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Are We more Consistent when Talking about Ourselves than when Behaving? Consistency Differences through a Questionnaire and an Objective Task

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Víctor J. Rubio ,
José Manuel Hernández ,
Javier Revuelta  and
José Santacreu
Víctor J. Rubio
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
José Manuel Hernández
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Javier Revuelta
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
José Santacreu*
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to José Santacreu. Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Campus Cantoblanco. 28049 Madrid. (Spain). Phone: +34-914975179. Fax: +34-914975215. E-mail: jose.santacreu@uam.es
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Abstract

The present paper aimed to examine questionnaire response patterns and objective task-based test behavioral patterns in order to analyze the differences people show in consistency. It is hypothesized that people tend to be more consistent when talking about themselves (when describing themselves through verbal statements) that when they solve a task (when behaving). Consistency is computed using the π* statistic (Hernandez, Rubio, Revuelta, & Santacreu, 2006). According to this procedure, consistency is defined as the value and the dimensionality of the latent trait of an individual (θ) remaining invariant through out the test of. Participants who are consistent must show a constant θ and follow a given response pattern during the entire course of the test. A sample of 3,972 participants was used. Results reveal that 68% of participants showed a consistent response pattern when completing the questionnaire. When tackling the task-based test, the percentage was 66%. 45% of individuals showed a consistent pattern in both tests. Implications for personality and individual differences assessment are discussed.

El presente artículo pretende examinar las diferencias que muestran las personas en cuanto a su consistencia entre los patrones de respuesta a un cuestionario y los patrones de respuesta ante un test objetivo basado en tareas. Se hipotetiza que las personas tienden a ser más consistentes cuando hablan sobre ellos mismos (es decir, cuando se describen en base a declaraciones verbales, como es el caso de los cuestionarios) que cuando resuelven una tarea (cuando se comportan). La consistencia se calcula utilizando el estadístico π* (Hernandez, Rubio, Revuelta, & Santacreu, 2006). De acuerdo con este procedimiento, la consistencia se define como la invarianza del valor y la dimensionalidad del rasgo latente de un individuo (θ) a lo largo de un test. Los participantes que son consistentes mostrarán una θ constante y seguirán un patrón de respuesta dado a lo largo del curso completo del test. Para este estudio se utilizó una muestra de 3972 personas. Los resultados muestran que el 68% de los participantes mostraron un patrón de respuesta consistente cuando cumplimentaron el cuestionario. Sin embargo, cuando se enfrentaron al test objetivo basado en tareas, el porcentaje fue del 66%. El 45% de los participantes mostraron un patrón consistente en los dos tests. El artículo analiza las implicaciones para la evaluación de la personalidad y las diferencias individuales.

Keywords

personalityconsistencyprediction of behaviourself-reportsobjective task-based personality testspersonalidadconsistenciapredicción de la conductaautoinformestestobjetivos basados en tareas
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , May 2011 , pp. 207 - 217
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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