Subjective Methods of Personality Assessment

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What is a Subjective Method

The subjective methods are those in which the subject is free to reveal any knowledge he may have about himself as a topic under study. These are based on information provided by the individual on his characteristics, views, previous history, goals, requirements, and hobbies.

Types of Subjective Type Test

• The autobiography,
• The case history,
• The interview, and
• The questionnaire or the inventory.

The Autobiographical Memory Test

The autobiography is a narrative of the person’s life circumstances, contemporary goals, objectives, activities, and perspectives, presented either spontaneously or in accordance with specific subject headings specified by the examiner. The individual has the ability to choose the experiences that shape who he is and those that matter to him. The drawback is that the participants only learn about the areas of everyday life that they are ready to share.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

• In addition to sharing the incidents that occurred during their lifespan, writers use autobiographies to describe how those circumstances affected the livelihoods of the individuals who experienced them in order to enable subsequent generations to comprehend those occurrences. This has the benefit of making historical facts more relatable.
• Autobiographies provide readers the chance to “walk  into another ‘s perspective” and get insight into their motives and actions.

Disadvantages:

• Readers sometimes view autobiographies with skepticism since an author may create one with the intention of persuading them. This is one of the biggest drawbacks. Audiences could believe that an author is exaggerating or even misrepresenting in order to convince rather than enlighten when they write. Some authors may unintentionally offer false information since they created their works many years after the incident they are describing took place.
• Things that one finds intriguing, humorous, or provocative do not seem that way to others.
• Whenever you begin writing, you might discover that you have run out of ideas.

The Case Study Method in Psychology

The autobiography has a significant or little impact on the case history. Researchers combine the details about the person that we get from different sources and include them in a specific case. Numerous interviews with the person and other people who know them are necessary for this.

The case-study method provides details on a person’s parents, ancestors, home responsibilities, family background, health information, schooling degree, relationships, relationship status, occupation, and other things. This approach is more helpful in figuring out the personality characteristics of someone who is problematic or emotionally stunted.

Case study method in psychology advantages and disadvantages

A single-case study is recommended if a researcher wishes to investigate a specific occurrence that results from a particular object since it would enable a thorough understanding of that occurrence and would require gathering a variety of data.

Through analysis of the commonalities and contrasts of the individual instances buried inside the holds a position, using a numerous research project enables a more in-depth knowledge of the instances as a whole. Multiple case studies frequently produce stronger and more trustworthy findings than single case investigations. Multiple-case studies provide a more thorough investigation of the study issues and theory advancement.

Case studies have drawbacks despite their benefits. The quantity of information makes it difficult to manage,so solutions for data analysis and integration must be carefully considered. Additionally, there is occasionally a propensity to stray from the study topic. Presenting results from multiple-case investigations can occasionally be difficult, especially when taking into account word counts for journal publications.

Interview Method in Psychology

The most popular technique for determining personality is the interview. To acquire a complete picture of the subject, the interviewer either asks questions or allows the subject to talk at length. The interviewer has knowledge about the subject’s preferences, issues, possessions, and constraints thanks to what he says. The main variable that might affect an interview is how rigidly or flexible the interviewer adheres to a predetermined plan or schedule of questions or subjects.

A specific list of topics to be discussed in order is helpful at times. In open interviews without a set of predetermined objectives or inquiries, more competence is required.

The interviewer assesses personality traits not only depending on the merits of the response to the questionnaire, but also on the fundamentalism with which the information is conveyed, the level of interest displayed, the vocabulary or incidental references that the subject unintentionally uses in his conversation, and by watching his lingering doubts, twitching, emotional expression, and other similar behaviors.

Types of Interview Method in Psychology

• Unstructured (Nondirective) Interview.
• Structured (Directive) Interview.
• Situational Interview.
• Behavioral Interview.
• Job-related Interview.
• Stress Interview.
• Panel Interview (Board Interview).
• One-On-One Interview.
• Mass Interview (Group Interview),
• Phone Interview

Questionnaire Method in Psychology

A questionnaire is a list of inquiries that are displayed or handwritten and to which the respondent is expected to respond. The participant is often requested to check, circle, or underline “yes” or “no” next to each inquiry to indicate their response. The investigator can determine whether a particular person exhibits particular features or not by counting the number of “yes or no” responses.

The statements or inquiries offered define certain characteristics, feelings, opinions, or actions in circumstances displaying personality. Based on the options that positive or negative replies are supposed to convey, the yeses or no’s are recorded in different groups or portions.

The only drawback is that the individual might not want to disclose accurate information about himself or could not be aware of these things. This approach, at its finest, shows the aspect of personality that is visible to the participant’s inspection or obvious.