Chapter 10- Person-Situation Interactionism

Walter Mischel

A psychologist known for his work on the variability of behavior across situations and the critique of personality traits.

Error variance

Unaccounted for variations in behavior that challenge the predictability of personality traits.

Average correlation of personality traits with actual behavior

About r = .30 - .40, indicating that a single personality trait accounts for 9 - 16% of the variance in specific situations.

Multiply determined behavior

Behavior that is influenced by multiple factors, complicating the simple prediction from a single personality trait.

Person-situation interactionism

The view that human behavior is influenced by both personality traits and situational factors.

Aggregation in behavior prediction

The process of averaging behavior across multiple situations or over time to improve the ability of traits to predict behavior.

Situational factors

External circumstances that can override personal dispositions in influencing behavior.

Trait relevance

The concept that not all personality traits hold the same importance in predicting behavior across different individuals and situations.

Criticism of Mischel’s argument

Challenges include that personality is complex, there is some consistency across situations, and that correlations of r = .30 - .40 can be meaningful.

Situation predictability

Research indicates that situations often do not predict specific behaviors better than personality traits do.