PSYU2234 Social and Personality Psychology

What is Personality Psychology

Looks at the individuals differences

Determines whether there is consistency in personality acorss situations

What is Social Psychology

The scientific study of feelings, thoughts and behaviours of individuals in social situations

Looks at how certain contexts shape social behaviour

Social psychology emphasises how other people can influence our decisions and choices.

What is Aschs Line Judement Study Experiment?

Example: In this experiment the answer was obvious however the teammates were saying another answer so in order to not sound stupid they conformed even though they knew it sounded wrong

Why is Studying Social and Personality Research?

1. Human intuition is often unreliable for explaining social behaviour.

2. Research helps psychologists move beyond intuition to evidence-based understanding.

3. Psychological research differs from professions like social work or nursing by focusing on systematic investigation.

4. Learning to design strong studies and critically evaluate methods prevents being misled by false assumptions.

5. Developing research skills makes you a more informed consumer of scientific information.

What is Replication and its 2 characteristics?

Replication involves reproducing the original research results.

Successfully replicated findings are trustworthy findings.

This is self-correcting feature of science helps weeds out non-genuine findings and is one of its greatest strengths.

What are 4 reasons why some findings arent able to be replicated?

1. Replication attempt didn't duplicate the original methods (i.e., conceptual replication)

2. Failure could be due to chance (Type II error)

3. Original findings being a fluke (Type I error: e.g., due to extreme outliers in the sample)

4. Researcher misconduct (e.g., Stapel made up whole data sets)

What are the negative consequences of the replication crisis?

Decline of trust in science

Waste of resources

Slows scientific progress

What are the now improved practices of the replication crisis?

Preregistration of hypotheses and methods

Larger sample sizes

Greater transparency; open sharing of data and materials

What are the 4 ways that scientific questions originate?

1. Curosity

2. Testing Techniques

3. Personal experience or obseration

4. Testing a theory

What are the 7 steps in the research process?

1. Research question

2. Generate hypotheses (specific, directional predictions)

3. Operationalise

Measure: What? How? (e.g., how would you operationalise superstition) Who? (representative sample, generalisation)

4. Design experiment/ correlation study

5. Collect data

6. Analyse data

7. Draw appropriate conclusions (avoid overinterpretation; probs. with methods)

What do most social and personality studies use qualitative or quantitive methods?

Quantitative but sometimes qualitative

quantitative= numerical

qualitative= descriptive

What is the 'Anmimals Origins of Disgust" Study look at?

Study found that great apes show some disgust-like behaviours (e.g., rejecting bad-tasting food, avoiding faeces, and contaminated items), but their responses are less consistent and less sensitive than humans', suggesting that while disgust has evolutionary roots, it is more developed in humans.

What is a type of appraoch to personality psychology and what does it stand for...

D: Director

I: Influencer

S: Stabliser

C: Conscientious

What does each of the DISC characteristics entail?

Influencer → Extraverted & AgreeableDirector → Extraverted & ConscientiousStabiliser → Introverted & AgreeableConscientious → Introverted & Conscientious

What is a between subjects Experiment?

Different participants are assigned to different conditions or groups; each participant experiences only one condition.

What is a within-subjects experiment?

The same participants take part in all conditions of the experiment, allowing direct comparison of their performance across conditions.

What is a factorial design?

An experiment that involves two or more independent variables, allowing researchers to study both main effects and interactions between variables.

What is a quasi-experimental design?

Similar to an experiment but lacks random assignment to conditions; often used when true experiments are not feasible for ethical or practical reasons.

What is a correlational design?

Examines the relationship between two or more variables without manipulating them; identifies associations but cannot infer causation.

Please look over the week 2 lecture about all of these types of experiments (35 mins) - also a print out from CHATGPT

Background Reading: According to Rauthmann 2023 what does modern personality psychology include?

Motivations - what drives behaviour

Narratives - the stories we tell about ourselves

Self-concepts - how we view ourselves

Contextual factors - how situations shape personality expression

Background Reading: According to Garcia personality involves both temperament (more stable) and character (more changeable). Their research suggests: 3 points

Coherence → Change: Staying true to your values (character coherence) helps your personality grow toward well-being.

Support → Growth: Focusing on the whole person (person-centred approach) supports positive personality change.

Change is Possible: Therapy and life development can reshape personality over time.

Background Reading: What are the three perspectives on personality STABILITY

1. TRADITIONAL VIEW: OCEAN

2. CONTEXTUAL VIEW: Traits interact with the environment

3. DYNAMIC VIEW: Personality as evolving system (PerDyn model); individual differences emerge from dynamic processes

- The PersDyn model shows how stable traits and dynamic processes work together to create personality

Background Reading: What is the timeline about stability in personality traits VS Change?

