 8.1 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Print length 672 pages
• See all details

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Fourth edition (December 15, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 672 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393893723
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393893724
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 1 year and up
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.15 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.1 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• #239 in Popular Psychology Research
• #268 in Medical Psychology Research
• #1,331 in Psychology (Books)

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Independent and Dependent Variables

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In research, a variable is any characteristic, number, or quantity that can be measured or counted in experimental investigations . One is called the dependent variable, and the other is the independent variable.

In research, the independent variable is manipulated to observe its effect, while the dependent variable is the measured outcome. Essentially, the independent variable is the presumed cause, and the dependent variable is the observed effect.

Variables provide the foundation for examining relationships, drawing conclusions, and making predictions in research studies.

Independent Variable

In psychology, the independent variable is the variable the experimenter manipulates or changes and is assumed to directly affect the dependent variable.

It’s considered the cause or factor that drives change, allowing psychologists to observe how it influences behavior, emotions, or other dependent variables in an experimental setting. Essentially, it’s the presumed cause in cause-and-effect relationships being studied.

For example, allocating participants to drug or placebo conditions (independent variable) to measure any changes in the intensity of their anxiety (dependent variable).

In a well-designed experimental study , the independent variable is the only important difference between the experimental (e.g., treatment) and control (e.g., placebo) groups.

By changing the independent variable and holding other factors constant, psychologists aim to determine if it causes a change in another variable, called the dependent variable.

For example, in a study investigating the effects of sleep on memory, the amount of sleep (e.g., 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours) would be the independent variable, as the researcher might manipulate or categorize it to see its impact on memory recall, which would be the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable

In psychology, the dependent variable is the variable being tested and measured in an experiment and is “dependent” on the independent variable.

In psychology, a dependent variable represents the outcome or results and can change based on the manipulations of the independent variable. Essentially, it’s the presumed effect in a cause-and-effect relationship being studied.

An example of a dependent variable is depression symptoms, which depend on the independent variable (type of therapy).

In an experiment, the researcher looks for the possible effect on the dependent variable that might be caused by changing the independent variable.

For instance, in a study examining the effects of a new study technique on exam performance, the technique would be the independent variable (as it is being introduced or manipulated), while the exam scores would be the dependent variable (as they represent the outcome of interest that’s being measured).

Examples in Research Studies

For example, we might change the type of information (e.g., organized or random) given to participants to see how this might affect the amount of information remembered.

In this example, the type of information is the independent variable (because it changes), and the amount of information remembered is the dependent variable (because this is being measured).

For the following hypotheses, name the IV and the DV.

1. Lack of sleep significantly affects learning in 10-year-old boys.

IV……………………………………………………

DV…………………………………………………..

2. Social class has a significant effect on IQ scores.

DV……………………………………………….…

3. Stressful experiences significantly increase the likelihood of headaches.

4. Time of day has a significant effect on alertness.

Operationalizing Variables

To ensure cause and effect are established, it is important that we identify exactly how the independent and dependent variables will be measured; this is known as operationalizing the variables.

Operational variables (or operationalizing definitions) refer to how you will define and measure a specific variable as it is used in your study. This enables another psychologist to replicate your research and is essential in establishing reliability (achieving consistency in the results).

For example, if we are concerned with the effect of media violence on aggression, then we need to be very clear about what we mean by the different terms. In this case, we must state what we mean by the terms “media violence” and “aggression” as we will study them.

Therefore, you could state that “media violence” is operationally defined (in your experiment) as ‘exposure to a 15-minute film showing scenes of physical assault’; “aggression” is operationally defined as ‘levels of electrical shocks administered to a second ‘participant’ in another room.

In another example, the hypothesis “Young participants will have significantly better memories than older participants” is not operationalized. How do we define “young,” “old,” or “memory”? “Participants aged between 16 – 30 will recall significantly more nouns from a list of twenty than participants aged between 55 – 70” is operationalized.

The key point here is that we have clarified what we mean by the terms as they were studied and measured in our experiment.

If we didn’t do this, it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to compare the findings of different studies to the same behavior.

Operationalization has the advantage of generally providing a clear and objective definition of even complex variables. It also makes it easier for other researchers to replicate a study and check for reliability .

For the following hypotheses, name the IV and the DV and operationalize both variables.

1. Women are more attracted to men without earrings than men with earrings.

I.V._____________________________________________________________

D.V. ____________________________________________________________

Operational definitions:

I.V. ____________________________________________________________

2. People learn more when they study in a quiet versus noisy place.

I.V. _________________________________________________________

D.V. ___________________________________________________________

3. People who exercise regularly sleep better at night.

Can there be more than one independent or dependent variable in a study?

