INTRODUCTION TO

PERSONALITY

SUBMITTED BY- SHWETA UPPAL

SALONI SAHU
SANJIT MOHAPATRA

PERSONALITY
Personality is a dynamic organization, inside the person, of
psychophysical systems that create the persons characteristic pattern of
behaviour, thoughts and feelings.
(text, p. 5, Gordon Allport, 1937)
Personality is a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by
a person that uniquely influences their environment, cognitions, emotions,
motivations, and behavioural science in various situations. The word
personality originates from the latin word persona which means mask.

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT
Personality assessment is a questionnaire that is supposed to yield a
description of persons personality traits apersonality
inventory is a direct test of personality, as contrasted with a projective test.
Personality assessment, the measurement of personal characteristics.
Assessment is an end result of gathering information intended to advance
psychological theory and research and to increase the probability that wise
decisions will be made in applied settings
It includes interview, rating scale, self reports, projective techniques and
behavioural assessment.

1. INTERVIEW
Interviews are one of the oldest method of assessment. Interviews are
both verbal and non verbal components. Interviewers can obtain
information about a persons thoughts, feelings and other internal states
as well as information about current and past relationship, experiences
and behaviour. Structured interviews contain set of specific questions
that are administered to every participant. Another type, clinical
interview, is focussed on assessing the status of a particular individual.

2. RATING SCALE
Rating scales present users with an item and ask them to select from a number of choices.
The rating scale is similar in some respects to a multiple choice test, but its options
represent degrees of a particular characteristic.
Rating scales are used by observers and also by individuals for self-reporting They permit
convenient characterization of other people and their behaviour. The rating scale is one
approach to securing judgements. Rating scales present an observer with scalar
dimensions along which those who are observed are to be placed. A teacher, for example,
might be asked to rate students on the degree to which the behaviour of each reflects
leadership capacity, shyness, or creativity. Peers might rate each other along dimensions
such as friendliness, trustworthiness, and social skills. Several standardized, printed rating
scales are available for describing the behaviour of psychiatric hospital patients. Relatively
objective rating scales have also been devised for use with other groups .

3. PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES
Projective techniques, in which a person is shown ambiguous stimuli (such as shapes or
pictures) and asked to interpret them in some way. (such stimuli allow relative freedom in
projecting ones own interest and feelings into them, reacting in any way that seems
appropriate.) projective techniques are believed to be sensitive to unconscious dimensions
of personality. Defence mechanisms, latent impulse and anxieties have all been inferred
from data gathered in projective situations.
There are 2 test under this technique
1.Rorschach inkblot test
The Rorschach Inkblot Test is a projective psychological test consisting of
10 inkblots printed on cards (five in black and white, five in color) created in 1921.
2. Thematic apperception test (TAT)
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is a projective psychological test. Proponents of
this technique assert that a person's responses reveal underlying motives, concerns, and
the way they see the social world through the stories they make up about ambiguous
pictures of people.

4. BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT
Objective observation of a subjects behaviour is a technique that falls in the category
of behavioural assessment. Objective information includes the person observable
behaviour and usually dose not require the assessor to draw complex inferences about
such topics as attitudes towards parents, unconscious wishes, and deep-seated
conflicts. Such objective information is measured by behavioural assessment.
Psychologists device an explicit coding system that contains the behavioural
categories of interest. It can provide valuable information about how frequently and
under what conditions certain classes of behaviour occur. Behaviour assessment
requires precision in defining the behaviour of in trust and condition in which they
occur.

GENERAL APPLICATIONS
Personality Testing is used in recruitment.
Effective recruiters use personality assessment to enhance their decisionmaking about the potential of applicants.
Personality tests are used for managing people and for understanding yourself.
It is used to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy.
Personality tests are used in Diagnosing psychological problems.
It is also used for assessing theories.

REFERENCES
1.Costa, Paul T.; McCrae, Robert R. (1985). "The NEO personality inventory manual". Odessa,
FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
2.Gregory, R.J.(2005). Psychological Testing, History , Principles and application . New Delhi
Pearson Education
3.Passer, M.W and Smith , R.E(2007) , psychology . The Science Of Mind And Behavior.

