How Self-Report Inventories Are Used in Psychology

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Aself-reportinventory is a type of psychological test often used to assess attitudes, characteristics, and otherpersonalitytraits. This type of test is often presented in a paper-and-pencil format or may even be administered on a computer. A typical self-report inventory presents a number of questions or statements that may or may not describe certain qualities or characteristics of the test subject.

Chances are good that you have taken a self-report inventory at some time in the past. Such questionnaires are often seen in doctors’ offices, in online personality tests, and in market research surveys. Even the fun quizzes you often see shared on Facebook are examples of self-report inventories.

While some inventories are being used in an informal and entertaining way, there are other surveys that can and do serve much more serious goals in collecting data and helping to identify potential problems in employment settings, clinical practice, forensic settings, or research labs.

This type ofsurveycan be used to look at your current behaviors, past behaviors, and possible behaviors in hypothetical situations. There are many different self-report inventories. The following are just a few well-known examples.

The MMPI-3

Perhaps the most famous self-report inventory is theMinnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory(MMPI). Thispersonality testwas first published in the 1940s, later revised in the 1980s, and again in 2020, and is today known as the MMPI-3. The test contains 335 true-false statements (reduced from over 500) that assess a wide variety of topics including interpersonal relationships, abnormal behaviors, and psychological health as well as political, social, religious, and sexual attitudes.

The 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire

California Personality Inventory

Strengths and Weaknesses of Self-Report Inventories

Self-report inventories are often a good solution when researchers need to administer a large number of tests in relatively short space of time. Many self-report inventories can be completed very quickly, often in as little as 15 minutes. This type of questionnaire is an affordable option for researchers faced with tight budgets.

Another strength is that the results of self-report inventories are generally much morereliableandvalidthanprojective teststhat attempt to elicit unconscious aspects of personality.

However, self-report inventories do have their weaknesses. For example, while many tests implement strategies to prevent “faking good” or “faking bad” (essentially pretending to be better or worse than one really is), research has shown that people are still able to exercisedeceptionwhile taking self-report tests.

Another weakness is that some of these tests are very long and tedious. For example, the MMPI and CPI can take approximately one hour to complete, which is an improvement from previous versions. In some cases, test respondents may simply lose interest and not answer questions accurately. Additionally, people are sometimes not the best judges of their own behavior, lacking insight. Furthermore, some individuals may try to hide their own feelings, thoughts, andattitudes, worrying about the outcomes and use of the test results.

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6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Graham JR, Veltri COC, Lee TTC.MMPI Instruments: Assessing Personality and Psychopathology. Sixth edition. Oxford University Press; 2023.Cattell HEP.The sixteen personality factor (16PF) questionnaire. In: Dorfman WI, Hersen M, eds.Understanding Psychological Assessment. Springer US; 2001:187-215. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1185-4_10Jones CJ, Peskin H.California Psychological Inventory (CPI). In Ziegler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer; 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8The Myers-Briggs Company.Targeted leadership development and succession planning through CPI 260 certification.Sjöberg L.Correction for faking in self-report personality tests.Scand J Psychol. 2015;56(5):582–591. doi:10.1111/sjop.12231Hartman NS, Grubb III WL.Deliberate faking on personality and emotional intelligence measures.Psychol Rep. 2011;108(1):120–138. doi:10.2466/03.09.28.PR0.108.1.120-138Additional ReadingAnastasi A, Urbina S.Psychological Testing. 7th edition. Prentice Hall; 1997.Reynolds CR, Altmann R, Allen DN.Mastering Modern Psychological Testing: Theory and Methods. 2nd edition. Springer; 2021.

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Graham JR, Veltri COC, Lee TTC.MMPI Instruments: Assessing Personality and Psychopathology. Sixth edition. Oxford University Press; 2023.Cattell HEP.The sixteen personality factor (16PF) questionnaire. In: Dorfman WI, Hersen M, eds.Understanding Psychological Assessment. Springer US; 2001:187-215. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1185-4_10Jones CJ, Peskin H.California Psychological Inventory (CPI). In Ziegler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer; 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8The Myers-Briggs Company.Targeted leadership development and succession planning through CPI 260 certification.Sjöberg L.Correction for faking in self-report personality tests.Scand J Psychol. 2015;56(5):582–591. doi:10.1111/sjop.12231Hartman NS, Grubb III WL.Deliberate faking on personality and emotional intelligence measures.Psychol Rep. 2011;108(1):120–138. doi:10.2466/03.09.28.PR0.108.1.120-138Additional ReadingAnastasi A, Urbina S.Psychological Testing. 7th edition. Prentice Hall; 1997.Reynolds CR, Altmann R, Allen DN.Mastering Modern Psychological Testing: Theory and Methods. 2nd edition. Springer; 2021.

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Graham JR, Veltri COC, Lee TTC.MMPI Instruments: Assessing Personality and Psychopathology. Sixth edition. Oxford University Press; 2023.Cattell HEP.The sixteen personality factor (16PF) questionnaire. In: Dorfman WI, Hersen M, eds.Understanding Psychological Assessment. Springer US; 2001:187-215. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1185-4_10Jones CJ, Peskin H.California Psychological Inventory (CPI). In Ziegler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer; 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8The Myers-Briggs Company.Targeted leadership development and succession planning through CPI 260 certification.Sjöberg L.Correction for faking in self-report personality tests.Scand J Psychol. 2015;56(5):582–591. doi:10.1111/sjop.12231Hartman NS, Grubb III WL.Deliberate faking on personality and emotional intelligence measures.Psychol Rep. 2011;108(1):120–138. doi:10.2466/03.09.28.PR0.108.1.120-138

Graham JR, Veltri COC, Lee TTC.MMPI Instruments: Assessing Personality and Psychopathology. Sixth edition. Oxford University Press; 2023.

Cattell HEP.The sixteen personality factor (16PF) questionnaire. In: Dorfman WI, Hersen M, eds.Understanding Psychological Assessment. Springer US; 2001:187-215. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1185-4_10

Jones CJ, Peskin H.California Psychological Inventory (CPI). In Ziegler-Hill V, Shackelford TK, eds.Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer; 2017. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8

The Myers-Briggs Company.Targeted leadership development and succession planning through CPI 260 certification.

Sjöberg L.Correction for faking in self-report personality tests.Scand J Psychol. 2015;56(5):582–591. doi:10.1111/sjop.12231

Hartman NS, Grubb III WL.Deliberate faking on personality and emotional intelligence measures.Psychol Rep. 2011;108(1):120–138. doi:10.2466/03.09.28.PR0.108.1.120-138

Anastasi A, Urbina S.Psychological Testing. 7th edition. Prentice Hall; 1997.Reynolds CR, Altmann R, Allen DN.Mastering Modern Psychological Testing: Theory and Methods. 2nd edition. Springer; 2021.

Anastasi A, Urbina S.Psychological Testing. 7th edition. Prentice Hall; 1997.

Reynolds CR, Altmann R, Allen DN.Mastering Modern Psychological Testing: Theory and Methods. 2nd edition. Springer; 2021.

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