Psych 290 - Exam #1

personality

characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors over time and across situations

feelings, thoughts, behavior

psychological triad

trait approach

how do people differ from one another, what are the fundamental dimension of personality, where do those differences come from?

• example: Big 5

Big 5

example of trait approach

biological approach

how is personality influenced by biological processes (physiology, genes, evolution), how is personality expressed in physiological processes?

• ex. Phineas Gage (found importance of frontal lobe in self-regulation)

cognitive approach

how do cognitive processes and subjective experiences shape personality? how are these processes shaped by personality? self-concept, goals, emotional experience

• ex. Are “positive illusions” adaptive or maladaptive?

  • positive illusions = when people overestimated their true abilities (studying if it is harmful or helpful to do this)

psychoanalytic approach

what are the mechanisms that drive personality (conflict)? what is the role of unconscious processes?

• ex. explicit vs. implicit attitudes

  • explicit: attitudes that we can consciously endorse and can easily report

  • implicit: attitudes that are involuntary, uncontrollable, and at times unconscious

personality disorder approach

what aspects of personality are adaptive vs. maladaptive? what are clinical manifestations of personality?

cultural approach

how do social and cultural contexts influence personality?

• cultures (individualism vs. collectivism)

• families (birth order)

• peer groups (delinquency)

• dyads (interdependence)

Phineas Gage

example of biological approach

studying explicit vs implicit attitudes

example of psychoanalytic approach

studying positive illusions

example of cognitive approach

studying birth order

example of cultural approach

funder’s first law

“Great strengths are usually great weaknesses, and surprisingly often the opposite is true as well”

• relates to One Big Theory; personality psychology has many approaches and cannot be studied under one theory because important aspects will be left out

  • instead studied under several approaches

construct

an unobservable internal concept, mental framework, or bipolar lens (such as "friendly vs. unfriendly") that individuals use to interpret reality, predict events, and shape their behavior

impulsivity

a tendency to act on a whim without adequate forethought, reflection, or consideration of long-term consequences

delay of gratification

the cognitive and motivational ability to resist an immediate, smaller reward in favor of obtaining a more valuable, enduring reward later

all, some, no

Every human being is, in certain respects… like ____ others (human nature), like ___ others (group similarities), and like ___ others (individual differences)

Funder’s 2nd Law

There are no perfect indicators of personality; there are only clues, and clues are always ambiguous

Funder’s 3rd Law

Something beats nothing, two times out of three

B, L, I, S-data

4 types of personality data

B-data

Behavioral data

• laboratory experiments, daily diary, physiological data, wearable recording device, naturalistic observation, social media/online activity

B-data dis/advantages

advantages

• wide range of contexts (both real and contrived)

• appearance of objectivity

disadvantages

• difficult and expensive

• uncertain interpretation

L-data

life outcome data

• archival information: criminal record, marriage/divorce record, career outcomes, living spaces

L-data dis/advantages

advantages

• objective and verifiable

• intrinsic importance

• psychological relevance

disadvantages

• multi-determination

• possible lack of psychological relevance

I-data

informant report data

• data provided by others (friends, family, colleagues) via questionnaires, interviews or observations

• ex. parent or teacher reports of impulsivity (“How often does John do things in the spur of the moment?”)

I-data dis/advantages

advantages

• large amount of info

• real-world basis

• common sense

• some I data are true by definition (e.g. likeability)

• causal force

disadvantages

• limited behavioral information

• lack of access to private experience

• error

• bias

S-data

self report data

• information provided directly from subject (questionnaires, interviews)

• ex. self-report items of impulsivity (“Do you often do things in the spur of the moment?”)

S-data dis/advantages

advantages

• large amounts of info

• access to thoughts, feelings, intentions

• some are true by definition (i.e. self-esteem)

• causal force

• simple and easy

disadvantages

• error

• bias

• too simple and too easy

delayed gratification task (marshmallow test)

study demonstrating behavioral data

projective test

personality assessment that asks the participant to interpret a meaningless or ambiguous stimulus

• ex. Rorschach Inkblots, Thematic Apperception Test (TAT), Ambiguous Situations Task

Rorschach Inkblots

example of projective test

• goal is to get a sense of perception of image (no correct answer)

• claimed to assess personality

• Major limitations:

  • very subjective

  • poor reliability (cannot be repeated well even with same person, can’t standardize)

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT)

Type of projective test; showed image of two people that was ambiguous

• goal: way person describes the image maps onto how they may be feeling

• typically used as a way to start therapy session

• suffered from limitations:

  • poor reliability and validity

Ambiguous Situations Task

Evolution of TAT (projective test)

• ex. can ambiguous situations help us measure racial bias?

