Submitted by Beatriz_ Estagiaria (marcianb@ig.com.br) on 2012-01-27T14:09:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 000039634.pdf: 2487356 bytes, checksum: 8c4ee899887e8bd18a24a632b813878a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-01-27T14:09:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 000039634.pdf: 2487356 bytes, checksum: 8c4ee899887e8bd18a24a632b813878a (MD5) / The aim of the experimental work described in this dissertation was the study of m Brazilian adaptation of Eysenck's Maudsley Personality Inventory regarding introversion-extraversion dimension. The Brazilian version by Professor Riva Bauzer was twice administered to 70 students of four of our classes of psychology at the Colégio Batista Shepard. Besides this, to the same students a questionnaire was administered in which we asked to each pupil to give his subjective evaluation of the degree of extraversion present in each of his classmates. We were thus enabled to evaluate experimetally: a) the reliability coefficient of the questionnaire; b) the reliabiliy coefficient of the Brazilian version of the Maudsley Personality Inventory; c) the validity coefficient of the Maudsley Personality Inventory, taking the questionnaire as a criterion. Our work was not limited to this. The discriminating ability of each item of the Maudsley Personality Inventory was determined by means of the biserial correlation coefficient. together with the percentage of responses indicative of extraversion. The various experimental data now available open the way to further research aimed at the improvement of the Brazilian version of the Maudsley Personality Inventory. / O propósito dos trabalhos experimentais expostos na presente dissertação foi o de estudar a versão brasileira do Maudaley Personality Inventory. de Eysench. no que diz respeito à sua dimensão bipolar introversão-extroversão. A adaptação brasileira (devida à Professora Riva Bauzer) foi aplicada por duas vezes a 70 estudantes, de quatro turmas do Colégio Batista Shepard, que são nossos alunos de psicologia. Paralelamente a esta aplicação, foi aplicado por duas vezes sucessivas, aos mesmos alunos, um questionário por nós organizado. Nele era pedida a cada um uma avaliação subjetiva do grau de introversão-extroversão dos respectivos colegas de classe. Desse modo tivemos a possibilidade de avaliar: a) o coeficiente de precisão do questionário; b) o coeficiente de precisão do Maudeley Personality Inventory; c) o coeficiente de validade do Maudaley Persona lity Inventory, tomando o questionário como critério de validação. Entretanto, nao terminaram ai nossos trabalhos. Por meio do coeficiente de correlação bisserial, foi estimado o poder discriminante de cada uma das questões do Maudsley Personality Inventory, assim como seu grau de 'popularidade'. Esta é uma denominação por nós atribuida à porcentagem de sujeitos que assinalaram a questão no sentido de extroversão. Estes elementos abrem caminho para a realização de pesquisas ulteriores com a finalidade de aperfeiçoar a versão brasileira do Maudsley Personality Inventory.

The effectiveness of local norms with two short forms of the MMPI was investigated in this study. Comparisons were made between high-point code-type concordance rates and the overall concordance rates generated by local norms and the original norms of Faschingbauer's Abbreviated MMPI (FAM) and the MMPI-168. The use of local norms did not produce significantly higher high-point code-type concordance rates than the use of original norms. The use of local norms was indicated when one is interested in overall profile concordance. However, this finding was not replicated in the cross-validation samples. No conclusion was reached regarding the superiority of one short form over the other in terms of high-point codetype concordance. In terms of overall concordance, the FAM was found to generate higher concordance rates than the MMPI-168 when original norms were used. Overall concordance rates were not significantly different between the two short forms when local norms were used. Design changes and possible explanations for the findings were discussed. The former included increasing the sample size of the cross-validation samples to reduce sampling error. The latter consisted of the lack of congruence between the factor structures of the FAM and MMPI-168 and that of the MMPI, possible similarities between the populations sampled and those upon which the FAM and MMPI-168 were standardized, and inadequate sample size.

The classification of adult criminal populations for training, treatment, and security purposes has been time-consuming and expensive. The main purpose of this study was to develop a classification system which considered a wide variety of behavioral, biographical, and psychometric variables and yet was efficient in terms of time and money.

This investigation was concerned with the effects of electromyographic biofeedback on the muscular tension of patients diagnosed in a particular personality state. These personality traits were manic, agitated, depressed, and a comparison group.

M.A. (Industrial Psychology) / The South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) project is an attempt to develop an indigenous personality measure that can be applied within the South African context. Such a measure is important as test developers and users are required to meet the requirements stipulated in South African legislation. The Extraversion cluster is one of the nine factors that make up the SAPI measure. The main aim of this study was to validate the Extraversion cluster for use within South Africa which included testing for equivalence and bias amongst the Germani, Nguni and Sotho language groups. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was used within the current study. Data was gathered from working South Africans (N= 891) within the Gauteng province. The preliminary Extraversion scale consists of 31 items that yielded a three factor structure, namely Sociability, Talkativeness and Positive Emotionality. The Talkativeness factor was not found to be reliable although the overall Extraversion scale was identified as reliable. It was also found that Extraversion, as the higher order factor, was valid and reliable and had greater explanatory power than that of the individual factors. The results of the study also indicated that some of the language groups viewed the factors differently and that bias did occur for several of the items across the groups.

