What is a self-report? Definition, characteristics and types

This data collection tool is widely used in psychology and Human Resources.

Self-report is defined as a subject's self-observation of his or her own behavior. In a broad sense, it refers to any message, whether verbal or written, that a person gives about his or her thoughts, feelings, perceptions or other types of self-reporting.

In the field of psychological assessment, self-report is a type of technique that allows acquiring reliable, valid, fast and inexpensive information from an individual, either for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes or for personnel selection.

The usefulness of this technique, together with its many advantages, has made it possible to streamline the psychological evaluation process, as well as to acquire first-hand information from the persons being 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.

Characteristics

The self-reports allow to acquire information of different nature, thanks to the fact that they can be elaborated with the purpose of asking about different aspects of people.. Some examples are:

• Motor behaviors: amount 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: thinking that the origin of the voices is due to not having closed the door.
• Future expectations: how he thinks he is going to get better from his disorder, if his sentimental situation is going to get worse?

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

Traits, dimensions or factors

The self-reports that measure these variables make it possible to know the relative position of the evaluee with respect to the rest of the normative group in a given intrapsychic variable. An example of these are personality tests..

States

It evaluates how the person feels or what he/she thinks at the precise moment in which the evaluation is made. In addition, the situation in which the administration is taking place and variables that may influence the answers given by the subject are taken into account. the subject's responses. 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 reports

Lists of cognitive, motor or physiological behaviors that occur with a certain frequency in a given psychological disorder are presented. By means of this type of questionnaires information can be obtained on those areas of personality and thinking of the person that are altered. of the person that are altered.

Cognitive repertories, processes and structures

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

Types of self-reports

Throughout the development of psychological assessment, different types of techniques have been developed to obtain accurate information from individuals. The following are the most common self-reporting techniques and some of their salient features. and some of their most noteworthy characteristics.

1. Questionnaires, inventories and scales

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

2. Self-report

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

As a result it is possible to acquire exhaustive information about the individual.The reason for this is that by doing it at the same time as it is happening to you, the memory does not fail and you can record as much information as possible.

3. Interview

Although not considered by some as a self-report technique, the interview is an instrument in which two or more people interact in a bidirectional way and information is shared. Whether in a psychotherapy context or in the field of personnel selection, this instrument implies a differentiation of roles. this instrument implies a differentiation of roles.

Its degree of structuring can be variable, with unstructured interviews, in which the interviewee is given enough freedom to explain his or her emotional and cognitive state, and structured interviews, following a marked script pre-set by the interviewer.

4. Thinking aloud

The person is asked to speak aloud about different aspects of his or her emotional and cognitive state.. This type of technique is widely used in the field of experimental research. The participant is subjected to a specific stimulus and how he/she responds is observed, recording what he/she says and does. It is a type of unstructured self-report, since it allows free speech.

Advantages

These are some of the several of the main advantages of self-reporting:

• The person being evaluated is the one who gives the information about what he/she thinks and how he/she feels, allowing a deeper and more concrete vision of his/her own experience to be acquired.
• Self-reports allow a great saving of time on the part of the professionals.
• They can be administered quickly and systematically, and then easily corrected.
• They motivate respondents, since they are asked about aspects related to themselves and in a more intimate way.
• The more structured ones, such as questionnaires and scales, have a higher degree of reliability and validity, in addition to being economical.

Disadvantages

Like any psychological assessment technique, self-reports are not without drawbacks and have some limitations. are not without their 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.

Simulation

The individual does not consciously tell the truth.

2. Social desirability

One can pretend to give a good image of oneself instead of being sincere.

3. Assent

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

4. Scalar errors

In 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).

Bibliographical references:

• Fernandez-Ballesteros, R. (2007) Psychological Assessment, Concepts, methods and case studies. P. 233-265. SPAIN: Pirámide.
• De las Cuevas, C. and González de Rivera, J. L. (1992). Self-reports and biased responses. Anales de psiquiatría, 8(9), 362-366.
• Fernández-Ballesteros, R. (1992). Self-reports. In R. Fernández-BaIlesteros (comp.), Introducción a la evaluación psicológica (I). Madrid: Pirámide.