INTRODUCTION TO NEO FIVE-FACTOR INVENTORY-3 (NEOFFI-3)

The NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3 (NEO-FFI-3), is the updated version of the NEO-FFI a 60-item
version of the NEO-PI-3. It provides a quick, reliable, and accurate measure of the five domains of
personality and is particularly useful when time is limited and when global information on personality is
needed.
The NEO-FFI was developed by Robert R. McCrae, Paul T. Costa Jr.(1989, 1992, 2010)
The Big Five personality traits are five broad domains or dimensions of personality that are used to
describe human personality, the five-factor model (FFM). The five factors are neuroticism, extraversion,
openness, agrreableness, conscientiousness.
Acronyms commonly used to refer to the five traits collectively are OCEAN, NEOAC, or CANOE. Beneath
each global factor, a cluster of correlated and more specific primary factors are found; for example,
extraversion includes such related qualities as gregariousness, assertiveness, excitement seeking, warmth,
activity, and positive emotions.
The Big Five model is able to account for different traits in personality without overlapping. Empirical
research has shown that the Big Five personality traits show consistency in interviews, self-descriptions and
observations. Moreover, this five-factor structure seems to be found across a wide range of participants of
different ages and of different cultures

Five domains of NEO-FFI

1. Neuroticism
The tendency to experience unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger ,anxiety, depression,
and vulnerability. Neuroticism also refers to the degree of emotional stability and impulse
control and is sometimes referred to by its low pole, emotional stability". A high need for
stability manifest as stable and calm personality, but can be seen as uninspiring and
unconcerned. A low need for stability causes a reactive and excitable personality, often very
dynamic individuals, but they can be perceived as unstable or insecure.
Facets of Neuroticism- Anxiety, Hostility, Depression, Self consciousness, impulsiveness,
vulnerability to stress.

2. Extraversion
Energy, positive

emotions, surgency, assertiveness, sociability and the

tendency to seek stimulation in the company of others, and talkativeness.
High extraversion is often perceived as attention-seeking, and
domineering. Low extraversion causes a reserved, reflective personality,
which can be perceived as aloof or self-absorbed.
Facets- warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, excitement
seeking, positive emotion

3. Openness
Appreciation for art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and
variety of experience. Openness reflects the degree of intellectual
curiosity, creativity and a preference for novelty and variety a person has.
It is also described as the extent to which a person is imaginative or
independent, and depicts a personal preference for a variety of activities
over a strict routine.
Facet- fantasy, aesthetics, feelings, actions, ideas, values.

4. Agreeableness
A tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than
suspicious and antagonistic towards others. It is also a measure of one's
trusting and helpful nature, and whether a person is generally well
tempered or not. High agreeableness is often seen as naive or submissive.
Low agreeableness personalities are often competitive or challenging
people, which can be seen as argumentative or untrustworthy.
Facet- trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty.

5. Conscientiousness
A tendency to be organized and dependable, show self-discipline, act
dutifully, aim for achievement, and prefer planned rather than
spontaneous behaviour. High conscientiousness often perceived as
stubborn and obsessive. Low conscientiousness are flexible and
spontaneous, but can be perceived as sloppy and unreliable.
Facet- competence, order, dutifulness, achievement, striving, self
discipline

PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF NEO FFI-3

RELIABILITY
Table 1: Table shows Test Retest Reliability scores on 5 scales of NEO FFI 3
for 107 college students and 462 Australian adults respectively.
SAMPLE

Adult
Test-retest
.89
correlations
(2001)
n= 107

.86

.88

.86

.90

Test-retest
.80
correlations
(2003)
n= 462

.86

.87

.80

.85

VALIDITY
Table 2: Table shows Psychometric Characteristic of The NEO FFI 3 in Adult
Sample
For 180 adolescents and 532 adults.
SAMPLE

