2. Sources of personality data

Question 1

what is funder’s second law

Answer 1

there are no perfect indicators of personality

only CLUES and these are always ambiguous

Question 2

what are David funders four personality data types

Answer 2

BLIS:
behaviours
life outcomes
informant report
self-report

Question 3

what is the most commonly used data type in psychology

Answer 3

self-report

Question 4

give two examples of self-report

Answer 4

questionnaires, surveys etc

Question 5

give 3 strengths of self-report

Answer 5

1. simple and easy to collect
2. access to thoughts, feelings, intentions
3. self-fulfilling

Question 6

self-reports are argued to be self-fulfilling, what does this mean

Answer 6

we are what we pretend to be

Question 7

what are 3 limitations of self-report

Answer 7

1. overused, quality of self report has been overstated
2. some people with disorders are unable to report information accurately
3. participants may aim to give more socially acceptable answers

Question 8

what are informant reports

Answer 8

judgements made by knowledge informants, e.g. family, friends, co-workers

Question 9

strengths of informant reports (2)

Answer 9

• others can see stuff about ourselves which we cannot

- produces a well rounded complete picture across time and context

Question 10

limitations of informant reports (2)

Answer 10

• informants do not have access to private experience

- observation changes behaviour, they are being given a skewed reresentation

Question 11

what is the recency effect and how might this affect informant reports

Answer 11

where events that occurred recently skew what we believe about this person, e.g. if I dropped a vase a few weeks ago, some people will remember me as clumsy

Question 12

what are life outcomes

Answer 12

objective information about someone’s life

Question 13

how are life outcomes measured

Answer 13

through archival records: educational attainment, medical records, legal documents, salary

Question 14

strengths of life outcomes (2)

Answer 14

• more objective than informant reports
• verifiable
• reflects personality In situ

Question 15

weaknesses of life outcomes (1)

Answer 15

• life outcomes are highly multi-determined, often reflect things outside of the individuals control

Question 16

how is behaviour measured

Answer 16

can be assessed in the lab (high control)

Question 17

give an example of a behaviour test in a lab

Answer 17

the marshmallow test -> performance test

Question 18

strengths of behaviour measurements

Answer 18

most direct way of objectively observing personality

can capture behaviour in a range of contexts

Question 19

weaknesses of behaviour measurements

Answer 19

how can we decide which behaviours are meaningful and how do we interpret these