  • study found that context/race did matter/have an influence on interpretation of ambiguous situation in image

• effective measures for implicit racial bias; can be both reliable and valid

projective, B

All ____ tests produce __ - data. (giving subject a test and observing their response)

projective hypothesis

the idea that if a person is asked to interpret and ambiguous stimulus, the answer will indicate the person’s feelings, thought processes, or other hidden aspects of the mind

objective tests

personality test that consists of a list of questions to be answered by the subject as true or false, yes or no, or along a numeric scale

rational method

a method of personality test construction in which items are written based on their apparent or “Face” relationship to the trait being measured

• said to have face validity (measure exactly what they seem to be measuring), but need further evidence such as I-, L-, and B-data

• strategy of this method is to come up with items that seem directly and rationally related to what the test developer wishes to measure

• ex. Woodworth Personality Data Sheet: used to measure personality data via self report survey for potential Army recruits

factor analytic method

a method of personality test construction in which items are grouped together on the basis of factor analysis

• patterns of co-occurence means these items are correlated

• then, the researcher can consider what the items have in common, then name the factor

empirical method

a method of personality test construction based on comparing answers given by members of different criterion groups

• ex. one group of people who are diagnosed with depression and the other group is not diagnosed

• the primary basis by which items are selected for this test is whether they are answered differently by different kinds of people

• cross-validation is used in new groups of participants: if this succeeds to predict the trait, the scale is deemed ready for use

face validity

the degree to which an assessment instrument, such as a questionnaire, on its face appears to measure what is is intended to measure.

• for example, a face-valid measure of sociability might ask about attendance at parties.

factor analysis

a statistical method for finding clusters of related traits, tests, or items.

case study, correlational, experiment

what are the 3 types of research designs in personality?

case study

type of research design involving the in-depth study of an individual

• ex. Phineas Gage and the role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in self-regulation

case study dis/advantages

advantages

• potentially lots of information

• can examine unusual situations or people

• valuable for hypothesis generation

disadvantages

• not suitable for hypothesis testing

• findings not generalizable

correlational study

type of research design involving exploring if there is an association between variables

• ex. Beer et al. (Do PFC-damage patients struggle with self-regulation?) —> found, YES they have trouble recognizing self-conscious emotions and have inappropriate disclosures

correlational study dis/advantages

advantages

• can examine naturally occurring relationships

• some variables can’t be manipulated

disadvantages

• association between two variables may be due to a third variable

• can be difficult to determine direction of causality

experiment

type of research design that can determine causality by manipulating one variable to see its effect on another variable

experiment dis/advantages

advantages

• can provide powerful test of causality

disadvantages

• are you manipulating what you think you are?

• can create unnatural contexts

• some of the most interesting variables can’t be manipulated (i.e. culture, family dynamic, trauma, injury)

reliable

A ____ measure yields consistent measurements across situations and repeated occasions.

• differences should reflect only differences in “true level” of construct

• measurement error —> low reliability

measurement error

the variation of a number around its true mean due to uncontrolled, essentially random influences, also called error variance

• directly reduces reliability; adds noise to variables, proportion of total score variance due to the true construct drops, reduces statistical power

impact reliability

these are factors that ___ ____

• precision of measurements

• state of participant

• state of experimenter

• environment of study (i.e. noise, temperature, weather, etc.)

cannot, always

an unreliable measure ____ be valid, but a reliable measure is not ___ valid.

test-retest realiability

the consistency of a test or measurement tool over time, evaluated by giving the exact same test to the same group of people on two separate occasions

internal consistency

the degree to which different items or questions on a test, scale, or survey measure the same underlying construct or characteristic

inter-rater reliability

the degree of agreement or consistency between two or more independent observers, coders, or judges when evaluating the same behavior, test, or phenomenon

• reduces bias

• strengthens validity

generalizability

measure is valid across contexts, populations, and implementation

Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic

What does a WEIRD sample stand for? WEIRD describes threats to generalizability —> why are results might not generalize

statistically significant

if a result is ____ _____, the common interpretation is that the statistic probably did not arise by chance; its real value, sometimes called the population value, is probably not zero, so the null hypothesis is incorrect, and the result is big enough to take seriously.

questionable research practices

research practices that, while not exactly deceptive, can increase the chances of obtaining the result the researcher desires. such practices include deleting unusual responses, adjusting results to remove the influence of seemingly extraneous factors, and neglecting to report variables or experimental conditions that fail to yield expected results. Such practices are not always wrong, but they should always be questioned. Examples:

• p-hacking

• publication bias

replication

doing a study again to see if results hold up. especially persuasive when done by other researchers in other settings. improved by:

• providing more detail about methods, results, hypotheses

• report all measures, conditions, exclusions

• use larger samples (especially for small effects)

• pre-register hypotheses before data collection

• share data

• publish non-significant findings

ways to improve replicability

• providing more detail about methods, results, hypotheses

• report all measures, conditions, exclusions

• use larger samples (especially for small effects)

• pre-register hypotheses before data collection

• share data

• publish non-significant findings

ethical

• deception (when done unethically) (i.e. Milgram shock study)

• privacy violations (misuse of data, lack of informed consent, misuse of b-data)

