The Gate-Trait/Contextual Approach to Assessment

Abstract

Social workers are increasingly employing self-report inventories in both clinical practice and research. However, a framework for interpreting the results of these instruments based upon a person-environment interactional model of human behavior is lacking. This paper outlines a psycho-social approach for interpreting self-report test data: the Gate-Trait/ Contextual model. This approach suggests that scores on self-report inventories represent an interaction between the context of the testing situation and higher-order individual difference variables, referred to as Gate-Traits, through which the testing environment is interpreted. Gate-Traits act as filters between the internal structure of the individual and the environment. Gate-Traits influence perceptions of the testing environment and the adoption of a self-presentational strategy. Cultural background, gender and public/private self-consciousness are potential Gate-Traits warranting further study.

Individuals are not passive participants in the assessment process; rather, they actively mold their responses based upon their interpretation of the testing context. The testing context includes the purpose of assessment, the relationship between the administrator and the informant, and the test items themselves. All of these contextual variables provide cues concerning the consequences associated with responding in a particular manner. Social workers are urged to make use of their unique training in human behavior theory to conceptualize person-environment interactions when interpreting data from self-report inventories.