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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.

Risk propensity (RP) is a trait characterized by an increased probability of engaging in behaviors that have some potential danger or harm but also provide an opportunity for some benefit. In the present study, a new RP task with several dilemmas was explored. Each dilemma includes the initial set plus successive approximations for estimating the Indifference Value between a Secure and the expected value of an uncertain Game. The scores showed good internal consistency, reasonably test-retest reliability, and good validity. The risk propensity dilemmas (RPD) task is proposed as an addition to an ideal battery of tasks for reflecting a complex trait that should be assessed from varied perspectives, procedures, and scenarios of uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trait psychology implicitly assumes consistency of the personal traits. Mischel, however, argued against the idea of a general consistency of human beings. The present article aims to design a statistical procedure based on an adaptation of the n* statistic to measure the degree of intraindividual consistency independently of the measure used. Three studies were carried out for testing the suitability of the π* statistic and the proportion of subjects who act consistently. Results have shown the appropriateness of the statistic proposed and that the percentage of consistent individuals depends on whether test items can be assumed as equivalents and the number of response alternatives they contained. The results suggest that the percentage of consistent subjects is far from 100%, and this percentage decreases when items are equivalent. Moreover, the greater the number of response options, the lesser the percentage of consistent individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]