title: Are we more consistent when talking about ourselves than when behaving? Consistency differences through a questionnaire and an objective task.
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 pi* 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 (theta) remaining invariant through out the test of. Participants who are consistent must show a constant theta 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.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Campus Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Víctor J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Manuel Hernández
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Revuelta
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santacreu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D002605:Character; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011336:Probability; D011340:Problem Solving; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014705:Verbal Behavior