Personlighet og målingsproblemer: En kommentar til Boyle og Smári

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That psychometric measurement of personality is difficult and problematic is no surprise. Boyle and Smári's possesive (1997) presentation and discussion of the problems leaves the impression that the difficulties are caused mainly by the extensive use of subjective self-report inventories (Q-data), and that many of the problems can be resolved through more research into objective instruments (T-data) similar to Cattell's Objective-Analytic Battery. In this commentary both assertions are questioned. It is argued that measurement problems in any personality assessment system are discussed best in terms of construct validity. It is concluded that the present explosive interest in personality research is mainly a consequence of using Q-data and the development of the five-factor model of personality. It is also concluded that evaluation of T-data is comparably discouraging.