Personality Psychology: Traits, Theories, and Cultural Influences

What does the term 'characteristic adaptations' refer to in personality?

Features that provide a person's life with unity and purpose.

How are characteristic adaptations usually contextualized?

Usually contextualized in time, place, situation, or social role

What is the significance of culture in the psychosocial construction of narrative identity?

It provides a menu of themes, images, and plots for life stories.

How does culture influence life stories?

It shapes the themes and narratives individuals construct about their lives.

What is the effect of culture on the timing of characteristic adaptations?

Culture has a moderate effect on when these adaptations occur.

What is a personality trait?

Individual differences in people in characteristic thoughts, feelings, and behaviours

Four characteristics of a personality trait

1. Internal dispositions that are relatively stable across time and situations 2. viewed in bipolar terms 3. additive and independent 4. representing broad individual differences in social and emotional functioning.

Who proposed the 4 Humors theory of personality?

Galen (130-200 A.D.)

What are the four personality types according to the 4 Humors?

1. Choleric (bad tempered) 2. Sanguine (bold, confident) 3. Melancholic (gloomy, pessimistic) 4. Phlegmatic (sluggish, non-excitable).

What is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? (MBTI)

A personality assessment that categorizes individuals into 16 types based on four dichotomies - INFP

Is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) legit?

Broadly debunked as pseudoscience at this stage but still popular

How did Keirsey relate the Myers-Briggs types to the 4 Humors?

He proposed that the types can be broken down into four temperaments that match the four humours

4 temperaments of MBTI according to Keirsey

Guardians (Melancholic), Rationals (Phlegmatic), Idealists (Choleric), and Artisans (Sanguine).

Mischel's criticism & the person-situation debate

"personality doesn't exist, it's just if-then contingencies"

What was Francis Galton known for in personality research?

He was one of the first to study the heritability of personality and intelligence - WEALTHY, prestigious family

What did Francis Galton conclude?

That talented individuals often have talented relatives.

Who is considered the forefather of modern statistical techniques of correlation and linear regression?

Francis Galton

What statistical measures did Francis Galton originally use instead of mean and standard deviation?

Median and interquartile range

What is the Lexical Hypothesis proposed by Galton?

the most important individual differences in humans will be encoded as single words in language.

- if it's important to be described we will have a word for it

How many trait words did Galton come up with?

He came up with a list of 1000 trait words

- tried sorting them using a rudimentary qualitative process, but the statistical techniques needed were not yet invented

What did Gordon Allport contribute to personality psychology?

He distinguished between common traits and personal dispositions

Common traits - Alloport

Dimensions of human functioning - everyone could vary on it, like being funny - different people are likely to differ

Personal dispositions - Alloport

Unique traits characteristic of a given individual

- instrumental for depicting that person's uniqueness and central to their identity

What are the three types of personal dispositions according to Allport?

Cardinal disposition, Central disposition, Secondary disposition

Cardinal disposition - Alloport

The key trait that defines a person and shapes most of their behaviour (0-2)

Central disposition - Alloport

A wider range of dispositions that are important for describing a person's behaviour (5-10)

Secondary disposition - Alloport

Features of personality exhibited only under a relatively limited set of conditions (MANY) - think customer service vs with friends

What is factor analysis in personality research?

A statistical technique that groups data into LATENT VARIABLES

Example of how factor analysis works?

if you ask people to respond on a 1-5 scale to a bunch of words factor analysis can tell you which groups of words belong together (people respond similarly to them)

Latent variables

the ideas that we want to research but cannot directly measure

Who was Cyril Burt and what was his contribution?

He was known for his twin studies on the heritability of intelligence - early adopter of factor analysis

Who were Cyril Burt's most notable students?

Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck

What does the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) measure?

16 personality traits that describe and predict behaviour in a variety of contexts

Who came up with the 16PF?

Raymond Cattell, based on Allport's list of trait items, still in use today.

What kind of rotation did Cattell use in his factor analysis?

A less popular (at the time) oblique rotation

- resulted in him coming to different conclusions than others

What was Eysenck famous for?

His attempts to link biology to individual differences in humans

- super critical of psychoanalysis

- fraud and a loser

Who came up with the Three Factor Personality model?

Hans Eysenck, he added psychoticism later on

The Three Factor Personality model consists of what?

Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Psychoticism

What is the cortical arousal level of introverts according to Eysenck?

HIGH

How do introverts respond to stimulation according to Eysenck?

They MINIMIZE stimulation because their baseline is high

What is the cortical arousal level of extraverts according to Eysenck?

