At a school guidance centre in Pune, Meera, a Class 12 student, fills in a printed test. Each item is a short statement about herself, and for each she chooses one of the given alternatives. The counsellor tells her parents that the test grew out of a long list of words describing people, which a statistical method reduced to a basic structure. The results will help Meera explore suitable careers. Later that day, the centre's clinical psychologist meets Rohan, a quiet and withdrawn boy. She hands him a blank sheet, asks him to draw a person, and then studies details such as the size of the head to understand feelings Rohan may not be aware of.
Which test is Meera most likely taking?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire developed by Cattell
Option (1) Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire developed by Cattell — Correct. Cattell's 16 PF came from factor analysis of a large set of personality descriptors. It uses declarative statements with given alternatives, suits high school students and adults, and is very useful in career guidance, as in Meera's case.
Option (2) Eysenck Personality Questionnaire developed by Eysenck — Incorrect. Eysenck's test measures a few broad dimensions: introverted-extraverted, emotionally stable-unstable and, later, psychoticism.
Option (3) Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory developed by Hathaway and McKinley — Incorrect. MMPI was built as a tool to assess psychopathology, with scales for conditions such as depression and hypochondriasis. It is used for diagnosis.
Option (4) Thematic Apperception Test developed by Morgan and Murray — Incorrect. TAT is a projective technique: the person writes stories about pictures. Meera instead picks from fixed alternatives on printed statements, which is a self-report test.
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