Aself-reportinventory is a punch in of psychological test often used to assess attitudes, characteristics, and otherpersonalitytraits.
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.
Tetra Images / Getty Images
Even the fun quizzes you often see shared on Facebook are examples of self-report inventories.
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).
It is often used to help people select a career based on their personality.
Many self-report inventories can be completed very quickly, often in as little as 15 minutes.
This key in of questionnaire is an affordable option for researchers faced with tight budgets.
However, self-report inventories do have their weaknesses.
Another weakness is that some of these tests are very long and tedious.
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.
Graham JR, Veltri COC, Lee TTC.MMPI Instruments: Assessing Personality and Psychopathology.
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.
Sjoberg L.Correction for faking in self-report personality tests.Scand J Psychol.
Prentice Hall; 1997.
Reynolds CR, Altmann R, Allen DN.Mastering Modern Psychological Testing: Theory and Methods.
