session16:Applications

1. Consistency with objective measures

2. Consistency with peer reports

3. Meta-accuracy (knowing how others see you)

Trait inferences based on direct or indirect observation of behavior.

Observable cues such as:

• Behavior

• Appearance

A systematic and standardized way of observing behavior, specifying:

• What is coded

• When

• Where

• How

1. Clear

2. Concrete

3. Easy to annotate Example: “avoids eye contact”, “speaks in low volume”

1. Individual differences in observable cues

2. Stability over time and situations

3. Validity of cues (expert opinion or research)

1. Covert (unaware) vs. overt

2. Systematic (strucutred) vs. ad-libitum (free sampling)

3. Reactive (groupd discussion) vs. non-reactive (it happnes)

4. Direct (current) vs. indirect (video device)

5. Naturalistic vs. lab

6. Participant (self-assessed) vs. observer (üppers, expert..)

1. 68 concrete behavioral items

2. Used in clinical, occupational, and forensic settings

Pros:

• More objective

• Rich behavioral information

Cons:

• Reactivity

• High costs

• Ethical issues

Self-report questionnaires measuring explicit self-concept.

Indirect measures assessing

• automatic, uncontrolled, unconscious processes.

1. Social desirability

2. Lack of self-awareness

3. Defense mechanisms

4. Response styles

1. Assess automatic processes

2. Reveal underlying associations

3. Complement explicit measures

Low correlations, because they reflect different systems.

• Context and motivation can moderate consistency.

Reaction times as indicators of automatic processing.

The psychological attribute influences responses unintentionally and uncontrollably.

A task measuring the strength of automatic associations between categories

• (e.g., self–positive vs. self–negative).

  • Implicit self-esteem

  • Racial stereotypes

  • Attitudes and preferences

Pros: widely validated, flexible

Cons: categorical contrasts required, context effects

A prime stimulus biases the evaluation of a neutral target,

revealing implicit attitudes.

Measures attentional bias toward emotional stimuli and automatic emotional processing.

Measures automatic tendencies to approach positive stimuli and avoid negative stimuli via motor responses.

To assess sensitive traits (e.g., sexual interest) where self-report may be biased.

Longer response times indicate greater sexual interest in the stimulus.

Trade-offs between true positives, false positives, false negatives, and true negatives in classification tasks.

Measures of typical behavior, feelings, and attitudes (self- or observer-report).

Measures of maximal performance, focusing on correctness, speed, or novelty.

• Emotion recognition

• Emotion regulation

• Interpersonal ability

• Theory of mind

Tests focusing on one skill, e.g. emotion recognition (JACBART, DANVA, GERT, MERT).

Models combining multiple abilities into a global construct (e.g., Multiple Intelligences, Emotional Intelligence).

• Perceiving emotions

• Using emotions

• Understanding emotions (why they came)

• Managing emotions

Strengths:

• objectivity, prediction of social and academic outcomes

• Limitations:

  • heterogeneous constructs, reliability issues, arbitrary correctness criteria