Yes, it is possible to have more than one independent or dependent variable in a study.

In some studies, researchers may want to explore how multiple factors affect the outcome, so they include more than one independent variable.

Similarly, they may measure multiple things to see how they are influenced, resulting in multiple dependent variables. This allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the topic being studied.

What are some ethical considerations related to independent and dependent variables?

Ethical considerations related to independent and dependent variables involve treating participants fairly and protecting their rights.

Researchers must ensure that participants provide informed consent and that their privacy and confidentiality are respected. Additionally, it is important to avoid manipulating independent variables in ways that could cause harm or discomfort to participants.

Researchers should also consider the potential impact of their study on vulnerable populations and ensure that their methods are unbiased and free from discrimination.

Ethical guidelines help ensure that research is conducted responsibly and with respect for the well-being of the participants involved.

Can qualitative data have independent and dependent variables?

Yes, both quantitative and qualitative data can have independent and dependent variables.

In quantitative research, independent variables are usually measured numerically and manipulated to understand their impact on the dependent variable. In qualitative research, independent variables can be qualitative in nature, such as individual experiences, cultural factors, or social contexts, influencing the phenomenon of interest.

The dependent variable, in both cases, is what is being observed or studied to see how it changes in response to the independent variable.

So, regardless of the type of data, researchers analyze the relationship between independent and dependent variables to gain insights into their research questions.

Can the same variable be independent in one study and dependent in another?

Yes, the same variable can be independent in one study and dependent in another.

The classification of a variable as independent or dependent depends on how it is used within a specific study. In one study, a variable might be manipulated or controlled to see its effect on another variable, making it independent.

However, in a different study, that same variable might be the one being measured or observed to understand its relationship with another variable, making it dependent.

The role of a variable as independent or dependent can vary depending on the research question and study design.

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Personality Assessments: 10 Best Inventories, Tests, & Methods

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What are personality assessments in psychology, 4 methods and types of personality assessments, 7 evidence-based inventories, scales, and tests.

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Personality is a tricky concept to define in concrete terms, and this is reflected both in the number of personality theories that exist and the lack of consensus among personality psychologists.

However, for this article, we can think of personality as the totality of one’s behavioral patterns and subjective experiences (Kernberg, 2016).

All individuals have a constellation of traits and experiences that make them unique yet simultaneously suggest that there are some generalizable or distinct qualities inherent in all humans.

In psychology, we are interested in understanding how traits and qualities that people possess cluster together and the extent to which these vary across and within individuals.

Now, it’s all very well and good knowing that personality exists as a concept and that your employees and clients differ in their groupings of traits and subjective experiences, but how can you apply this information to your professional work with them?

This is where measuring and assessing personality comes into play. Like most psychological concepts, researchers want to show that theoretical knowledge can be useful for working life and brought to bear in the real world.

For example, knowing a client’s or employee’s personality can be key to setting them up for success at work and pursuing and achieving work-related goals. But we first need to identify or assess personality before we can help others to reap these benefits.

Personality assessments are used for several reasons.

First, they can provide professionals with an opportunity to identify their strengths and reaffirm their sense of self. It is no coincidence that research on strengths is so popular or that strengths have such a prominent place in the working world. People like to know who they are, and they want to capitalize on the qualities and traits they possess.

Second, personality assessments can provide professionals with a social advantage by helping them to understand how they are perceived by others such as colleagues, managers, and stakeholders — the looking glass self (Cooley, 1902).

In the sections below, we will explore different personality assessments and popular evidence-based scales.

1. Self-report assessments

Self-reports are one of the most widely used formats for psychometric testing. They are as they sound: reports or questionnaires that a client or employee completes themselves (and often scores themselves).

Self-report measures can come in many formats. The most common are Likert scales where individuals are asked to rate numerically (from 1 to 7 for example) the extent to which they feel that each question describes their thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.

These types of assessments are popular because they are easy to distribute and complete, they are often cost effective, and they can provide helpful insights into behavior.

However, they also have downsides to be wary of, including an increase in unconscious biases such as the social desirability bias (i.e., the desire to answer “correctly”). They can also be prone to individuals not paying attention, not answering truthfully, or not fully understanding the questions asked.

Such issues can lead to an inaccurate assessment of personality. Self-reports can be completed in both personal and professional settings and can be particularly helpful in a coaching practice, for example.

