AP PSYCH 7.5 Introduction to Personality

• Personality is the characteristic pattern of a person’s thinking, feeling, and behavior
• Personality is often the result of interplay between nature and nurture
  • Recall that nature is genetics that determines behavior, and is fixed at birth
  • Nurture is our environment and upbringing, as well as the constant effect that experiences have
• Personality theories attribute different levels of influence to either
• We will also revisit heritability, which does not indicate what proportion of a trait is determined by nature/nurture, nor is it the extent to which traits are passed down
• Heritability is the variability in the trait in a population that is due to genetic differences, often estimated from studies of twins
  • Or to what degree do differences in genes account for differences in our personality traits
• Personality is measured through a variety of tests with different approaches and methodologies
  • It is always important to consider the validity and reliability of these measures

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