A Comparison of Behavioral and Traditional Assessment

Abstract

Several authors have written about the similarities and differences between behavioral and traditional approaches to assessment in personality (e.g., Goldfried & Kent, 1972; Hartmann, Roper, & Bradford, 1979; Mischel, 1968; Stuart, 1970). Goldfried and Kent (1972) delineated three major areas on which the two approaches can be compared: (1) personality assumptions; (2) selection of test items; and (3) interpretation of test responses. This chapter will address each of these areas in turn and will then compare and contrast the two approaches with respect to the levels of inference involved and the methodological assumptions inherent at each level.