However, if you are a professional working with clients in any capacity, it is advised to first try out any self-report measure before suggesting them to clients. In this way, you can gauge for yourself the usefulness and validity of the measure.

2. Behavioral observation

Another useful method of personality assessment is behavioral observation. This method entails someone observing and documenting a person’s behavior.

While this method is more resource heavy in terms of time and requires an observer (preferably one who is experienced and qualified in observing and coding the behavior), it can be useful as a complementary method employed alongside self-reports because it can provide an external corroboration of behavior.

Alternatively, behavioral observation can fail to corroborate self-report scores, raising the question of how reliably an individual has answered their self-report.

3. Interviews

Interviews are used widely from clinical settings to workplaces to determine an individual’s personality. Even a job interview is a test of behavioral patterns and experiences (i.e., personality).

During such interviews, the primary aim is to gather as much information as possible by using probing questions. Responses should be recorded, and there should be a standardized scoring system to determine the outcome of the interview (for example, whether the candidate is suitable for the role).

While interviews can elicit rich data about a client or employee, they are also subject to the unconscious biases of the interviewers and can be open to interpretation if there is no method for scoring or evaluating the interviewee.

4. Projective tests

These types of tests are unusual in that they present individuals with an abstract or vague object, task, or activity and require them to describe what they see. The idea here is that the unfiltered interpretation can provide insight into the person’s psychology and way of thinking.

A well-known example of a projective test is the Rorschach inkblot test. However, there are limitations to projective tests due to their interpretative nature and the lack of a consistent or quantifiable way of coding or scoring individuals’ responses.

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Personality assessments can be used in the workplace during recruitment to gauge whether someone would be a good fit for a job or organization and to help determine job performance, career progression, and development.

Below, we highlight a few commonly used inventories and tests for such career assessments.

1. The Hogan personality inventory (HPI)

The Hogan personality inventory (Hogan & Hogan, 2002) is a self-report personality assessment created by Robert Hogan and Joyce Hogan in the late 1970s.

It was originally based on the California Personality Inventory (Gough, 1975) and also draws upon the five-factor model of personality. The five-factor model of personality suggests there are five key dimensions of personality: openness to experience , conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (Digman, 1990).

The Hogan assessment comprises 206 items across seven different scales that measure and predict social behavior and social outcomes rather than traits or qualities , as do other popular personality measures.

These seven scales include:

• Sociability
• Interpersonal sensitivity
• Inquisitiveness
• Learning approach

The HPI’s primary use is within organizations to help with recruitment and the development of leaders . It is a robust scale with over 40 years of evidence to support it, and the scale itself takes roughly 15–20 minutes to complete (Hogan Assessments, n.d.).

2. DISC test

The DISC test of personality developed by Merenda and Clarke (1965) is a very popular personality self-assessment used primarily within the corporate world. It is based on the emotional and behavioral DISC theory (Marston, 1928), which measures individuals on four dimensions of behavior:

The self-report comprises 24 questions and takes roughly 10 minutes to complete. While the test is simpler and quicker to complete than other popular tests (e.g., the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), it has been subject to criticism regarding its psychometric properties.

3. Gallup – CliftonStrengths™ Assessment

Unlike the DISC test, the CliftonStrengths™ assessment , employed by Gallup and based on the work of Marcus Buckingham and Don Clifton (2001), is a questionnaire designed specifically to help individuals identify strengths in the workplace and learn how to use them.

The assessment is a self-report Likert scale comprising 177 questions and takes roughly 30 minutes to complete. Once scored, the assessment provides individuals with 34 strength themes organized into four key domains:

• Strategic thinking
• Influencing
• Relationship building

The scale has a solid theoretical and empirical grounding, making it a popular workplace assessment around the world.

4. NEO-PI-R

The NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 2008) is a highly popular self-report personality assessment based on Allport and Odbert’s (1936) trait theory of personality.

With good reliability, this scale has amassed a large evidence base, making it an appealing inventory for many. The NEO-PI-R assesses an individual’s strengths, talents, and weaknesses and is often used by employers to identify suitable candidates for job openings.

It uses the big five factors of personality (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) and also includes an additional six subcategories within the big five, providing a detailed breakdown of each personality dimension.

The scale itself comprises 240 questions that describe different behaviors and takes roughly 30–40 minutes to complete. Interestingly, this inventory can be administered as a self-report or, alternatively, as an observational report, making it a favored assessment among professionals.

5. Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)

The EPQ is a personality assessment developed by personality psychologists Hans Eysenck and Sybil Eysenck (1975).

