In which of the following methods, a person provides factual information about himself/herself and/or opinions, beliefs, etc. that s/he holds?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Self-report measures
Option (1) Self-report measures — Correct. Allport suggested that the best way to assess a person is by asking her or him about herself or himself. In self-report measures the subject objectively reports her or his own feelings on various items, usually on a rating scale, and the responses are accepted at face value.
Option (2) Observation — Incorrect. In behavioural observation a trained observer watches the person’s behaviour and draws conclusions about personality. The information comes from the observer, not from the person telling about herself or himself.
Option (3) Case study — Incorrect. A case study is an in-depth study of an individual, her or his psychological attributes and history, in the context of the psychosocial and physical environment. It draws on many methods, such as interview, observation and tests, and is not the person’s own report alone.
Option (4) Focussed group discussion — Incorrect. In a focussed group discussion a small group discusses a given topic under a moderator, and the researcher studies the views that come up in the group. It gathers a group’s opinions on a topic, not one person’s factual report about herself or himself.
Note 1: The concept in Option (4), ‘focussed group discussion’, is not in NCERT (2025-26); explained here for the benefit of the students.
Note 2: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2025 on 20-05-2025 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Self-report Measures … It was Allport who suggested that the best method to assess a person is by asking her/him about herself/himself. This led to the use of self-report measures. These are fairly structured measures, often based on theory, that require subjects to give verbal responses using some kind of rating scale. The method requires the subject to objectively report her/his own feelings with respect to various items. The responses are accepted at their face value. They are scored in quantitative terms and interpreted on the basis of norms developed for the test.…” “Assessment Methods … Case Study is an in-depth study of the individual in terms of her/his psychological attributes, psychological history in the context of her/his psychosocial and physical environment. Case studies are widely used by clinical psychologists. Case analyses of the lives of great people can also be highly illuminating for those willing to learn from their life experiences. Case studies are based on data generated by different methods, e.g. interview, observation, questionnaire, psychological tests, etc. Observation involves employing systematic, organised, and objective procedures to record behavioural phenomena occurring naturally in real time. Certain phenomena such as mother-child interactions can be easily studied through observation. The major problems with observational methods are that the observer has little control over the situation and the reports may suffer from subjective interpretations of the observer. Self-Report is a method in which a person provides factual information about herself/himself and/or opinions, beliefs, etc. that s/he holds. Such information may be obtained by using an interview schedule or a questionnaire, a psychological test, or a personal diary.” |