PSY 3000: Theories of personality, Exam 1

In relation to personality psychology, developmental psychologists might be particularly interested in __________.

how people's personalities change as they grow older

How is the psychodynamics root of personality psychology represented?

by acknowledging unconscious drives and impulses that influence thought and behavior

Sam has felt anxious and nervous when he's been asked to speak in public. Given that these feelings are part of his personality, what is Sam most likely to say when he's invited to address members of the Moose Lodge at their upcoming luncheon?

"I'd really rather not; thanks all the same."

What limitation applies to most theoretical systems of personality?

No personality system can capture all the unique differences among people.

What does the phrase "usual pattern of behavior" mean?

A person acts consistently across time or across situations.

Why is the study of the self important to personality psychology?

This area of investigation examines questions of identity.

In relation to personality psychology, a clinical psychologist would likely study __________.

the relationship between personality traits and mental health

Which statement is correct regarding the benefits of measuring your own personality?

Your results will tell you whether you are above or below average for different traits.

Courtney is a high-strung, anxious, nervous type. Based on these personality characteristics, what feature is she likely to look for when choosing personal technology, such as a computer or smartphone?

it is easy to use

Based on behavioral measures of personality, a reliable association between being anxious and depressed and __________ can be established.

wearing dark clothing

What do trait terms such as introversion and extraversion represent?

anchor points, or contrasting qualities, of a personality dimension

How accurately can people judge the personality dimensions of someone based on that person's Facebook posts, Instagram accounts, or other online activities?

quite accurately

Bernardo just updated his Facebook status, writing, "I just finished reading a great book. I wish there was a sequel." Based on what you know about personality research and social media habits, Bernardo most likely __________.

is an introvert

Michael Scott is a manager at a midsized paper wholesaler. His office furniture consists of his desk, his chair, a table lamp, and two couches to accommodate multiple visitors at a time. He is always hosting people for coffee breaks. Apart from work-related items (such as his computer or telephone), he has tons of photos of him and his friends. What would you conclude about Scott's personality?

He is high in extraversion.

Dominique is high on the trait of conscientiousness. It is likely that Dominique will __________.

rarely be late to an event

To what extent do personality traits and situational constraints predict behavior?

Both factors predict behavior about equally well.

You and your friends enroll in different universities. Over time, you notice that your friends seem much different from who they were in high school. This is an example of __________.

personality being impacted by experiences

The person-situation debate caused a crisis in the field of psychology during the __________.

1960s

When personality is measured, such as by using questionnaire self-reports, respondents are asked to report their __________ traits and behaviors.

usual

Simone believes that people have consistent behavioral tendencies that are identifiable and impactful, no matter the situation. She is on the __________ side of an enduring debate between personality psychologists and social psychologists.

person

The view that stable personality traits predict behavior versus the view that circumstances have much greater predictive power is called the __________ debate.

person-situation

__________ responding is the tendency for people to make themselves appear better than they actually are when completing a self-report measure.

socially desirable

When a scale, questionnaire, or other instrument demonstrates consistent measurement, it is described as having __________.

reliability

Why would a test developer include reverse-scored items in a self-report measure of personality?

to assess whether a test taker showed a consistent and logical pattern of responding

Dr. Sardonicus administers a test of self-esteem to her class during the first week in the semester. Three weeks later she administers the same test to the same group of test takers in the same setting. What can Dr. Sardonicus determine by correlating to two sets of scores?

test-retest reliability

What is a significant limitation of self-report measures of personality?

If a person is unaware of the psychological processes that underlie her or his motivations, behaviors, or feelings, those motivations, behaviors, and feelings can't accurately be reported.

What does Cronbach's alpha reveal to a researcher?

the extent to which a questionnaire has internal reliability

Tanya loves to complete questionnaires that she finds online and in magazines. "It's fun and easy!" Tanya exclaims. "I circle 'strongly agree' for every item to show how much I appreciate the test makers' time and effort and to let them know I'm helping them with their research!" What questionnaire-taking style is Tanya demonstrating?

an acquiescence response set

Edgar has noticed that the more he exercises, the more his weight goes down. This is an example of a __________.

negative correlation

When a scale correlates with other scales that measure the same underlying construct, it is said to demonstrate __________.

convergent validity

Dr. Mabuse recruits three judges to read the diaries of a group of respondents and rate the extent to which each person mentions self-words (such as I, me, mine, or my). Dr. Mabuse then correlates the ratings of the judges and finds that r = .87. What can Dr. Mabuse conclude?

