This document provides an outline for interpreting a personality profile. It includes sections on assessing profile validity, describing the individual's personality style, how they experience and express emotions, their capacity for intimacy, typical defensive patterns, self-awareness, internal standards, and self-esteem. The interpreter is prompted to discuss relevant findings from the profile and other data sources for each section.
2. Basic Outline for
Interpretation
Profile Validity
Personality Style
1. Affect Experience/Expression
2. Capacity for Intimacy and Relatedness
3. Defensive Patterns and Capacities
4. Self Observing Capacity (Psychological Mindedness)
5. Capacity to Construct and Use Internal Standards and Ideals
6. Self Esteem/Self Regard
3. Profile Validity
Can profile be interpreted? | Why or why not
Any threats to validity
Confidence in profile to provide meaningful
data
Any other threat to validity?
Characteristics of person that can be inferred
on basis of validity data
4. Personality Style
High point and/or code Type.
What does this indicate about individual?
What are basic characteristics you feel are
relevant?
Aspects of usual modal characteristics that
you do not believe are relevant for this
person
5. Affect
Experience/Expression
Regulation of Emotions | What might
profile indicate
Includes relevant validity data
Personality Test | History | Behavior &
Mood during process
Prominent Emotional experiences
6. Capacity for Intimacy
and Relatedness
Style of relationships
ability to differentiate among kinds of relationships
ability to share self with others and under what
circumstances
capacity for empathy
7. Defensive Patterns and
Capacities
What kinds of experiences stress the
person? What makes this person most
anxious?
Ways person copes with
anxiety/stress/uncertainty
Defense Mechanisms utilized primarily
Locus of Control
8. Self Observing Capacity
(Psychological Mindedness)
Step into shoes of others
Understanding reasons for own behavior
and behavior of others | Mentalization
(degree to which person understands their own
needs, motives, desires, intentions and that of
others)
Reflect on life
Philosophy of Life
9. Capacity to Construct and Use
Internal Standards and Ideals
Standards of Performance
Ideals in life or relationships
Conscience and sense of ethics and justice
Congruity between standards and behavior
10. Self Esteem/Self Regard
Basic sense of positive/negative feelings
about self and where that appears to stem
from
Confidence in self | Sense of self efficacy
Level of Narcissistic Investment (over-
value-to-under-value self)
Sense of vitality in nonverbal expression