Psych 105 Chapter 12 part 1

Chapter Overview

• Chapter Title: Chapter 12 Personality

• Authors: Schacter, Gilbert, Nock, Johnsrude

• Edition: Canadian Sixth Edition, 2023 by Macmillan Learning

Chapter Outline

• Key Topics Covered:

  • Personality: What It Is and How It Is Measured

  • The Trait Approach: Identifying Patterns of Behaviour

  • The Psychodynamic Approach: Forces That Lie Beneath Awareness

  • The Humanistic–Existential Approach: Personality as Choice

  • The Social–Cognitive Approach: Personalities in Situations

  • The Self: Personality in the Mirror

Understanding Personality

• Definition of Personality:

  • Characteristic style of behaving, thinking, and feeling.

  • Explained through four main approaches:

    • Trait–biological

    • Psychodynamic

    • Humanistic–existential

    • Social–cognitive

Describing and Explaining Personality

• Study Focus:

  • Developing explanations for psychological differences among individuals.

• Strategies to Explain Personality Differences:

  • Consideration of past events and anticipated future events as influences on personality traits.

Measuring Personality

• Personality Inventories:

  • Typically based on self-reporting.

  • Utilizes multiple choice or forced-choice formats.

  • Effectiveness determined by answering questionnaires indicating personal behavior or mental states.

  • Example: MMPI-2-RF, widely researched clinical questionnaire assessing personality and psychological issues.

MMPI Overview

• Clinical Problems Assessed via MMPI:

  • Antisocial behavior and thought dysfunction

  • Somatic problems (e.g., headaches, cognitive complaints)

  • Internalizing problems (e.g., anxiety, self-doubt)

  • Externalizing problems (e.g., aggression, substance abuse)

  • Interpersonal problems (e.g., family issues)

Projective Techniques

• Definition:

  • Techniques using ambiguous stimuli to elicit unique individual responses revealing deeper personality aspects.

  • Open to subjective interpretation.

• Example: Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) where respondents interpret ambiguous images, revealing underlying motives and concerns.

Validity of Projective Tests

• Debate Among Psychologists:

  • Subjectivity in analysis can introduce biases.

  • Rorschach test and TAT's reliability and validity in predicting behavior are questionable.

Technological Methods in Personality Measurement

• Modern Approaches:

  • Integration of high-tech methods: smartphone apps, real-time computer analysis, social media, and the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR).

Trait Approach Overview

• Focus:

  • Categorization of differences in personality using trait descriptors.

  • Challenges:

    • Narrowing an infinite set of adjectives to finite categories.

    • Exploring the origins and hereditary basis of traits.

Traits: Definitions and Research

• Definition of Trait:

  • A relatively stable predisposition to behave consistently (Gordon Allport, 1937).

  • Can be seen as preexisting dispositions or motivations guiding behavior.

• Research Trends:

  • Interest has shifted from traits like authoritarianism to more contemporary characteristics such as sensation-seeking and cognitive complexity.

Search for Core Traits

• Historical Research:

  • Focus on adjectives describing personality, leading to hierarchical trait classification.

  • Example Theories:

    • Raymond Cattell's 16-factor theory

    • Hans Eysenck’s model featuring Extraversion and Neuroticism (later adding Psychoticism).

The Big Five Personality Traits

• Dimensions:

  • Openness to Experience

  • Conscientiousness

  • Extraversion

  • Agreeableness

  • Neuroticism

• Importance:

  • The model accounts for variability without overlapping traits.

  • Suggested universality across cultures.

Evaluation of Personality Tests

• Skepticism Among Experts:

  • Many tests questioned for reliability, validity, and designer bias (e.g., Myers–Briggs Type Indicator criticized for poor reliability).

• Accepted Models:

  • Simple, no trait typing models like the Big Five based on extensive research are more reliable.

Biological Basis of Personality

• Influence Factors:

  • Brain damage, pathologies, and pharmaceutical treatments can alter personality traits.

• Genetic Correlations:

  • Behavioral genetics studies link personality similarity between twins with genetic overlap; estimates reveal about 40% of variability in personality attributed to genes.

Genetics in Traits

• Twin Studies:

  • Show the significance of genetics in personality formation.

  • Heritability estimates for Big Five traits typically between 0.44 to 0.54, indicating limited impact from shared environment.

Gender Differences in Personality

• Research Findings:

  • Small differences in traits; women tend to score higher on agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism; men generally present higher assertiveness and self-esteem.

  • Differences attributed to culture and sex hormones, becoming apparent during adolescence.

Neurophysiological Underpinnings

• Hans Eysenck's Hypothesis:

  • Extraversion linked to variations in brain alertness systems.

• Jeffrey Gray’s Proposal:

  • Identified behavioral activation and inhibition systems relevant to personality traits.

Animal Personalities

• Sam Gosling’s Research:

  • Identified five personality dimensions in hyenas, paralleling those in other species suggesting animals display consistent personality traits over time.

Digital Footprints and Personality

• Research Trends:

  • Analyzing digital behavior for insights into personality; correlations found between smartphone behavior and expected personality traits.