LOW

How do extraverts respond to stimulation according to Eysenck?

They MAXIMIZE stimulation because their baseline is low

What is neuroticism according to Eysenck?

A personality trait characterized by emotional instability and anxiety.

How do autonomic shifts occur in individuals high in neuroticism?- Eysenck

They occur suddenly and rapidly.

What is a characteristic of autonomic shifts in people high in neuroticism?- Eysenck

They have low thresholds for triggering these shifts.

What is an example of an autonomic shift related to neuroticism?- Eysenck

Fight or flight response.

Psychoticism - Eysenck

believed testosterone and monoamine oxidase is implicated (ex. higher dopamine, consistent with dopamine hypothesis in schizophrenia)

What is the Five Factor Model in personality psychology?

A widely accepted model that categorizes personality traits into five broad dimensions.

What are the implications of Galton's anthropometric laboratory?

It emphasized the importance of measurement in establishing psychology as a science.

What is the relationship between personality traits and social functioning?

Personality traits are broad individual differences that influence social and emotional functioning.

What did Allport's 1936 study focus on?

It was a psycho-lexical study that examined trait names and their significance in personality.

What is the significance of the term 'central disposition'?

It refers to a wider range of dispositions that are important for describing a person's behavior.

What did Cattell's use of 'oblique' rotation in factor analysis lead to?

It resulted in different conclusions compared to those who used the more popular 'orthogonal' rotation.

What is the importance of the 16F Model in personality research?

It provides a comprehensive assessment of personality traits based on factor analysis.

What is the main focus of Cattell's 16F Model?

It identifies 16 different personality factors.

Who is Hans Eysenck?

A psychologist known for linking biology to individual differences and for his controversial views on race and intelligence.

Define Psychoticism according to Eysenck.

A trait characterized by being troublesome, uncooperative, and socially withdrawn.

What is the significance of Eysenck's legacy?

He founded the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences and influenced biological personality psychology.

- no formal "school" or rigid set of followers

What is the Person-Situation Debate?

A discussion on whether behaviour is determined by internal traits or social situations.

Who was in the Person-Situation Debate

- split between social (situation) and personality (traits) psychologists

What was the compromise to the Person-Situation Debate?

Now often grouped as "social/personality" psychology under INTERACTIONISM

Interactionism

behaviour is a product of both personality and the situation (how they INTERACT)

What is a key critique of traits PREDICTING according to Mischel?

Traits are not strong predictors of actual behaviour in specific situations.

How are traits an example of the fundamental attribution error - Mischel

Internal causes for behaviour are not considered

- someone didn't hold the door for me, must be an ass

What do traits represent in terms of implicit personality theory? -MISCHEL

Traits represent our tendency to group similar words and concepts together, rather than any behavioural correlates.

behavioural variability

People's personality traits are not consistent across all situations

- at work vs at a party

What is Walter Mischel's contribution to personality psychology?

He proposed the idea of 'If...then' behaviour consistencies. (introvert at party vs gathering)

What are the Five Factors in the Five Factor Model?

Conscientiousness, Openness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.

Five Factor Model - Openess

Imaginative or practical - Interested in variety or routine- Independent or conforming

Five Factor Model - Conscientiousness

Organized or disorganized - Careful or careless - Disciplined or impulsive

Five Factor Model - Extraversion

Sociable or reserved - Fun-loving or somber - Affectionate or reserved

Five Factor Model - Agreeableness

Softhearted or ruthless - Trusting or suspicious - Helpful or uncooperative

Five Factor Model - Neuroticism

Calm or anxious - Secure or insecure - Self-satisfied or self-pitying

Who are the key figures behind the Five Factor Model?

Robert McCrae and Paul Costa. - revised NEO personality inventory (NEO PI-R)

What does the Lexical Hypothesis (Five Factor Model) suggest?

Openness > intellect, Neuroticism > emotional stability

What is the HEXACO Model (6 factors)?

A model that argues that there are six "super-traits" with AGREEABLENESS being separated into - Agreeableness - Honesty-Humility

What are the 6 factors in the HEXACO model?

Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness.

What is the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R)?

An assessment tool that measures the Five Factor Model of personality.

What is the relationship between Cattell's 16 Factor Model and the Big Five?

Cattell's model can be interpreted within the framework of the Big Five traits.

Hierarchical Model - Markov

Socialization or Communication, Growth of Self or Agency

- one could zoom in an separate the Big Five Model into a 5, 4, 3, or 2 factor model