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Definition
| set of psychological traits/mechanisms within the individual that are organized and relatively enduring and that influence interactions with and adaptions to the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments. |
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| characteristics that describe ways in which people are different from each other. describe average tendencies. |
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3 levels of personality analysis
-human nature |
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Definition
personality components possessed by nearly everyone.
ie: the need for romantic attachment |
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3 levels of personality analysis
-individual and group differences |
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Definition
individual-ways in which each person is similar to or different from others
ie: being high or low in sensation seeking.
group-how people differ across groups
ie: modesty among different cultures |
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3 levels of personality analysis
-inidividual uniqueness |
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Definition
| way in which someone is different from all other people. everyone has unique qualities and combos of qualities. |
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Domains of Knowledge
-dispositional |
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Definition
| how people differ from one another. focuses on identifying and measuring individual differences |
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Domains of Knowledge
-biological |
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Definition
| focuses on the biological basis of behavior, thought and emotion |
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Domains of Knowledge
-intrapsychic |
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Definition
| mental mechanisms of personality. often unconscious. |
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Domains of Knowledge
-cognitive-experimental |
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Definition
| focuses on cognition and subjective experiences such as conscious thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires about oneself and others. |
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Domains of Knowledge
-social and cultural |
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Definition
| personality affects and is affected by cultural and social contexts |
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Domains of Knowledge
-adjustment |
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Definition
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Term
| 5 theories of evaluation for personality |
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Definition
1.is theory comprehensive?
2.does it have heuristic(problem solving) value?
3.is it testable?
4.is it parsimonious(simple)?
5.is it compatible with other information? |
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Definition
*asking people about themselves
*Unstructured and structured-open ended vs. closed
*pros-easy, people are good judges of own personalities.
*cons-people lie especially when trait is undesirable--called social desirability. also people dont have comoplete insight into themselves. |
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Definition
*information provided by observer
*pros-assume there no lying, sometimes others have better insight
*cons-not good for internalized traits
*potential cons-people are part of social environment ie: multiple social personalities. judgements from observers can be biased. |
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Term
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Definition
*standardized test of behavior
*situational tests-designed to elicit behaviors associated with personality ie: egotism draw "E" on forehead
*mechanical recording devices in T-data-pedometer, eye tracker
*physiological tests-FMRI, heart rate etc
*pros-very objective, can target specific behaviors.
*cons-participants might guess the test, limited in what you can test
*potential cons-data is only as good as your measure (construct validity) |
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Term
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Definition
1.construct validity-does the measure accurately respresent our concept?
2.convergent validity-is our assessment tool related to things it should be related to.
3.discriminant validity-is it unrelated(or weakly related) to stuff it shouldnt be related to? |
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Definition
*degree to which a test consistently measures whatever its supposed to be measuring.
*test-retest reliability-does same thing happen each time you test?
*internal consistency-do people respond similarly to similar items.
*inter-rater reliability-how much different observers agree. |
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Definition
*degree to which test is valid and reliable across different contexts.
*groups or conditions can change but test must still work.
*more generalizability isnt always better. |
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Definition
| inherent, cause behavior, sometimes dormant. |
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Term
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Definition
| describe current state, always apparent, no assumptions about causality (if someone is fighting you may say they are acting aggressively) |
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Definition
if an individual difference is important, there will be a word for it. if its important, then there should be lots of synonyms. if term is important for human nature then word/trait will be in lots of languages.
*quantity=quality
*subtle differences between syns |
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Term
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Definition
uses math to find important traits. uses factor analysis to determine overlying traits--identifies groups of similar items/words.
*factor loading-how much variation in an item is "explained" by a factor pg.66
*pros-completely unbiased; reduces large sets of traits to a few key concepts/traits
*cons-garbage in, garbage out. finding 10 random terms wont work well--only as good as what words you put into it. |
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Term
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Definition
starts with an existing theory.
ex: get 1 woman pregnant and take care of kid or get a million women pregnant and have more chances for survival in numbers. quantity vs. quality |
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Term
| classification system for taxonomies |
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Definition
| goal=identify and name groups within a subject. |
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Term
eyesenck's hierarchical model
psychotiscism(P), extraversion(E),neuroticism(N) |
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Definition
*psychoticism-high level is lack of empathy, aggressiveness, antisocial, impulsivity, creativity.
*extraversion-high level is many friends, active/lively, recquire the presence of others.
*neuroticism-high level is worries/anxious, emotional reactions that are particularly negative, shy. |
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Term
| eysenck's hierarchical model structure |
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Definition
super-traits are at the top, then traits, then habits, then acts
ex: neuroticism, then social anxiety, then avoiding social gatherings, then refusing invitation to go out to sing kareoki |
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Term
| eysenck's biological underpinnings |
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Definition
P,E,N have moderate degree of heritability.
