PSY 4331.001 notes

What is personality defined as?

A set of traits and mechanisms that stay stable across time within the individual, influencing interactions with environments.

What is the scientific study of Affect, Behavior, and Cognition known as?

Psychology.

What distinguishes Personality Psychology from general psychology?

It focuses on the variations in ABCs of Psychology that make each person unique.

What does the term 'Personality Trait' refer to?

Any aspect of human psychology that shows variations among individual people, stable over time and context.

What is the difference between the Nomothetic and Idiographic approaches?

The Nomothetic approach involves statistical comparisons of individuals, while the Idiographic approach focuses on a single subject.

What are the four general types of clues for assessing personality?

Self-report, Informant report, Life outcomes, and Behaviors.

What is Funder's 2nd Law about personality assessment?

There are no perfect indicators of personality; only clues that are always ambiguous.

What does self-report data rely on?

It relies on self-expertise and can include questionnaires, surveys, and open-ended questions.

What is an example of life outcome data?

Archival records such as educational attainment, legal records, salary, and job.

What does the term 'behavioral residue' refer to?

Behavioral residue looks at how behaviors manifest in a particular space.

What are the two types of self-reports mentioned?

Direct self-ratings and Indirect self-reports.

What does 'experience sampling methods' (ESM) measure?

It has people make periodic reports throughout the day regarding their thoughts and feelings.

What is the main focus of contemporary sources of personality data?

Assessing behavior through passive methods and examining digital traces of behavior.

What do 'content words' and 'function words' refer to in personality data?

Content words refer to what people talk about, while function words refer to how they talk about it (tone, pronouns, etc.).

What is the role of validity in personality psychology?

It ensures that measures of personality are both reliable and valid over time.

What is the difference between personality types and personality traits?

Types are configural and person-centered (either/or), while traits are dimensional and continuous.

What does 'Test-Retest Reliability' assess?

Whether the same measure gives the same result each time.

What is the significance of Funder’s 2nd Law in data interpretation?

It emphasizes that all concepts of personality are subject to ambiguity and require creative interpretation.

What does 'psychometrics' study?

The theory and technique of psychological measurement.

What can influence error in classical test theory (CTT)?

Misunderstandings, idiosyncratic interpretations, distractions, moods, and other temporal factors.

What characterizes dimensional traits in personality theories?

They are viewed as a continuous spectrum with variations around universal psychological properties.