Social-cognitive theory of personality assessment

This article presents a social-cognitive theory of personality assessment. We articulate the implications of social-cognitive theories of personality for the question of what constitutes an assessment of personality structure and behavioral dispositions. The theory consists of 5 social-cognitive pri nciples of assessment. Personality assessments should (a) distinguish the t ask of assessing internal personality structures and dynamics from that of assessing overt behavioral tendencies, (b) attend to personality systems th at function as personal determinants of action, (c) treat measures of separ ate psychological and physiological systems as conceptually distinct, (d) e mploy assessments that are sensitive to the unique qualities of the individ ual, and (e) assess persons in context. These principles are illustrated th rough a review of recent research. Social-cognitive theory is distinguished from an alternative theory of personality structure and assessment 5-facto r theory, by articulating the strategies of scientific explanation, concept ions of personality structure and dispositions, and the assessment practice s that differentiate the approaches.