*identifiable physiological substrate-known properties of nervous system can account for traits ex: neuroticism & changeability |
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Term
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Definition
| he may have left out important traits. is 3 really enough. |
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Cattell's taxonomy
-major criticisms |
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Definition
16 factor system--one of the largest set of traits.
failure to replicate; too many factors |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
mix of lexical and statistical.
17,953 trait terms, 4,500 stable traits, 35 trait clusters, 5 factors
Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, Openness, Extraversion.
Most widely used and supported. Somewhat hierarchical bc traits have facets. Some debate over openness. |
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Term
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Definition
1.Extraversion or surgency-extravert or introvert
2.Agreeableness-agreeable or aggressive
3.Conscientiousness(dependability)-high is disciplined and organized, low is impulsive and disorganized.
4.Neuroticism(emotional stability)-stable or unstable which is insecure or anxious.
5.Openness-open which is curious, or closed which is traditional and critical. |
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Term
| personality differs across situations and time |
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Definition
| In people there is low cross-situation consistency in honesty, helpfulness, and self-control. |
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Term
| Walter Mischel and situationism |
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Definition
If behavior differs from situation to situation then it must be situational differences, rather than underlying personality traits that determine behavior. Ex- a young woman may be outgoing with friends and reserved with people she doesnt yet know.
*situations dictate behaviors. |
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Term
| person by situation interaction |
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Definition
personality, environment and behavior all shape each other.
*strong situation: situations in which most people react similarly
*weak/ambiguous situation: personality has more influence |
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Term
| personality makes situations |
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Definition
*selection-people select certain situations ex:clubs you join
*evocation-certain traits may passively evoke specific responses from others ex: Dr. House
*manipulation-people actively influence the behavior of others ex: being nice in order to get something |
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Term
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Definition
| averaging multiple observations. longer tests are more reliable; better measures of traits |
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Term
response sets
(online surveys) |
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Definition
*acquiescence-agreeing, regardless of content. solution=reverse-key some items.
*carelessness-rushes through without paying attention. solution=detect using an infrequency scale ex: i havent seen a car in 6 wks.
*fatigue-survey is too long. solution=keep survey brief--give P's a break.
*faking-social desirability--P's respond in ways that make them appear socially attractive/likeable. solution=ensure anonymity, encourage honesty, fill out a test as best person possible then fill out as you. |
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Term
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Definition
| categorical representations of sets of personality traits |
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Term
| Myers-Briggs Type Indicator |
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Definition
| Widely used in business settings. Categories people fall into. Not often use scientifically--based on theory. Types are sloppy-not bimodal because it says you are either A or B and not a little of both. unreliable. all positive types, non negative. |
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Definition
| General statement that can apply to anyone. Common in astrology. |
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Definition
*personality testing is used to screen out individuals from groups of applicants--avoid hiring psychopaths.
*Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-screens for mental illness.'
*Integrity tests-designed to assess general honesty or dishonesty.
*fake pipeline-fake lie detector test to make people think they will have to tell the truth. only works if participant believes in it.
*polygraph-actual lie detector--only measure signs of physical anxiety. |
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Term
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Definition
*longitudinal study-follow cohort over time--this is best for study of personality.
*cross sectioinal study-compare different cohorts to each other. |
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Term
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Definition
*mean level stability-traits stay at same level over time; consistency of level in population.
*rank order stability-maintenance of an individuals position within a group. if you are in the bottom of a trait even when everyone in cohort increases you are still at bottom although you increase.
*personality coherence-maintaining rank order relative to others but charging in the maifestations of trait ex: at 20 extrovert parties and at 70 its going to bingo night. |
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Term
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Definition
| personality in children is temperament--individual differences involved in excitability or arousability. quite heritable. emerge early in life. |
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Term
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Definition
| Measure with 0-data, T-data (actometer) which measures kids movement. Stability coefficients are correlations within cohorts at different times. Stability decreases as time increases. |
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Term
3 ways to analyze personality change
-population level |
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Definition
| population level-development of humans. ie:sex drive changes from childhood to puberty. grand theories focus on this level of change. curvilinear change-not a straight line. replicate findings to avoid cohort effects. |
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Term
3 ways to analyze personality change
-group changes |
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Definition
| group changes-development of specific groups. ie:self esteem between men and women, and suicide rates between the sexes. |
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Term
3 ways to analyze personality change
-inidividual changes |
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Definition
| individual changes-development of an individual. using idividual differences to predict personality development of life outcomes. ie: if you score high on SAT & low impulsivity you have high gpa |
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