M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology) / The objective of this study is to examine the construct validity of the Openness scale in the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI). The SAPI project aims to develop a personality questionnaire that is applicable in the multicultural South African context. A total of 891 students and working adults, of different race groups (White, Black, Indian and Coloured), with a minimum of Grade 12 or equivalent and speaking eleven different languages participated in the study. A cross sectional design was used to collect data using paper and pencil questionnaires administered in English. The Openness scale consisted of 23 items. A hierarchical Schmid-Leiman factor solution was used to investigate if a strong general Openness factor could be retrieved from participants’ responses. Tucker’s phi coefficient was used to determine factor congruence across language groups. The results suggest that more work is needed to improve validity and reliability of the current SAPI Openness scale, as it failed to produce a general Openness factor. Results show that it is difficult to attach meaningful psychological interpretations to scores on the Openness scale can be made.

M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology) / The purpose of the South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) project is to develop a personality measure that can be used within the South African context and that can account for the diversity that exists within the South Africa. This study is intended at validating the Conscientiousness scale of the SAPI as well as considering how well the measure replicated across language groups (Germanic, Nguni and Sotho) in South Africa. The data utilised in this study was collected from working individuals from a number of different organisations in South Africa (N = 890). The Conscientiousness scale consists of 36 items that yielded a five factor structure namely, Dedication, Discipline, Commitment, Orderliness, Organised. It was found that the Conscientiousness scale is a valid and reliable measure of the personality trait Conscientiousness scale. The results indicated that the general factor, Conscientiousness replicated well across the different language groups in South Africa, but the five factor solution did not yield conclusive results. Furthermore, the results of the Differential Test Functioning (DTF) analysis revealed that the scale had a significant effect size and upon further investigation it was shown that two of the items that had significant Differential Item Functioning (DIF) effect sizes could be removed in order to obtain a non-bias measure of Conscientiousness on the SAPI.

Experimenter self-disclosure and verbal reinforcement of subject disclosure during an interview were both predicted to result in increased subject disclosure in a subsequent testing situation, as compared with direct instructions to the subjects to be more open.. The results indicated that for male subjects, verbal reinforcement had the predicted effect, but experimenter self-disclosure did not. Female subjects were found to be more disclosive than male subjects in general, but were relatively uninfluenced by the experimenter treatment conditions. Experimenter self-disclosure was shown to result in an increase in social evaluative anxiety and in more favourable perceptions of the self and of the experimenter in the subjects concerned. Both of these factors are discussed as having counteracted any modeling effect of experimenter self-disclosure. An interpretation of the results in terms of an interaction between subject sex, experimenter sex and experimental conditions is proposed and the implications this has for the related literature, which in general has ignored such variables as subject and experimenter sex, are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Over the first half of the present study the Mini-Mult (MM1), a brief form of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), was compared with the standard MMPI in relation to eleven criteria classifications. These criteria were composed of the profile analysis classifications of Marks and Seeman (1963). Pearson product-moment correlations between the MM1 and MMPI failed to reach statistical significance for any of the eleven criteria. As based on the information gained, a correction factor was devised and added to the MM1. Subsequently, the second half of the study involved a comparison between the HMPI and the revised MM. This revised test was termed the MM2. In only two of eleven criteria cases did the correlation between the MM2 and MMPI reach statistical significance. However, for nine of the eleven criteria the MM2 did obtain a higher positive correlation with the MMPI than did the MM1. Such results indicate that the proposed correction factor is a step in the right direction and deserving of continued investigation. Although the MM2 as it presently stands cannot be validy substituted for the MMPI, continued research in the area of modifying its correction factor can yield it a useful clinical tool.

Counselors frequently use batteries of psychological tests in helping students to select appropriate educational and occupational choices. The task of interpreting scores on a battery of tests to students is not at any time a simple undertaking. The trend toward emphasis on the importance of the relationship among the various scores in a battery of tests, has further complicated test interpretation. Vocational choice theories suggest an interrelationship between vocational interests and personality characteristics. They further suggest that different educational majors and occupations require different types of vocational interest and personality characteristics. Two tests, The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (hereafter referred to as the MMPI) and the Kuder Preference Record-Vocational (hereafter referred to as the Kuder), are frequently used to help students make educational and occupational choices. To help counselors make better interpretations, a number of research studies, using the MMPI and Kuder to determine the relationship of measured interest to measured personality traits have been conducted. The results of these studies have tended to disagree. Some studies have found no significant relationships between the two variables; while others have found significant relationships. There have also been many research studies, using the MMPI and Kuder, to determine personality and interest differences among the different college majors. These studies, too, have disagreed. Because of these limitations, there appears to be a need for a more systematic and dependable method of establishing relationships among the MMPI and Kuder, and of interpreting the patterns which are formed by those relationships.