

Normative responses for each category can be graphed as bell curves (normal curves), implying that some aspects of personality are better than others Ipsative test responses offer two equally "good" responses between which an individual must choose. Typological approaches such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (r) describe opposing categories of functioning where individuals differ. Dimensional approaches such as the Big 5 describe personality as a set of continuous dimensions on which individuals differ. Personality tests can be scored using a dimensional (normative) or a typological (ipsative) approach. In addition to self-report inventories, there are many other methods for assessing personality, including observational measures, peer-report studies, and projective tests (e.g.

A sample item on a personality test, for example, might ask test-takers to rate the degree to which they agree with the statement "I talk to a lot of different people at parties" by using a scale of 1 ("strongly disagree") to 5 ("strongly agree"). The term item is used because many test questions are not actually questions they are typically statements on questionnaires that allow respondents to indicate level of agreement (using a Likert scale or, more accurately, a Likert-type scale). The most common type, the self-report inventory, involves the administration of many questions, or "items", to test-takers who respond by rating the degree to which each item reflects their behavior. There are many different types of personality tests(7). 2.2 Application to non-clinical samples.
