chapter 4 + chapter 6 + chapter 7

interactionism

the principle that aspects of personality and of situations work together to determine behavior; neither has an effect by itself, nor is one more important than the other

single-trait approach

the research strategy of focusing on one particular trait of interest and learning as much as possible about its behavioral correlates, developmental antecedents, and life consequences

many-trait approach

the research strategy that focuses on a particular behavior and investigates its correlates with as many different personality traits as possible in order to explain the basis of the behavior and to illuminate the workings of personality

essential-trait approach

the research strategy that attempts to narrow the list of thousands of trait terms into a shorter list of the ones that really matter

typological approach

the research strategy that focuses on identifying types of individuals; each type is characterized by a particular pattern of traits

california q-set

a set of 100 descriptive items (e.g., “is critical, skeptical, not easily impressed”) that comprehensively covers the personality domain

lexical hypothesis

the idea that, if people find something is important, they will develop a word for it, and therefore the major personality traits will have synonymous terms in many different languages

rank-order consistency

the maintenance of individual differences in behavior or personality over time or across situations

temperament

the term often used for the “personality” of very young, pre-verbal children; aspects include activity level, emotional reactivity, and cheerfulness

heterotypic continuity

the reflection of the consistency of fundamental differences in personality that changes with age; e.g., the emotionally fragile child will act differently than the emotionally fragile adult, but the underlying trait is the same

person-environment transactions

the processes by which people respond to, seek out, and create environments that are compatible with, and may magnify, their personality traits

active person-environment transaction

the process by which people seek out situations that are compatible with their personalities, or avoid situations that they perceive as incompatible

reactive person-environment transaction

the process by which people with different personalities may react differently to the same situation

evocative person-environment transaction

the process by which a person may change situations they encounter through behaviors that express their personality

cumulative continuity principle

the idea that personality becomes more stable and unchanging as a person gets older

personality development

change in personality over time, including the development of adult personality from its origins in infancy and childhood, and changes in personality over the life span

cross-sectional study

a study of personality development in which people of different ages are assessed at the same time

cohort effect

the tendency for a research finding to be limited to one group, or cohort, of people, such as people all living during a particular era or in a particular location

longitudinal study

a study of personality development in which the same people are assessed repeatedly over extended periods of time, sometimes many years

maturity principle

the idea that traits associated with effective functioning increase with age

social clock

the traditional expectations of society fro when a person is expected to have achieved certain goals such as starting a family or getting settled into a career

narrative identity

the story one tells oneself about who one is

plasticity principle

personality can change at any time (but such change may not be easy)

role continuity principle

taking on roles or images such as being a “jock” or a “brain” can lead personality to be consistent over time

identity development principle

people seek to develop a stable sense of who they are, and then strive to act consistently with this self-view

social investment principle

changing social roles at different stages of life, such as becoming a spouse, parent, or boss, can cause personality to change

corresponsive principle

person-environment transaction can cause personality traits to remain consistent or even magnify over time