What is a self report? Definition, characteristics and types

The self-report is defined as a self-observation made by the subject of his own behavior. In a broad sense, it refers to any message, whether verbal or written, that a person emits about their thoughts, feelings, perceptions or other types of manifestations.

In the field of psychological evaluation, the self-report is a type of technique that allows acquiring reliable information, valid, fast and cheap way of an individual, either for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes or for the selection of staff.

The usefulness of this technique, together with its many advantages, has made it possible to streamline the process of psychological evaluation, in addition to allowing the acquisition of first-hand information from the patients themselves. evaluated. In this article we will see what a self-report is and what are its types and characteristics. Let's start with the latter.

• Related article: "Types of psychological tests: their functions and characteristics"

Characteristics

Self-reports make it possible to acquire information of a different nature, thanks to the fact that

can be elaborated with the purpose of asking about different aspects of people. Some examples are:

• Motor behaviors: number of coffees consumed per day...
• Physiological responses: excessive sweating, gastrointestinal problems...
• Thoughts: suicidal ideation...
• Subjective experience: feeling alone, believing that there is no hope
• Attributions: think that the origin of the voices is for not having closed the door.
• Future expectations: how do you think your disorder will improve, if your sentimental situation is going to get worse...

Traditionally, this type of psychological assessment technique has been used to measure personality attributes, situation-dependent states, such as anxiety and fears, and collect information about problem behaviors. The variables that self-reports measure can be divided into four classes.

Traits, dimensions or factors

The self-reports that measure these variables allow us to know the relative position of the evaluated person with respect to the rest of the normative group in a certain intrapsychic variable. An example of them are personality tests.

• You may be interested in: "The 4 types of personality test"

state

It is evaluated how the person feels or thinks at the precise moment in which the evaluation is carried out. Besides, the situation in which the administration is being carried out is taken into account and the variables that may influence the responses give the subject. An example of a self-report that measures states is the STAI (State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Spielberger) in which the anxiety felt by the person at a specific moment is measured.

clinical-behavioral repertoires

Lists of cognitive, motor or physiological behaviors are presented, which occur with a certain frequency in a certain psychological disorder. Through this type of questionnaire information can be obtained on those areas of personality and thought of the person who are altered.

Repertoires, processes and cognitive structures

Cognitive processes are measured, based on the premise that they play a mediating role in motor and physiological behavior.

Types of self-reports

Throughout the development of psychological evaluation, different types of techniques have been developed to obtain precise information from people. The following are the most common self-report techniques and some of its most notable characteristics.

1. Questionnaires, inventories and scales

They are highly structured self-reports, both in the way the questions are formulated and in their answers. They assess specific behaviors, asking about events that usually occur with a certain frequency. They are generally used to measure personality variables.

2. self registration

It is a semi-structured technique in which the subject is given a sheet of paper where he is asked about a certain behavior and it is the individual who fills it out. The evaluated person records his behavior, whether cognitive, motor, physiological or emotional, at the very moment it occurs.

Thanks to that exhaustive information about the individual can be acquired, because by doing it at the same time that it is happening, memory does not fail and the maximum possible information can be recorded.

3. Interview

Although some do not consider it a self-report technique, the interview is an instrument in which two or more people interact in a bidirectional way and information is shared. Both in a context of psychotherapy and in the field of personnel selection This instrument implies a differentiation of roles.

Its degree of structuring can be variable, having unstructured interviews, in which enough freedom is given to the interviewed when explaining their emotional and cognitive state, and the structured ones, following a marked script prefixed by the interviewer.

4. thoughts out loud

The person is asked to speak aloud about different aspects. This type of technique is widely used in the field of experimental research. The participant is subjected to a specific stimulus and how he responds is observed, recording what he says and does. It is a type of unstructured self-report, since it allows one to speak freely.

Advantages

These are several of the main advantages of self-report:

• The person being evaluated is the one who gives the information about what he thinks and how he feels, allowing him to acquire a deeper and more concrete vision of his own experience.
• The self-reports allow a great saving of time on the part of the professionals.
• They can be administered quickly and systematically, and subsequently corrected with ease.
• They motivate the evaluated, since they are asked about aspects related to themselves and in a more intimate way.
• The more structured ones, such as questionnaires and scales, present a higher degree of reliability and validity, as well as being economical.

Disadvantages

Like any psychological assessment technique, self-reports They are not without drawbacks, and have some limitations.. Some of the disadvantages of this type of technique are presented below, in addition to explaining some phenomena that negatively influence the results.

1. Simulation

The individual does not consciously tell the truth.

2. social desirability

You can pretend to give a good image of yourself instead of being honest.

3. Assent

In closed-response self-reports, in which “yes/true” and “no/false” are asked, it may be the case that that the individual has a tendency to answer positively.

4. scalar errors

In the self-reports evaluated by scales, it may be the case that the individual answers, involuntarily, towards the extreme (severity) or towards the most central values ​​(central tendency).

Bibliographic references:

• Fernandez-Ballesteros, R. (2007) Psychological Assessment, Concepts methods and case studies. P. 233-265. SPAIN: Pyramid.
• De las Cuevas, C. and González de Rivera, J. L. (1992). Self-reports and biased responses. Annals of Psychiatry, 8(9), 362-366.
• Fernndez-Ballesteros, R. (1992). The self-reports. in r. Fernández-BaIlesteros (ed.), Introduction to psychological evaluation (I). Madrid: Pyramid.