Identification Problems in Personality Psychology
22 Pages Posted: 11 Apr 2011
There are 2 versions of this paper
Identification Problems in Personality Psychology
Abstract
This paper discusses and illustrates identification problems in personality psychology. The measures used by psychologists to infer traits are based on behaviors, broadly defined. These behaviors are produced from multiple traits interacting with incentives in situations. In general, measures are determined by these multiple traits and do not identify any particular trait unless incentives and other traits are controlled for. Using two data sets, we show, as an example, that substantial portions of the variance in achievement test scores and grades, which are often used as measures of cognition, are explained by personality variables.
Keywords: psychology, personality, identification problem, achievement test, grades
JEL Classification: D01, D03, D89
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
The Effects of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior
By James J. Heckman, Jora Stixrud, ...
-
The Technology of Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha and James J. Heckman
-
The Technology of Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha and James J. Heckman
-
Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits
By Lex Borghans, Angela Duckworth, ...
-
The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits
By Lex Borghans, Angela Duckworth, ...
