projective measure

Examples of projective measure in the following topics:

• Overview of Personality Assessment

  • Psychologists measure personality through objective tests (such as self-reports) and projective measures.
  • The most common of these methods include objective tests and projective measures.
  • Projective measures, unlike objective tests, are sensitive to the rater's or examiner's beliefs.
  • Two of the most popular projective measures are the Thematic Apperception Measure and the Rorschach test.
  • The advantage of projective measures is that they purportedly expose certain aspects of personality that are impossible to measure by means of an objective test; for instance, they are more reliable at uncovering unconscious personality traits or features.

• Validity and Reliability of Personality Assessments

  • Not all personality measures are created equal.
  • Because of this, objective tests are said to have more validity than projective tests.
  • Projective measures like the Rorschach Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test have been criticized for having poor reliability and validity, for lacking scientific evidence, and for relying too much on the subjective judgment of a clinician.
  • Some projective tests, like the Rorschach, have undergone standardization procedures so they can be relatively effective in measuring depression, psychosis, and anxiety.
  • Projective tests are often considered best used for informational purposes only, and not as a true measure of personality.

• Circadian Rhythms

  • But the retina also contains specialized ganglion cells, which are photosensitive and project directly to the SCN, where they help in the entrainment of this master circadian clock.
  • The circadian rhythm falls and rises at different times of the day; in fact, numerous studies have demonstrated that human circadian rhythms in many measures of performance and physiological activity actually have a 2-peak daily (circasemidian) pattern.

• The Brain and Personality

  • One of his early projects was to locate in the dictionary every term that he thought could describe a person.
  • The second type of data was experimental data which involves measuring reactions to standardized experimental situations.

• Accuracy vs. Precision

  • Smith collects a measurement for that person that is 67.5 inches, her measurement is now inaccurate because it is no longer close to the true value.
  • If she measures that same 63-inch tall person three times, and collects measurements of 67.5, 67.4, and 67.4, this means that she has collected very precise measurements.
  • Smith's grad student also measures the same 63-inch tall person and obtains measurements of 63.0, 63.01, and 63.0.
  • Note that measurements can also be accurate, but not precise.
  • Measurement error can occur for a variety of reasons.

• The Psychology of Recruiting and Selecting Employees

  • Measures have different types of validity that capture different qualities.
  • The measure didn't cover the full breadth of what the job requires.
  • An example of a measure with debatable construct validity is IQ testing.
  • It is intended to measure intelligence, but there is disagreement about whether it measures intelligence, as it claims, or merely one type of skill.
  • The reliability of a measure refers to whether the measure gets repeatable results.

• IQ Tests

  • IQ tests are used to measure human intelligence quotient as measured against an age-based average intelligence score.
  • They are also thought to have high statistical validity, which means that they measure what they actually claim to measure, intelligence.
  • While all of these tests measure intelligence, not all of them label their standard scores as IQ scores.
  • Currently, most tests tend to measure both verbal and performance IQ.
  • All of these measures and tasks are used to calculate a person's IQ.

• Controversies in Intelligence and Standardized Testing

  • Those criticisms usually concern the use and applications of these measures.
  • They also cast doubt on the validity of IQ tests and whether IQ tests actually measure what they claim to measure—intelligence.
  • Another criticism points out that standardized tests that actually measure specific skills are misinterpreted as measures of intelligence.
  • Using a standardized test like the SAT, which is designed to measure scholastic aptitude, as a measure of intelligence is outside the scope of the tests' intended usage, even if the two do correlate.
  • Additionally, IQ cannot be said to describe or measure all possible cultural representations of intelligence.

• Evaluating the Biological Perspective on Personality

  • The biological perspective produces easily measured data and can find treatments for disorders but does not explain all personality factors.
  • All factors are reduced to quantifiable variables that can be reliably measured by personality trait models and questionnaires.
  • The personality measures, such as Cattell's 16 factor model of personality, are standardized across measurements.
  • These measures of personality are very compatible with statistical analyses and provide an easily administered and measurable definition of personality.
  • In addition, the correlational studies used for measuring normal personality traits are subjected to the same rules as normal correlational research: they cannot be used alone to establish causation.

• Perceiving Depth, Distance, and Size

  • When an image is projected onto a single retina, cues about the relative size of the object compared to other objects are obtained.
  • When an object moves toward an observer, the retinal projection of the object expands over a period of time, which leads to the perception of movement in a line toward the observer.
  • This is useful when you cross the street: as you watch a car come toward you, your brain uses the change in size projected on your retina to determine how far away it is.