The scale results from successive revisions and improvements of earlier scales: the Maudsley Personality Inventory (Eysenck 1959) and Eysenck Personality Inventory (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1964).

The aim of the EPQ is to measure the three dimensions of personality as espoused by Eysenck’s psychoticism–extraversion–neuroticism theory of personality The scale itself uses a Likert format and was revised and shortened in 1992 to include 48 items (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1992).

This is a generally useful scale; however, some researchers have found that there are reliability issues with the psychoticism subscale, likely because this was a later addition to the scale.

6. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

The MMPI (Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) is one of the most widely used personality inventories in the world and uses a true/false format of questioning.

It was initially designed to assess mental health problems in clinical settings during the 1940s and uses 10 clinical subscales to assess different psychological conditions.

The inventory was revised in the 1980s, resulting in the MMPI-2, which comprised 567 questions, and again in 2020, resulting in the MMPI-3, which comprises a streamlined 338 questions.

While the revised MMPI-3 takes a lengthy 35–50 minutes to complete, it remains popular to this day, particularly in clinical settings, and enables the accurate capture of aspects of psychopathy and mental health disturbance. The test has good reliability but must be administered by a professional.

7. 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF)

The 16PF (Cattell et al., 1970) is another rating scale inventory used primarily in clinical settings to identify psychiatric disorders by measuring “normal” personality traits.

Cattell identified 16 primary personality traits, with five secondary or global traits underneath that map onto the big five factors of personality.

These include such traits as warmth, reasoning, and emotional stability, to name a few. The most recent version of the questionnaire (the fifth edition) comprises 185 multiple-choice questions that ask about routine behaviors on a 10-point scale and takes roughly 35–50 minutes to complete.

The scale is easy to administer and well validated but must be administered by a professional.

Helpful Tools & Questions

We share two informative videos on this topic and then move on to a short collection of questions that can be used for career development.

1. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

Many of us have heard of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers & McCaulley, 1985), and for good reason. It is one of the most popular and widely used personality assessments out there.

A mother and daughter team developed the MBTI in the 1940s during the Second World War. The MBTI comprises 93 questions that aim to measure an individual on four different dimensions of personality:

• Introversion/extraversion
• Sensing/ intuition
• Thinking/feeling
• Judging/perceiving

The test provides individuals with a type of personality out of a possible 16 combinations. Whilst this test is a favorite in workplaces, there are serious criticisms leveled at how the scale was developed and the lack of rigorous evidence to support its use.

For more information on the MBTI, you might enjoy the below videos:

We recommend that if you employ MBTI, be mindful of its scientific deficiencies and support your personality testing further by completing an additional validated scale.

10 Career development questions

• Tell me about what inspires you. What gets you out of bed in the morning?
• Tell me about your vision for your career/life.
• What aspects of your role do you love? What aspects do you struggle with?
• Tell me about a time where you used your strengths to achieve a positive outcome.
• Are there any healthy habits you want to build into your work life?
• Describe your perfect working day. What would it look like?
• Tell me about your fears.
• What do you value most about your job?
• What goals are you currently working toward?
• How would your work colleagues describe you?

If you are interested in learning more about personality and personality assessments, the following three books are an excellent place to start.

These books were chosen because they give an excellent overview of what personality is and how it can be measured. They also illuminate some issues with personality assessments. They provide a good grounding for any professional looking to implement personality assessments in the workplace.

1. Mindset: Changing the Way You Think to Fulfil Your Potential – Carol Dweck

Enter Dr. Carol Dweck and several decades of psychological research she has conducted on motivation and personality.

The main thesis of the book is to explore the idea that people can have either a fixed or growth mindset (i.e., beliefs we hold about ourselves and the world around us). Adopting a growth mindset can be a critical determinant of outcomes such as performance and academic success.

Find the book on Amazon .

2. The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing – Merve Emre

If you are interested in the dark side of psychology assessments, this is the book for you.

This book explores how the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was developed and discusses the questionable validity of the scale despite its widespread popularity in the corporate world.

While many assessments can be helpful for self-reflecting on your own behavior, The Personality Brokers delve into the murky side of how psychological concepts can be used for monetary gains, even when evidence is lacking or disputed.

3. Psychological Types – Carl Jung

This is an excellent book from one of history’s most influential psychologists: Carl Jung.

The book focuses most on extraversion and introversion as the two key types of personality and also discusses the limitations of categorizing individuals into “types” of personality.

For those interested in the science of personality and who prefer a slightly heavier, academic read, this book is for you.

Interested in supplementing your professional life by exploring personality types? Here at PositivePsychology.com, we have several highly useful resources.