• uses of psychological research

• representation, for research quality and ethics

• honesty

these are all examples of ____ concerns in personality psych research

type 1 error

in research, the mistake of thinking that one variable has an effect on, or relationship with, another variable, when really it does not.

type 2 error

in research, the mistake of thinking that one variable does not have an effect on or relationship with another, when it really does.

p-hacking

analyzing data in various ways until one has found the desired result

• example of questionable research practice

p-value

in null-hypothesis testing, the calculated probability that an effect of the size (or larger) obtained by a study would have been found if the actual effect in the population were zero.

effect size

describes the numerical degree to which one variable is related to another

• a good measure of ___ ___ is the correlation coefficient

publication bias

the tendency for scientific journals to publish studies with stronger results over ones with weaker results

aggregation

combining together of multiple different measurements, such as averaging them

• acquiring more data; more data = average is more accurate to true population value

  • reduces bias/noise in data

person-situation debate

debate regarding if personality factors or situational factors are more influential on someone’s behaviors

• rise of situationism (1960s): emphasis on the power of the situation to shape behavior (i.e. Zimbardo Prison Study, Milgram Shock Experiment)

Situationist perspective

held ideas like: (Walter Mischel)

• personality doesn’t predict behavior (low correlations)

• people act differently across situations

  • our intuitions about personality are flawed

personality perspective

perspective of personality-situation debate stating:

• personality traits predict behavior over time (aggregation)

• broad traits predict broad behaviors, narrow traits predict narrow behaviors (ex. conscientiousness —> academic performance whereas puntuality —> showing up to class on time)

  • people are consistent relative to others (rank-order consistency)

personality

traits, genetic dispositions, free will are all _____ factors

situational

obedience to authority, peer pressure, social roles are all ___ factors

weak situation

situation constraint that causes more variation in behavior, where personality may be more influential in behavior

• ex. party, dorm room, park

strong situation

situational constraint that causes less variation in behavior, where situation is more influential on behavior

• ex. church, job, interview, class

absolute consistency

The idea that a person acts with the exact same level or amount of a behavior in every situation.

rank order consistency

The idea that an individual maintains their same standing or position relative to other people across different situations or over time.

• relative consistency

fundamental attribution error

a cognitive bias in social psychology where you overemphasize internal, dispositional factors (such as a person's personality, character, or mood) while underestimating external, situational factors (such as traffic, stress, bad news, or environmental pressures) when judging other people's behavior

• people tend to attribute their own behavior to the situation

consensus, accuracy, convergent

We know whether our judgments of someone’s personality are right based on the ___ and ___ of our judgment.

• when these two factors come together, we have ____ validity

consensus

do others agree?

• inter-rater agreement (reliability)

accuracy

does our “target” agree with our judgment?

• do our judgments predict behavior? (predictive validity)

judge, target, trait, information

name the 4 moderators of accuracy in personality judgment

judge

these traits influence the ____ moderator in personality judgment accuracy:

• investment in relationships

• positivity

• dispositional/emotional intelligence

• gender

target

these traits influence the ____ moderator in personality judgment accuracy:

• consistent behavior across situations

• some people easier to judge accurately

• transparency vs. concealing internal experiences

trait

these traits influence the ____ moderator in personality judgment accuracy:

• ease of judging (openness v emotional stability)

• visibility of trait (extraversion during a party v a test)

information

these traits influence the ____ moderator in personality judgment accuracy:

• quantity (more info = higher accuracy)

• quality (relevant info better)

realistic accuracy model

model of the process of accurate personality judgment; describes accuracy as a function of the relevance, availability, detection, and utilization of behavioral cues

• implies that accurate personality judgment is difficult, helps to explain the four moderators of accuracy, and suggests ways in which one might be able to judge others more accurately

relevance, availability, detection, utilization

4 stages of RAM in order

1. pertinent to trait being judged?

2. information accessible when & where judge can see it

3. judge notices information

4. judge correctly interprets information

predictive validity

the degree to which one measure can be used to predict another

self ratings

_____ _______ of emotional experiences are more accurate than ratings from others

extraversion, conscientiousness

which (big 5) personality traits obtained decent consensus and accuracy from only first impression ratings?

active, confidence, enthusiasm

which trait had the highest consensus among raters in “thin slice” judgment study?

optimism, confidence

which trait had the highest accuracy with course evaluations in “thin slice” judgment study?

neuroticism

self-rating is most accurate for this big 5 trait

extraversion

all sources of judgment (self-rating, close friend, stranger) were found to be accurate for this big 5 trait

openness

close-friend rating was found to be most accurate for this big 5 trait

improving self knowledge

introspection (i.e. utilization stage), seeking feedback (i.e. availability and detection stages), observing own behavior (i.e. relevance stage) are all methods of RAM that can be used for ______ ____ _______.

• important because accurate self-knowledge helps us make wise choices

self-fulfilling prophecy

a process where an initial expectation or belief—even if completely false—influences a person's behavior in a way that causes the expectation to come true