1930s-40s: Gordon Allport identified thousands of personality-describing words (Allport & Odbert, 1936)

1950s-60s: Raymond Cattell used factor analysis to reduce these to 16 factors (Cattell, 1957)

1980s-90s: Costa and McCrae demonstrated that five broad factors consistently emerged across studies (Costa & McCrae, 1992)

Background Reading: What is the evolution of the OCEAN Model?

HEXACO

H - Honesty-Humility: New factor capturing sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, and modesty — traits missing from the Big Five.

E - Emotionality: Similar to Neuroticism but focuses more on fearfulness and anxiety; anger-related traits moved to low Agreeableness.

X - eXtraversion: Sociability, liveliness, confidence.

A - Agreeableness: Narrower than in the Big Five — emphasizes patience, gentleness, and forgiveness (without anger facets).

C - Conscientiousness: Organization, diligence, reliability.

O - Openness to Experience: Curiosity, creativity, appreciation of art and ideas.

What is the difference between HEXACO and OCEAN?

The HEXACO model builds on the Big Five, adding Honesty-Humility and slightly redefining Emotionality and Agreeableness.

Background Reading: WHAT IS SOME EVIDENCE FOR THE HEXACO MODEL>

Honesty-Humility tends to increase with age, particularly after major life transitions (Dunlop et al., 2021)

MOST CHANGEABLE OVERTIME

Emotionality shows more variability across contexts than the Big Five's Neuroticism

Conscientiousness continues to increase into middle age, suggesting ongoing personality development

Background Reading: just for extra revision go to the word bank even though these definitions have already been mentioned

Background Reading: What is cross- cultural validity and Intergrative models?

1. whether personality models work across different cultures

2. Combining multiple perspectoves

The Foundation Crisis: What are the 4 perspectives in the framework and what do they mean?

Grandparent - Wisdom across generations

Eagle - Macro perspective, systems thinking

Ant - Micro details, cooperative relationships

Grandchild - Future-focused curiosity

What is the Psychoanalytic/dynamic Theory by Sigmund Freud?

Psychodynamic Approach: is a comprhensive framework used to understand human behaviour, personality development and mental processes

Personality is shaped by early psychological conflicts and unconscious desires. As children, we learn to manage inner conflicts and renounce instinctive impulses (e.g., Oedipus complex). These unresolved conflicts influence adult personality and can cause anxiety—not just from external situations but also from our own threatening desires.

What are the dynamics of the mind (desires, needs, emotions) known as?

instinctual drives

What is the framework that looks at the architecture of the human psyche?

Id- Basic Instincts (Demon)

Entirely unconscious

Concerned with the pleasurable (wants more and wants it now)

Superego- Moral standards (Angel)

Senses right and wrong; concentrated with the ideal

Ego- The Boss

Concerned with the actual

Represses unacceptable urges

what are sigmund freuds defence mechanisms?

Repression

Reaction Formation

Rationalisation

Transference

Displacement

Sublimation

What are the definitions of Sigmund freuds Defence mecahnisms

Repression: forcing unacceptable desires out of awareness, eg forgetting ever wanting to hit your sibling because "good" people don't feel that way

Reaction Formation: Forming an attitude opposite to threatening wishes, eg a person may be attracted to someone but instead treats them rudely

Rationalisation: Creating a rational explanation for behaviour when the real reason is unacceptable, ega poor grade is explained as the marker being inadequate

Transference: Feelings towards people from the past (typically significant others) are transferred onto people in the present, eg fear towards one's father may transfer to a fear of other males in authority

Displacement

Sublimation

What is the social cognitive theory by Albert Bandura about?

A learning theory approach that also emphasises cognition being thinking, believing and anticipating processes

Acknowledges the principles of learning theory eg operant conditioning

What is positive/ negative reinforcement and positive/ negative punishment?

1. Positive Reinforcement

Definition: Increases the likelihood of a behavior by adding something desirable

Example: Receiving money, approval, treats, or a gold star for good behavior

2. Negative Reinforcement

Definition: Increases the likelihood of a behavior by removing an aversive stimulus

Example: Taking an aspirin to remove a headache

3. Positive Punishment

Definition: Decreases a behavior by adding something unpleasant

Example: A student talks in class → teacher gives extra homework

4. Negative Punishment

Definition: Decreases a behavior by removing something desirable

Example: Teenager stays out past curfew → parents take away phone for a week

What does modelling, vicarious learning and self-efficacy mean in bandura social cognitive theorY?

