Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Personality PSY 102Introduction to Personality Traits

• Personality: Characteristic ways individuals differ.

• Personality Traits: Dimensions for understanding behavior; assessed for consistency and stability across time and situations.

The Five Factor Model (Big Five):

1. Openness: Creativity and openness to experiences.

2. Conscientiousness: Dependability and organization.

3. Extraversion: Sociability and assertiveness.

4. Agreeableness: Compassion and cooperation.

5. Neuroticism: Emotional instability.

Facets of Traits:

• Openness: Fantasy-prone, open to feelings, and diverse behaviors.

• Conscientiousness: Competence, orderliness, and self-discipline.

• Extraversion: Gregarious, warm, and active.

• Agreeableness: Straightforward and altruistic.

• Neuroticism: Anxious and self-conscious.

Beyond the Big Five:

• HEXACO Model: Adds Honesty-Humility.

• Eysenck: Focus on extraversion and neuroticism.

• Other traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, etc.

Person-Situation Debate: Personality is shaped by interaction of traits and situations.

Personality Assessment Methods:

• Humanistic Models: Self-reporting encouraged.

• Psychodynamic Theories: Indirect assessments needed.

• Objective Tests: Standardized tests with controlled scoring.

• Informant Reports: Perspectives from people who know the individual.

• Projective Tests: Responses to ambiguous stimuli reveal subconscious factors.

• Implicit Tests: Focus on automatic associations based on experience.

• Behavioral Measures: Observations of direct behavior in various contexts.