Observation

Observation as a Method of Personality Assessment

Behavioural observation is a widely used method for assessing personality. While all of us watch people and form impressions about their personality, using observation for formal personality assessment is a sophisticated procedure that cannot be carried out by untrained people.

It requires careful training of the observer, along with a fairly detailed guideline about how to analyse behaviours in order to assess the personality of a given person. For example, a clinical psychologist may like to observe her client's interaction with family members and home visitors. With carefully designed observation, the clinical psychologist can gain considerable insight into a client's personality.

Limitations of Observation and Interview Methods

Despite their frequent and widespread use, observation and interview methods share three important limitations:

1. Demanding professional training – The training required to collect useful data through these methods is quite demanding and time-consuming.

2. Maturity of the psychologist – The psychologist's own maturity is a precondition for obtaining valid data through these techniques.

3. Observer effect – The mere presence of the observer may contaminate the results. As a stranger, the observer may influence the behaviour of the person being observed and thus fail to obtain good data. …