Modelling: Learning by observing and imitating the behavior of a model.

Example: A child watches their parent clean up toys and then imitates the behavior.

Vicarious Learning:

Learning occurs by observing the consequences of someone else's behavior.

Example: Bandura's Bobo doll experiment - children saw aggressive behavior rewarded or punished and adjusted their own behavior accordingly.

Self-Efficacy:

Refers to one's belief in their own ability to succeed or control their actions.

Example: Feeling confident that you can solve a difficult math problem after practice.

What is the definitions of validity and reliability?

Validity: Does the measure actually access what it claims ot measure; construct validity

Relaibility: Does the measure give similar responses when used repeatedly?

Key insight: You can have reliability without validity (consistently measuring the wrong thing)

What is digital Personality Profiling>

using online behaviour to predict personality traits

What is construct validity?

whether a measure actually assesses the psychological construct it claims to measure

Behavioural inference:

predicting traits from observed behaviours rather than self-report

Platform Vias

Platform bias - when findings are specific to particular digital environments

eg Research on fitness trends based on Instagram posts could over-represent young adults and ignore older populations who use other platforms less.

Algorthmic Personality Assessment: automated systems that claim to measure personality

automated systems that claim to measure personality eg personality tests

Privacy VS Validity Trade:

The tension between protecting people's personal data and collecting detailed information needed for accurate measurement.

Example: A personality test conducted online could be more valid if it tracked social media activity, but doing so raises privacy concerns.

What are the ethical issues with AI?

Transparency: Black-box algorithms

Consent: People unaware they're assessed

Appeal: No way to challenge decisions

Bias: AI mirrors historical discrimination

Accuracy: Often no better than chance (e.g., COMPAS)

Validity: Poor real-world performance

What does AI mean for professionals?

Ethical Responsibility - Your research could be hijacked

Methodological Rigour - Poor science becomes harmful policy

Advocacy Role - Who will speak up for psychological validity?

What does AI mean for individuals?

Digital Literacy - Understand how you're being assessed

Privacy Awareness - Your online behaviour is data

Critical Thinking - Question algorithmic decisions

What does AI mean for the 'bigger picture'

Personality psychology is no longer academic

The research field directly impacts real people's lives

We need psychologists who understand both science and technology

What is the Dramaturgy Theory?

The analogy of using dignital platforms:

Front stage = public content (profiles, posts).

Backstage = private spaces (messages, drafts).Different platforms = different "stages" → multiple selves.Self-presentation ≠ deception; it's fundamental to interaction.

Research on Personality Across Platforms according to Hughes:

Extraversion → consistent across platforms.

Openness → varies by platform (depends on affordances).

Conscientiousness → higher on LinkedIn, lower on casual platforms.→ Some traits are stable; others context-dependent.

What is the Authenticity Paradox?

Online self can be genuine and strategic at the same time.

Facebook often reflects real personality (Back et al., 2010).People with social anxiety may feel truer online (Bargh et al., 2002).

Personality Theories: 1. Life Narrative Identity Theory

Social media posts = tools for constructing evolving self-narratives.

Algorithms disrupt coherence by privileging engagement over story.

Personality Theories: 2. Self- Determination Theory

Autonomy: Do you control your online self-presentation, or does the algorithm?

Competence: Are likes/followers genuine mastery feedback or artificial validation?

Relatedness: Do digital connections meet your need for genuine belonging?

Attachment Styles

Secure (~60%) → enhance offline ties, healthy boundaries.

Anxious (~20%) → validation-seeking, compulsive checking.

Avoidant (~15%) → distance, low self-disclosure, risk isolation.

Traits and Digital Belong according to Introverts, Neuroticists and Openness?

Introverts - may prefer online spaces, risk substituting real connection.

Neuroticism - heightened sensitivity to rejection, amplified online.

Openness - broader online communities, but risk shallow ties.

Indigenous Perspectives; Relational Identity:

rooted in community, land, ancestors.

What does every social enviornment have?

1. different audiences

2. difference rules

3. different goals

4. different feedback

What is impression management?

trying to influence how others perceive us

Example: choosing what to wear to different events

Adjusting your language for different audiences

Why is digital impression management different? (Permanent record, Context Collapse, Amplified Feedback and Algorithmic mediation)

Permanent record: Your posts persist and can be seen by anyone

Context collapse: All your social circles might see the same content

Amplified feedback: Immediate metrics (likes, shares, comments)

Algorithmic mediation: Platforms decide who sees what, when

What does the authencity paradox pose?