There is high intercoder reliability for this judgment task.

To be considered reliable, a test-retest correlation between two administrations of the same questionnaire ideally should be ________ or greater.

0.70

Under what circumstances would using a clinical interview be a desirable method of gathering information about an individual?

when the person being evaluated is likely to have extreme or disordered levels of a personality characteristic

Vanessa changed her dog's food to see if it would make her dog happier. She changed her dog's food around the same time that she started working from home all day. Her dog appeared to be much happier, but it was not because of the dog food. The dog was happier because Vanessa was home all the time. Vanessa mistakenly believed that the food made her dog happier. In this situation, Vanessa being at home would be what kind of variable in her "experiment?"

confounding

How does factor analysis contribute to the identification of basic traits?

Patterns of correlations among responses to questionnaire items can identify traits that cluster together.

What is the lexical hypothesis?

Important traits become embedded in a language as single words.

On a personality test, Sandi rates herself low on curiosity, creativity, and open-mindedness. Which Big Five dimension is Sandi rating?

not agreeableness

What does a person's score on a measure of the Big Five personality dimensions indicate?

how that person compares to a norm sample on each of the five traits

Judd enjoys socializing with others and is a great host. He always makes sure his house guests are comfortable and have what they need, and he greets both lifelong friends and new acquaintances with the same warmth and enthusiasm. Judd is likely to score __________.

high on extraversion and high on agreeableness

According to personality psychologist Hans Eysenck, why do introverts prefer quiet and solitude?

They are more sensitive to stimuli.

Which of these people would be most likely to rank lowest in agreeableness?

Trevon, who says what he thinks without giving a darn

Which of the Big Five traits is the strongest predictor of academic and professional success?

conscientiousness

Alina scores high on openness to experience. She is creative, interested in social activism, and likely to be __________.

political liberal

What is one benefit of disagreeableness that is supported by research evidence?

Disagreeable men tend to earn more money than their agreeable counterparts.

Emily often includes the words depressed and lonely in her Facebook posts. Based on this information, which conclusion is most reasonable?

Emily scores high on neuroticism.

Sara has a long-standing substance abuse problem and regularly engages in unprotected sex while she is high on drugs. She lies, cheats, and steals to support her habits and, if she were ever tested, she would likely be classified as a psychopath. Why is it incorrect to conclude that Sara's low levels of conscientiousness caused her obvious shortcomings?

Although low conscientiousness is associated with these behaviors, these behaviors are fairly rare to begin with; therefore, most low-conscientious people are unlikely to engage in them.

Modesty is considered a facet of __________.

agreeableness

Which of the Big Five traits is considered the most difficult to define?

openness to experience

The SAT and ACT tests are pretty good at suggesting how high a student's GPA will be during their first year of college. Students who score higher on these tests tend to have a higher GPA in their first year of college as opposed to students who scored lower. The SAT and ACT demonstrate __________.

predictive validity

The mean, mode, and median are all examples of __________.

descriptive statistics

Personality

a person's usual pattern of behavior, feelings, and thoughts across time or across situations

Modern personality psychology has at least four important historical roots from the late 19th and early 20th centuries grounded in this ancient soil:

assessment and measurement

trait models

psychodynamics

self processes

What Makes up Personality Psychology?

assessment and measurement

trait models

psychodynamics

self processes

Assessment and Measurement

Tools and techniques needed to shape personality into a quantitative science

James Cattell proposed mental tests

What was the First Personality Test?

The Personal Date Sheet (Woodworth, 1917) used for testing psychological resilience in the military

Assessment and Measurement (Quantitative Research) is a Core Part of Personality Psychology Because...

It tells us how to measure personality, but not necessarily what to measure or how to think about personality structure

Trait Theory of Personality

Trait theory posits that personality is made of up descriptive units called traits that are found in language

Psychodynamics

Seeks to capture the whole person

Freud and Jung and further back Schopenauer and Nietzsche

Goal of Psychodynamics

the understanding of the person in relation to deeper impulses, fears, or more complex unconscious mental structures

Self Processes

examines questions of identity

started in the writing of William James and George H. Mead and David Hume

4 Roots: Assessment and Measurement

Shaped personality into a quantitive science

4 Roots: Trait Theory

Belief that personality is made of descriptive units found in language called traits

4 Roots: Psychodynamics

Understanding the person in relation to complex unconscious mental structures

4 Roots: Self Processes

Examines the question of identity

Personality Psychology is Broken Down into...