Adult
Coefficient alpha

.86

.79

.78

.79

.82

APPLICATIONS
The NEO-FFI-3 can help you understand your clients basic
emotional, interpersonal, experiential, attitudinal, and motivational
styles. It can also help you quickly develop rapport with your client,
provide meaningful feedback and insight that will help your client
develop greater self-understanding, enable you to anticipate the
course of therapy, and help you select the optimal treatment or
program based on your clients personality.
It is used in vocational guidance.
It is used in occupational assessment for selection and development

REVIEW OF LITERATURE
1.The use of the NEO-five factor inventory to assess personality in trauma patients: a
two-year prospective study. (2002)
To assess the usefulness and validity of a brief personality assessment for orthopedic trauma patients. The NEO-Five
Factor Inventory was evaluated within the context of the Lower Extremity Assessment Project, a prospective study of
patients with severe lower extremity trauma admitted to eight level I trauma centers. The NEO-FFI was administered to
557 adults and 416 of their significant others. At 2 years post injury, the NEO-FFI was re-administered to 396 patients.
Main outcome measures were as follows: (a) agreement between patient and significant other scores(b) stability of
personality traits over two years; and (c) the relationship of the measured NEO-FFI traits with patient characteristics
and health habits.
There was fair to moderate agreement between assessments of personality provided by the patients themselves and
their significant others, with intra class correlation coefficients ranging from 0.44 to 0.54 for the different domains of
personality. Patient assessments on the NEO-FFI were found to be robust with no significant changes in four of the
five personality domains at 2 years post injury.
The NEO-FFI is a brief, valid, and stable measure of underlying personality traits that is practical for use in a trauma
setting.

2. Relationship of personality to performance motivation

Judge, Timothy A.; Ilies, Remus
This article provides a meta-analysis of the relationship between the 5-factor model of
personality and 3 central theories of performance motivation (goal-setting, expectancy,
and self-efficacy motivation). The quantitative review includes 150 correlations from
65 studies. Traits were organized according to the 5-factor model of personality.
Results indicated that Neuroticism (average validity= -.31) and Conscientiousness
(average validity=.24) were the strongest and most consistent correlates of
performance motivation across the 3 theoretical perspectives. Results further indicated
that the validity of 3 of the Big Five traits--Neuroticism, Extraversion, and
Conscientiousness--generalized across studies. As a set, the Big 5 traits had an average
multiple correlation of .49 with the motivational criteria, suggesting that the Big 5
traits are an important source of performance motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record
(c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

LIMITATIONS

Neo fii 3 makes no provisions to identify careless or distorted responding, which

is of obvious concern in personality assessment.

There is still critical views about the selection of particular constructs as being
representative of the five factor domains. In other words, there is ambuiguity as to
the Big Five structure and the proposed manifest variables of each that have been
included in the instrument.

There is concern over its use with culturally dissimilar groups. For example, in a
recent study findings of NEO FII-3 the findings were supported in American
sample but not in Italian sample.

EXPERIMENT NUMBER : 6
TESTER :
TESTEE :
DATE :
TIME :
PLACE : IIPR, Bangalore.

METHODOLOGY
Aim : To assess the personality of the subject with the help of the NEO Five Factor
Inventory (NEO-FFI3).
Plan : To administer NEO Five Factor Inventory 3 (NEO-FFI3) to the subject,
score the responses with the help of the key and interpret the scores using the norms.
Materials Required :
NEO FFI QUESTAINNAIRE AND RESPONSE SHEET
NEO FFI SCORING SHEET
NEO FFI MANUAL
NORMS
WRITING MATERIALS

ADMINISTRATION
The NEO FFI3 may be administered individually or in groups. The testing
environment should be comfortable and free of distraction and provide
adequate lighting. A pencil a flat surface, such as a desk or clipboard on which
the respondent can write, and also needed for administration if the responded
uses eyeglasses the examiner should be sure that they are been used during
testing. The tester should engage the respondent in the task of completing the
test to reduce the possibility of response sets or random responding to the
items.

