PS416_945_Personality Theory in Context narrated

Personality Theory in Context

• Presented by: Dr. Tracy Robinson

Learning Outcomes

• Definitions of Personality: Recognize various definitions of personality from different perspectives.

• Importance of Study: Understand why psychologists study personality.

• Questions Addressed: Learn the fundamental questions that personality theories aim to answer.

• Historical Roots: Gain insight into the historical development of personality theory.

• Evaluation Criteria: Understand criteria for assessing personality theories.

Personal Reflection Task

• Exercise: Write a short description of a family member or friend’s personality.

  • Example Description: "He is happy, loving, determined and very funny. He shows a full range of emotions sometimes in the space of two minutes!...... My son Luke."

Inferring Personality from Behavior

• Toothpaste Personality Test: A playful method to categorize personality traits based on behaviors.

  • Highlighted personalities include: Impulsive, Life of the Party, Thrifty, Prone to Depression, Stubborn, Antisocial.

Implicit Personality Theories

• Definition: Intuitive theories we create to understand ourselves and others.

• Problems:

  • Based on casual and non-random observations.

  • Confirmation bias prevalence.

  • Can distort reality.

Implicit Theories in Action

• Pairing of Characteristics: Common associations made based on perceived traits.

  • Example Characteristics: Leaders are dominant; friendly people are kind; attractive people are smart.

• Halo Effect: Influences overall impressions based on specific traits (Thorndike, 1920).

  • Supported by experiment by Nisbett & Wilson (1977): Different ratings based on teacher warmth and engagement in a video.

Definitions of Personality

Contrast Between Lay and Psychologist Views

• Lay People: Influenced by physical appearance, evaluative and informal.

• Psychologists: Focus on individual differences and psychological traits.

Various Definitions of Personality

• Funder (2004): Characteristic patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

• Larsen & Buss (2005): Set of psychological traits and mechanisms.

• Pervin et al. (2005): Characteristics accounting for consistency in feelings, thinking, and behavior.

Defining Personality

• Trait Approach: Stable internal factors contributing to behavioral consistency (Child, 1968; Hampson, 1988).

Reasons to Study Personality

Key Aims

• Investigate motivational basis of behavior.

• Explore inherent nature of human beings (good vs. bad).

• Categorize individual behavioral patterns.

• Develop methods for measuring personality distinctions.

• Understand personality development concerning genetics and environment.

• Gain insights for mental illness treatment, such as depression.

Origins of the Term "Personality"

• Etymology: Derived from Latin "persona" meaning mask.

• Popularized by Allport in 1937.

Approaches to Studying Personality

Two Main Strategies

• Idiographic: Focus on individual uniqueness.

  • Advantages: In-depth comprehension; qualitative methods (case studies).

  • Disadvantages: Difficulty generalizing data.

• Nomothetic: Focus on group similarities.

  • Advantages: Discovery of broad principles; quantitative methods (questionnaires).

  • Disadvantages: Superficial understanding of individuals.

Describing Personality

• Measurement via population norms to determine characteristics (e.g., agreeableness).

  • Method: Calculate individual scores against population mean.

• Example of Percentile Score: Comparison against a sample population to assess trait levels.

Assertions in Personality Research

• Personality is enduring and relatively stable.

  • Hard Plaster Hypothesis: Traits stop changing by age 30.

  • Soft Plaster Hypothesis: Ongoing changes throughout life.

Study Findings on Personality Change (Srivastava et al., 2003)

• Highlights age-related changes in Big Five traits.

  • Increased conscientiousness and agreeableness in 20s and 30s.

  • Declines in neuroticism for women; slight openings in men.

Public vs. Private Persona Distinctions

• Examines differences between observable behavior and inner thoughts.

Person-Situation Controversy

• Contrast between situationists (external determinants) and personality theorists (internal determinants) regarding behavior.

• Introduced interactionism: Both personality and situations influence behavior.

Measurement Issues in Personality

• Importance of reliable and valid personality tests for career eligibility.

Strands of Personality Theorising

Clinical Approach

• Influenced by studies on mental health and psychoanalysis (Franz Mesmer).

Individual Differences Approach

• Documenting traits and performing statistical analyses.

• Lexical hypothesis: Essential personality traits become part of language.

Evaluating Personality Theories

Basic Criteria for Good Theories

• Description: Simplifies and organizes observed behaviors.

• Explanation: Clarifies individual behavior differences.

• Testable Concepts: Enables generation of testable predictions.

• Comprehensiveness: Covers a wide range of behaviors.

• Parsimony: Relevance of concepts used.

• Heuristic Value: Stimulates interest in further research.

• Applied Value: Practical implications in real-life situations.

Other Considerations in Theory Evaluation

• Assess assertions within the theory and philosophical perspectives on human nature.

• Examine theory's ability to address behavioral inconsistencies.

Core Reading

• Maltby, J., Day, L., & Macaskill, A. (2022): Personality, Individual Differences and Intelligence (5th ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education, Chapter 1.

Further Reading**

• Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. (1977): The halo effect and judgment alterations.

• Srivastava, S., et al. (2003): Development of personality across adulthood.

Video Resources

• TED Talk by Brian Little: "Who are you, really? The puzzle of personality." Watch here

Additional Insights from Tracy’s Film Club

• Reinforcement of Funder's definition of personality regarding individual characteristic patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.