Measuring Personality Constructs: The Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-Reports, Informant Reports and Behavioural Assessments

Achieving construct validity, or using measures that accurately represent particular theoretical constructs, is an important goal of social science research. This article reviews arguments regarding the strengths and limitations of personality assessment methods in terms of methodological feasibility and whether they are accurate in measuring personality constructs. Specifically, it considers the advantages and disadvantages of assessing personality with self-report questionnaires, informant reports, and behavioural measures. Acknowledging that no method is perfect, the discussion then focuses on the value of incorporating multiple methods. In light of the reliance on the self-report method in personality psychology, it will be argued that researchers could maximize the validity of the measurement of personality constructs by combining the questionnaire approach with other methods.