Can you be strategic and genuine (real) on the internet?

False choice: People often think you're either:

Your "real self" (totally genuine) or

A "performed self" (pretending or acting for others)

Reality: In life, all self-presentation involves some performance.

Online twist: On social media or digital platforms:

Some people feel freer to express their "true self"

Lower social anxiety can make people more genuine online

Therefore: Genuinely strategic: Being deliberate about what you show, while still being authentic

Strategically genuine: Appearing authentic in a way that serves your goals

How do different apps shape personality (Instagram, Linkedin and Tik Tok)

Instagram

Visual-first → aesthetic & lifestyle curation

Stories vs. posts → temporary vs. permanent self-presentation

Filters/editing → idealized self-expression

LinkedIn

Professional framework → achievement-oriented traits

Network visibility → strategic relationship building

Career focus → highlights conscientiousness & goals

TikTok

Short videos → creativity, humour, trends

Algorithm-driven → rewards novelty & engagement

Comment culture → performative, responsive traits

According to Hughes what does extraversion, openness and conscietiousness show on social media? What does this tell us?

Extraversion: Consistent across platforms (social people are social everywhere)

Openness: Varied significantly by platform context (creative expression depends on platform affordances)

Conscientiousness: Higher on professional platforms, lower on casual ones

1. Some personality traits are stable across digital contexts

2. Others are highly context-dependent

3. Platform design actively shapes which traits get expressed

How does AI shape our digital personality? (Looking at it from a traditional social influence and an algorithmic social influence)

Traditional Social Influence:

- You see what your friends are doing

- You adapt based on direct social feedback

- Social norms emerge from group consensus

Algorithmic Social Influence

- You see what the algorithm calculates will engage you

- You adapt based on engagement metrics optimised by AI

- "Social norms" are actually engagement optimisation

Attatchment Styles in Digital Spaces

Secure: Use platforms to enhance existing relationships

Anxious: Constantly check for responses, over-interpret online signals

Avoidant: Prefer digital distance, struggle with authentic online connection

Disorganised: Chaotic online behaviour, inconsistent digital relationships

What is the McAdams Narrative Identity Theory

is a psychological framework that suggests:

Identity isn't just traits or roles, but also the internalized story we tell about our life.

People construct a personal narrative that gives their life unity, meaning, and purpose.

These narratives include past experiences, present sense of self, and future goals

What are the characteristics of the McAdamas Narrative Identity Theory

- We develop our sense of self through constructing life stories

- Identity emerges from integrating our experiences into coherent narratives

- This process is especially important during adolescence and young adulthood

Why are some people are more affected b y digital connection?

Introversion: Prefer digital interactions (less overstimulating) but still need meaningful connection; risk of over-reliance.

Neuroticism/Attachment Anxiety: More sensitive to rejection; may over-monitor responses; digital can amplify worries.

Openness: Seek diverse connections; drawn to broad online communities; trade-off between breadth and depth.

How early does personality development affect online behaviour?

secure attatchment= 60%

anxious attatchment= 20%

avoidant attatchment= 15%

disorganised attatchment= 5%

Why do traditional ways of knowing matter more (Western and Indigenious)

Traditional means: following established, conventional ways of forming and maintaining social connections, often rooted in your community or cultural norms.

Western psychology focuses on individual personality traits and personal relationships.

But Indigenous cultures have always understood this: Identity and belonging are fundamentally relational and place-based

1. Individual-focused solutions miss the point

2. Place-based identity matters

3. Intergenerational wisdom is important

4. Ritual and ceremony create belonging

What are the features of individualism (independent) ; from tutorial

Need for individual distinctiveness

Individualistic cultures went for the single pen (green)

Would score higher on private self

Believe individuals make better decisions

Tend to see their attitudes abilities and traits existing across all situations

What are the features of collectivism (interdependent)

Preference for collective action

Collectivistic cultures went for the more common pen colour (orange)

Would score lower on private self

Believe that better avengers are those who have been with the company longer

Tend to see their attributes as existing only in relationships with others

What did a report based on 78 countries find?

