Guy's Personality Lectures - LMS version

Page 1: Title

• PSYC1102 Personality

• A/Prof Guy Curtis

Page 2: Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lecture, students should be able to:

Define personality

personality is defined by the characteristics and traits that shape how people behave, think, feel and act

Explain various theoretical perspectives on personality

Freud: Id, Ego, Superego. His theories emphasize the unconscious mind and how it influences people’s behaviours and thoughts

Eyesnick: Extroversion vs Introversion. Individuals either have personality traits of extroversion or introversion

Neuroticism-Stability. Neuroticism is a personality trait that measures a person’s emotional stability. Highly neurotic people experience more anxiety, mood swings and emotional instability, whereas people with low neuroticism are more level-minded.

Eyesnick’s theories suggested that genetics play a significant role in personality traits

Discuss the Big 5 personality traits

OCEAN

Openness to Experience

Conscientiousness

Extrovertiveness

Agreeability

Neuroticism

Explain how personality is measured

Self-report questionnaires (people assess their own traits with a series of statements)

Projective tests (blob test, people project their thoughts onto objects)

Outline some research findings about personality

Personality is highly heritable but external factors (40-50%) and life-experiences have a major influence

Page 3: What is Personality?

• Personality can be understood as:

  • What someone is like (characteristics)

  • Definition of Personality: a trait is a characteristic or quality distinguishing a person.

Page 4: William James (1890) - Principles of Psychology

• Introduced the notion of personality relating to the self.

  • "Personifying" as a concept and personality as aspects continuing through time.

• Discusses consistency in personality:

  • A change in personality may indicate mental illness.

Page 5: Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory

• Concepts in Freud's theory:

  • Immoral urges, unacceptable desires, and violent motives may be stored under awareness.

  • Differentiates between immediate awareness and stored memories.

Page 6: (Repeated Content)

• Summary of Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory:

  • Focus on unconscious urges and their impact on personality.

Page 7: Influences on Personality

• Key factors affecting personality include:

  • Genes and hereditary factors

  • Environmental variables:

    • Physical appearance

    • Childhood experiences

    • Social relationships

    • Surrounding culture

Page 8: Eysenck’s Theory

• Explains different personality dimensions:

  • Introversion vs. Extraversion (linked with ARS)

  • Neuroticism vs. Stability (linked with ANS)

• Genetic estimation:

  • H. Eysenck estimated 60-80% of personality variation is genetic.

  • Twin studies propose this may be around 40%.

Page 9: Twin Studies Outcomes

• Comparison of identical (MZ) vs. fraternal (DZ) twins:

  • Various personality traits and well-being assessments.

Page 10: Contribution of Environmental Factors

• Genetics account for 40-50% of personality:

  • Environmental effects account for remainder.

  • Unique effects (sibling and peer interactions) are more significant than shared effects (family dynamics).

Page 11: How Many Personality Traits Are There?

• Allport and Odbert (1936) study:

  • Lexical hypothesis involving Webster’s Dictionary with 17,953 terms.

  • Major categories of traits:

    • Evaluative judgments

    • Temporary states

    • Personality traits

Page 12: The Concentration of Traits

• With 4,504 traits identified, factor analysis was conducted to reduce this number.

  • Example traits included: imaginative, organized, talkative, sympathetic, etc.

Page 13: The Big 5 Personality Traits: OCEAN

• Overview of the Big 5:

  • Openness to Experience

  • Conscientiousness

  • Extraversion

  • Agreeableness

  • Neuroticism

Page 14: Alternate Models

• HEXACO model of personality traits:

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

Page 15: Cultural Differences in Personality Assessments

• Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory:

  • Openness factor absent; introduces tradition elements.

• Comparison of Filipino and other cultures leads to addition of traits.

Page 16: New Personality Factors

• Introduced six personality factors in the Swahili language:

  • Including virtue, imprudence, and attentive conversation.

Page 17: Determining Personality from Behavior

• Challenges in identifying personality traits based on behavior.

Page 18: Cross-Situational Consistency

• Study assessing self-consistency across various cultures and situations:

  • Younger individuals with low consistency in behavior.

Page 19: Measurement of Personality

• Personality measurement techniques:

  • Projective tests (e.g., Rorschach)

  • Self-report tests (e.g., NEO)

Page 20: Projective Tests

• Example:

  • Rorschach involves interpretation of inkblots.

  • Generally low validity and reliability.

Page 21: NEO-3 Assessment

• Measures the Big 5:

  • Comprising 243 items with various validity checks.

  • Five-point rating scale used.

Page 22: Personality Traits and Facets

• Discusses the relationship between traits, facets, and normative levels.

Page 23: Practical Applications of Personality Traits

• Identifying predictors of job performance using personality traits.

Page 24: Clinical Findings and the Big 5

• Neuroticism linked to mood/anxiety disorders.

• Implications of low Conscientiousness on ADHD and dementia risk.

Page 25: Well-Being Styles

• Discusses emotional styles and their influence on well-being based on neuroticism and extraversion.

Page 26: Accuracy of Judging Character

• Studies show that classmates can rate each other’s personality traits accurately, particularly extraversion and conscientiousness.

• First impressions hold validity even among strangers.

Page 27: Thin Slices Study

• Ambady & Rosenthal (1993) study on judging character based on brief observations of teaching styles.

  • Strong correlation indicates quick judgments can reflect long-term assessments.

Page 28: Summary

• Recap of principal themes:

  • Definition and implications of personality.

  • Theoretical explorations from Freud to Eysenck.

  • Importance of measurement and practical uses in understanding personality.