INSTRUCTIONS
Write only where indicated in this item booklet. This questionnaire contains 60
statements. Read each statement carefully. For each statement fill in the circle with the
response that best represents your opinion. Make sure that your answer is in correct box.
There is no time limit.
Fill in SD if you strongly disagree
Fill in D if you disagree
Fill in N if you are neutral on the statement, If you cannot decide
Fill in A if you agree
Fill in SA if you strongly agree
Fill in only one response for each statement. Respond to all of the statements. DO NOT
ERASE. If you need to change an answer, make an X through the incorrect response
and then fill in correct response.

PRECAUTIONS
1. The test administered should be in optimal conditions, without noise and
disturbance.
2. The testees who give up or show down should be encouraged.
3. It was made sure that all the arrangements were done correctly before the
testee's entered the lab.
4. No specific help was given in accordance with marking the answer ,
general help required was provided.

SCORING
1. MISSING RESPONSE:
If unanswered items are found, the respondent should be asked to complete them. If a
respondent is unsure of the meaning of an item or is unsure of how to respond he/she may
be told to use neutral response option.
If the respondent did not provide a response to every item, and no longer available to the
examiner ,the examiner must determine whether the data may be validly scored.
If 10 or more items have been left blank, test is invalid and not to be formally scored.
When 9 or fewer item have been left blank, the blank item should be scored as if the
neutral option was selected. Any domain scale containing more than 4 missing responses
should be interpreted with caution.
2. DOMAIN SCORES :
locate the 5 columns of items, each separately in the answer grid and sum the values of
marked responses to these 12 items.

ANALYSIS OF RESULT
Refers to the NEO-FFI-3 form S(adult) scoring sheet and mark your raw
scores in the male/female columns, in order to draw the graph from the
relative raw score.

INTERPRETATON OF DATA
HIGH

AVERAGE

LOW

Sensitive, emotional, and prone

to experience feelings that are
upsetting

Generally calm and able to

deal with stress, but you
sometimes experience
feelings of guilt, anger, or
sadness

Secure, hardy, and generally

relaxed, even under stressful
conditions

Extraverted, outgoing, active,

and high-spirited. You prefer to
be around people most of the
time

Moderate in activity and

enthusiasm. You enjoy the
company of others ,but you
also value privacy

Introverted, reserved and

serious. You prefer to be alone
or with a few close friends

Open to new experiences. You

have broad interests and are
very imaginative

Practical, but willing to

consider new ways of doing
things. You seek a balance
between the old and new

Down-to-earth, practical,
traditional and pretty much
set in your ways

AGGREABLENESS

Compassionate, good-natured
and eager to cooperate and
avoid conflict

Generally warm, trusting

and agreeable, but you can
sometimes be stubborn and
competitive

Hardheaded, skeptical, proud

and competitive. You tend to
express your anger directly

CONSCIENTIOUSNE
SS

Conscientious and wellorganized. You have a high

standards and always strive to
achieve your goals

Dependable and moderately

well-organized. You
generally have clear goals,
but are able to set your work
aside

Easygoing, not very wellorganized, and sometimes

careless. You prefer not to
make plans

NEUROTICISM

EXTRAVERSION

OPENNESS

References
1.Ashton, S. G., & Goldberg, L. R. (1973). In response to Jackson's challenge: The
comparative validity of personality scales constructed by the external (empirical) strategy
and scales developed intuitively by experts, novices, and laymen. Journal of Research in
Personality, 7, 1-20.
2.Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1989). Single sample cross-validation indices for
covariance structures. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 24, 445-455. Buss, D. M., & Craik,
K. H. (1983). The act frequency approach to personality. Psychological Review, 90, 105126.
3.Buss, D. M., & Craik, K. H. (1983). The act frequency approach to
personality. Psychological Review, 90, 105-126.
4.Buss, D. M., & Craik, K. H. (1984). Acts, dispositions, and personality. In B. A. Maher &
W. B. Maher (Eds.), Progress in Experimental Personality Research (Volume 13, pp. 241301). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

Haider A. H.; Edwin D.H.; MacKenzie E. J.; Bosse M.J.; Castillo R.C,;
Travison T.G. (2001). Lower Extremity Assessment Project Study Group.
Timothy A.; Ilies, R. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 87(4), (2002), pp.
797-807. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.4.797