Value friends more relative to family

Want their children o be independent

Value free expression

What is the difference between tight nations (asian countries) and loose nations (australia, new zealand, netherlands)

Tight Nations: have many strong norms and low tolerence for deviant behaviour

Group memberships

Interconnectedness

Sense of belonging

Group goals

Self- critical want to be better (favourable evaluations from others

Loose Nations: have weak social norms and high tolerence for deviant behaviour

Autonomous

Separate

Self-contained

Personal goals

Main findings from 'The Self and Culture' Video

People make themselves better to fit into their community better (collectivisim)

People are constantly worried about how others view them

We constantly ask ourselves "Who am I" and these answers can vary across cultures (between western and eastern)

Independent= defined in terms of internal attribute eg abilities, personality traits, confidence

Interdependent= social relations is so important which forms their sense of identity. The role of others is apart of their self- definition

The amount of conformity that asians commit is much higher when they are from their immediate groups not out groups (opposite for azmericans

What social and culture aspects branch off our personality?

1. social institutions

2. roles

3. expectations

4. relationships

What is temperment and how is is shown in boys and girls?

early emotional & behavioural traits, often predict adult personality

GIRLS: Extraversion= warmth and friendleness

Agreeableness: empathetic and compassionate

Emotional Stability: woman score higher for fearfulness

How is extraversion percieve between woman and men?

BOYS: Extraversion: assertive and seek excitement

GIRLS: Extraversion= warmth and friendleness

How is agreeableness percieved in woman?

women= more empathetic, compassionate which aids in preventative health behaviours

BUT no difference in interpersonal forgiveness

how is conscientiousness percieved in woman

woman= higher conscientiousness= better academic performance/ safer behaviours + higher optomism

how is emotional stability (neuroticism) percieed in woman

higher fearfulness and vunerability

how is openness to experience percieved for males and females

males= openess to ideas

females= openess to feelings links to creativity

what happens when we combine multiple traits

it can predict better personality difference

inclusivity; are "masculine" and "feminine" traits are distinct or if people can have a mix of both??

Masculine traits: traditionally linked to assertiveness, independence, confidence.

Feminine traits: linked to warmth, empathy, nurturing.

People can vary in how much they show each — low or high masculinity/femininity.

What does androgyny mean and what is its benefits?

Means having both masculine and feminine traits.

It's seen as flexibility — being able to adapt behaviour depending on the situation (e.g., showing leadership or empathy when needed).

What does evoluntionary psychology explore? and how does this differ from females and males

Evolutionary psychology explains how different survival and reproductive pressures shaped male and female behaviour.

Females: value long-term partners who provide resources and care for offspring.

Males: more likely to pursue short-term mating opportunities to increase reproductive success.

what are some difference in basic emotions between men and woman?

Women experience emotions frequently & intensely than men • Biggest differences: affection & joy

• Women reported disgust than men better emotion recognition

Males consistently self-esteem than females

what is the people- things dimensions between men and women?

Women preferred people-orientated occupations; men preferred thing-oriented occupations

what are some types of gender sterotypes?

Social categories: what are common sterotypes, and peoples professional reputation

Affective: based on social category

Behavioural: discrimination based on social category

What are gender subtypes? and how many do men and women have? look at the graph of these

are the detailed differentiation between genders

men= 5

women= 3

what is prejudice? and what areas of life can it affect?

is a preconceived, usually negative attitude or judgment toward a person or group based on their membership in a particular category

Legal decisions: Judges or juries might treat people differently based on race or gender.

Medical treatment: Doctors may take symptoms less seriously for some groups.

Car purchases: Salespeople might offer worse deals based on stereotypes.

Job hunting: Employers might hire or promote people unfairly due to bias.

What is the socialisation theory?

Boys and girls grow to act distinctly different - based on ideas from their parents, teachers, and the media

boys engage in more physcial activity than girls

What is the social learning theory? Bandura

Children learn by observing others, providing a guide for our behaviour

What is the gender sterotypes theory?

Example: inequality with household chores eg daughters do more cleaning

What is the social role theory?

Differences exist because men and women are steered towards different occupations and roles

what are the hormonal theories and what do they suggest about sex differences?

Hormonal theories propose that hormonal differences (especially prenatal testosterone exposure) influence gender-related interests, abilities, and personalities.

what is the evolutionary psychology theory specifically for jealousy?

Different triggers: Emotional infidelity → females; sexual infidelity → males (Baschnagel & Edlund, 2016)

Cultural pattern: Sex differences persist across cultures (Buss, 2018)

Linked traits: Jealousy associated with neuroticism, introversion, and anxiety

what is the evolutionary psychological theory in relation to mate preferences?

1. females prioritise resources

2. males prioritise fertility cues and attraction

what is the evolutionary psychological theory in relation to personality?

Females prefer conscientiousness, punctuality and extraversion and Kindness

what is the intergrated approach?

the collaboration with social roles, hormones etc

Evolutionary psychology: why we are different

Hormonal and socialisation: how we became different