Clinical Psychology

Neuroscience

Developmental Psychology

Social Psychology

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Clinical Psychology

Personality disorders

Psychological assessments

Clinical psychologists focus on the more problematic aspects of personality, the personality disorders. They also use personality traits to understand major disorders like depression and schizophrenia.

Neuroscience

Personality neuroscience

Neuroscientists try to understand the brain structure and functions associated with different personality traits. The goal is to use personality models to understand individual differences in neural structure and function, and also to understand how personality is based in the brain.

Developmental Psychology

Personalty development

Child temperament

Developmental psychologists focus on the change in personality over the lifecourse. In young children they also study temperament, which is a precursor to personality traits.

Social Psychology

Self-concept

Self-esteem

Social psychologists focus on the self: how people see themselves, feel about themselves and change themselves. The focus is on traits like self-esteem and self-control.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Leadership

Assessment

Industrial-organizational psychologists do lots of work on personality assessment. Their focus is finding the best candidate for a job or leadership position.

Personality psychology aims to ______

A. define and measure what it can while acknowledging that it will not be everything

B. capture all the unique differences among people and their life experiences

C. change people's personality to more socially desirable traits

D. define and measure every aspect of the human experience

A. define and measure what it can while acknowledging that it will not be everything

Hippocrates and __________ both presaged modern trait theory when they discussed differences between people grounded in the so-called "humors."

A. Frued

B. Plato

C. Galen

D. Cattell

C. Galen

Personality psychology is considered a hub topic because it incorporates __________.

A. many different fields of psychology

B. intuition, emotion, and intelligence

C. nature and nurture influences

D. common sense and scientific methodology

A. many different fields of psychology

Extraversion

how outgoing, assertive, and talkative you are

Introversion

how shy and reserved you are

Situation

the other people and the physical environment surrounding a person

Which researcher's work launched the person-situation debate?

A. George Mead

B. Walter Mischel

C. Sigmund Freud

D. Stanley Milgram

B. Walter Mischel

Person-Situation Debate

the view that stable personality traits predict behavior versus the view personality doesn't really exist and the situation is much more important

Nature-Nurture Debate

The view that genetics causes personality traits versus the view that the environment causes personality traits

Conscientiousness

how neat, organized, and achievement oriented a person is

part of the Big Five personality traits

One of the Core Features of Personality

It's about someone's behavior most of the time, not in one isolated moment

Person-Situation Interaction

when the person and situation work together to determine behavior

First, personality can be impacted by experiences

Second, people respond differently to the same situation

Personality Assessment

the way we measure and capture personality, using a variety of methods

Self-Report Measure

questionnaires asking people to report on their own personalities, usually through rating themselves on a list of adjectives or statements

Socially Desirable Responding

the tendency of people to make themselves look better than they actually are

Reverse-Scored Items

items scored in the opposite direction from the responses

bc people have a tendency to agree with everything

Acquiescence Response

the tendency of some respondents to agree with many items on a questionnaire

Likert Scale

a range of numbers that correspond to how much someone agrees or disagrees with an item

Woodworth Personal Data Sheet 1917

First known personality test by Robert S. Woodworth during WWI

Scale was designed to measure sympotms linked to shell-shock (PTSD)

Positive Correlation

A correlation where as one variable increases, the other also increases, or as one decreases so does the other. Both variables move in the same direction.

Negative Correlation

as one variable increases, the other decreases

Null Correlation

when two variables are not related to each other; 0 or a (-) or (+) that is not large enough to be statistically significant

Statistically Significant

having a probability of less than 5% that the results are due to random chance

Internal Reliability

when all of the items on a questionnaire measure the same thing

Cronbach's Alpha

An indicator of internal consistency reliability assessed by examining the average correlation of each item (question) in a measure with every other question.

Alphas need to be higher than ordinary correlations: Most personality questionnaires have an alpha of at least .70, though alphas of around .60 are acceptable.

Lower than that and the items may not measure the same thing.

Test-Retest Reliability

when taking a test at two different times produces roughly the same result

Intercoder Reliability

occurs when people coding stories or written material agree, using a set of rules, that it meets certain criteria

is relevant only when personality is measured using writing samples or behaviors instead of questionnaires

Validity

when a scale measures what it's supposed to measure

Face Validity

when scale items appear, at face value, to measure what they are supposed to measure

Predictive Validity

when a scale is related to a concrete outcome or behavior