Problems in Personality Testing (continued)
Faking
A structured question dealing with emotional health, responsibility, or interpersonal relations typically has one answer option that the culture considers good, and the majority of the respondents are likely to pick that "good" option. A person who consistently gives desirable responses may be admirable. It is also possible that he is deceiving himself.
On the other hand, a respondent may exaggerate symptoms to gain sympathy and attention.
A class of students was told to pretend that they are applying for the position of salesman in a large industrial organization and was given a confidence test by the employment manager. The situation was that they have been unemployed for some time, have a family to support, and want very much to land this position. The next week, pretending that the students were applying for the position of librarian in a small town, the same inventory was filled out. The Results was that most of the students had much higher self-confident scores in the salesman questionnaire than the librarian one.
Respecting the Dignity of Those Tested
Has a teacher a right to ask children about their emotions, friendships, and home life? As with any of its testing, the school's justification must be that the information will lead to better educational services. Those who oppose may argue that no one should be asked to testify against himself. Moreover, parents' privacy is invaded when the child is asked, "Do your parents quarrel frequently?" The same problem applies to a tester of personality. What he can do is limited by the respect of dignity of those tested. Patiently explaining the study to respondents and to other segments of the community is one of the costs of doing business as an investigator.