Maximizing Strengths Masterclass©

While strengths finding is a distinct and popular topic within positive psychology, we can draw parallels between strengths research and some conceptualizations of personality.

The Maximizing Strengths Masterclass© is designed to help clients reach their potential by looking at their strengths and what energizes them and helping them delve into their authentic selves. As a six-module coaching package, it includes 19 videos, a practitioner handbook, slide presentations, and much more.

Recommended Reading

For more information on personality psychology and personality assessments, check out the following related articles.

• Big Five Personality Traits: The OCEAN Model Explained
• Personality Psychology Explained: 7 Theories and Assessments
• Personality & Character Traits: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
• Personal Strengths Defined (+ List of 92 Personal Strengths)

17 Career exercises

Designed to help people use their personality and strengths at work, this collection of 17 work and career coaching exercises is grounded in scientific evidence. The exercises help individuals and clients identify areas for career growth and development. Some of these exercises include:

• Achievement Story Chart your successes at work, take time to reflect on your achievements, and identify how to use your strengths for growth.
• Job Analysis Through a Strengths Lens Identify your strengths and opportunities to use them when encountering challenges at work.
• Job Satisfaction Wheel Complete the job satisfaction wheel, which measures your current levels of happiness at work across seven different dimensions.
• What Work Means to You Identify how meaningful your work is to you by assessing your motivational orientation toward work (i.e., whether it is something you are called to and that aligns with your sense of self).

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others develop their strengths, this collection contains 17 strength-finding tools for practitioners. Use them to help others better understand and harness their strengths in life-enhancing ways.

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.

“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

When managing people, it is always helpful to have insight into why they behave the way they do. The same applies to assisting someone on their career path. Having an understanding of the qualities that influence behavioral responses can improve relationships, parenting, how people work, and even goal setting.

But there are some caveats to be mindful of:

• When using self-reports, take the scores with a pinch of salt, particularly as we all operate with unconscious biases that can skew results.
• Remain open minded about our personality traits; if we are resigned to the idea that they are inherited at birth, fixed, and unchanging, we are unlikely to gain any real discernment into our own evolving identity.
• Labels can oftentimes be limiting. Trying to condense the myriad aspects of an individual into a neat “personality” category could backfire.

In the right hands, validated personality assessments are valuable tools for guiding clients on the right career path, ensuring a good job fit and building strong teams.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Strengths Exercises for free .

• Allport, G. W., & Odbert, H. S. (1936). Trait-names: A psycho-lexical study. Psychological Monographs , 47 (1), i–171.
• Buckingham, M., & Clifton, D. O. (2001). Now, discover your strengths . Simon and Schuster.
• Cattell, R. B., Eber, H. W., & Tatsuoka, M. M. (1970). Handbook for the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire . Institute for Personality and Ability Testing.
• Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human nature and the social order . Transaction.
• Costa, P. T., Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (2008). The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) . In G. J. Boyle, G. Matthews, & D. H. Saklofske (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of personality theory and assessment, Vol. 2. Personality measurement and testing (pp. 179–198). SAGE.
• Digman, J. M. (1990). Personality structure: Emergence of the five-factor model. Annual Review of Psychology , 41 (1), 417–440.
• Eysenck, H. J. (1959). Manual of the Maudsley Personality Inventory . University of London Press.
• Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1964). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Inventory . University of London Press.
• Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1975). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire . Educational and Industrial Testing Service.
• Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1992). Manual for the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire–Revised . Educational and Industrial Testing Service.
• Gough, H. G. (1975). Manual: The California Psychological Inventory (Rev. ed.). Consulting Psychologist Press.
• Hathaway, S. R., & McKinley, J. C. (1943). The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Rev. ed., 2nd printing). University of Minnesota Press.
• Hogan Assessments. (n.d.). About. Retrieved May 8, 2023, from https://www.hoganassessments.com/about/.
• Hogan, R., & Hogan, J. (2002). The Hogan personality inventory. In B. de Raad & M. Perugini (Eds.), Big five assessment (pp. 329–346). Hogrefe & Huber.
• Kernberg, O. F. (2016). What is personality? Journal of Personality Disorders , 30 (2), 145–156.
• Marston, W. M. (1928). Emotions of normal people . Kegan Paul Trench Trubner and Company.
• Merenda, P. F., & Clarke, W. V. (1965). Self description and personality measurement. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 21 , 52–56.
• Myers, I. B., & McCaulley, M. H. (1985). Manual: A guide to the development and use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator . Palo Alto Consulting Psychologists Press.

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