305 Lecture 3 Flashcards
what have situationists argued about personality across situations
behaviour varies across situations, and situational differences (not traits) determine behaviour
what have trait psychologists argued about personality across situations
assume cross-situational consistency –> if situations mainly control how people behave then the existence or relevance of traits is questionable
describe an example of when situation did not guide a person’s behaviour
Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq –> some military personnel led others to engage in terrible acts like physical/sexual assault, humiliation and murder, but others were uninvolved
what did Zimbardo’s prison experiment suggest about situationism
he believed that if you put anybody into a particular situation you would get the same type of behaviour
What is interactionism
suggests that personality and situation interact to produce behaviour (person x situation interaction) –> we can never disentangle these two concepts because behaviour is a function of both
what is situation specificity
certain situations can provoke behaviour that is out of character for an individual (e.g. courageousness exhibited in an emergency)
what is a strong situation
situations in which most people react in a similar way –> personality has a lesser effect (e.g. public speaking most people get nervous, grief)
what are weak situations
when situations are weak and ambiguous personality has the strongest influence (e.g. Rorschack inkblot test, getting text of “sure.”)
what are the three mechanisms of interaction
selection, evocation and manipulation
describe the “selection” mechanism of interaction
tendency to choose/select situations in which one finds oneself as a function of personality (e.g. extravert chooses a stimulating environment, assortative mating with partner who is similar to you)
describe how the “selection” mechanism of interaction applies with social media
- extraverts are more likely to use social media and use them more frequently
- high agreeableness, neuroticism and conscientiousness is associated with more frequent use
- may be different reasons (extraversion = social networking, neuroticism = fear of missing out)
describe the “evocation” mechanism of interaction
certain personality traits may naturally evoke specific responses from others (e.g. neuroticism may evoke an anxious response from others, neurotic people might have a hostile attribution bias and assume people are angry which ends up evoking an angry response)
describe how the “evocation” mechanism of interaction applies with social media
- neuroticism is associated with receiving more angry responses from posts
- narcissism is associated with receiving more likes/comments –> naturally displaying behaviour that draws peoples’ attention (or could be intentionally seeking attention)
describe the “manipulation” mechanism of interaction
various means by which people intentionally influence others’ behaviour or alter environments –> not always negative (e.g. asking someone if they want to get coffee, trying to make someone feel better)
describe how the “manipulation” mechanism of interaction applies with social media
- extraverts posts about social activities, use emojis and tend to relationships
- conscientious people ask for help
- open people post about intellectual topics to start debate/discourse
- narcissists self-promote
describe machiavellianism
- manipulative strategy of social interaction
- uses other people as tools for personal gain (deception, exploiting, self-serving)
- part of the dark tetrad
- seen in more competitive environments (e.g. politics)
describe how the three mechanisms of interaction move in a sequential fashion
selection occurs first, then evocation occurs, and finally manipulation
describe how the three mechanisms of interaction move in a sequential fashion, using the dark tetrad traits as an example
- selection –> select situations that are loosely structure and/or people who admire then
- evocation –> viewed as brilliant & entertaining, OR as selfish/egocentric
- manipulation of those who stick around
describe some characteristics of people who are more likely to be manipulated in a negative way
high on agreeableness, low on social dominance, more emotionally sensitive –> will not recognize when they are being manipulated
describe the theory of person-environment fit
suggest that there are certain environments/situations that are more complementary to a person’s traits and characteristics –> might motivate people to select certain situations over others
describe 3 motivations for people to select certain situations
- match between personality trait and the situation
- need in the environment met by a person’s personality (e.g. group needs a leader)
- need in a person is met by the situation (e.g. quiet space needed by an introvert
what are some practical implications of selecting an environment that fits your personality
- optimal functioning
- performance coping
- school/career success
- social support to help with coping
- health & happiness
would an introvert be more willing to pick going to a club or an intimate dinner
depends on the situation –> do they know the people at the dinner? introverts still sometimes like busy environments
what personality would fit an emergency situation
- someone high on openness –> more open to unpredictable experiences
- higher neuroticism can increase risk of PTSD in these situations
would a person high on agreeableness AND extraversion do better in the stock market or teaching children’s soccer
probably teaching kids because you need to be extraverted/enthusiastic AND highly agreeable, whereas in the stock market you sometimes actually need to be less agreeable to get your way
what kinds of environments do introverts vs extraverts prefer to be in
- introverts prefer mountains and secluded areas
- extraverts prefer open terrain, think it would take more effort to have fun in the mountains
how is person-environment fit applied in real life
personality tests are being used more frequently to screen out the “wrong” individuals from job applicants
what are some personality inventories that are used to select people for jobs
- MMPI
- CPI
- 16PF
- SFPQ (used in RCMP, divides conscientiousness into 2 factors)
- MBTI
what is the MBTI
self-report assessment of personality designed to identify psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions –> based on Carl Jung’s 8 psychological types (separated into sensation, intuition, thinking and feeling), not not upheld in any research –> “typology approach”
what are Carl Jung’s 8 psychological types
- divided into perceiving and judging
- sensation, intuition, thinking & feeling
what are the four scales of the MBTI
- where do you get your energy (extraversion, introverted)
- how do you take in information (sensing/intuitive) –> openness
- how do you make decisions (thinking/feeling) –> agreeableness
- your orientation to the world (judging/perceiving) –> conscientiousness
how would we assess Steve Jobs on the MBTI
- extraverted (action, draws energy from outside)
- intuition (prefers information from 6th sense, openness)
- thinking (prefers logic, organization, conscientiousness)
- judging or perceiving??
describe the sensing/intuition typology of the MBTI
- sensing = prefers taking in information through all senses, attends to what actually exists
- intuition = prefers information derived from a 6th sense, notices what’s possible rather than what is
describe the thinking/feeling typology of the MBTI
- thinking = prefers logic, organization, objective structure, makes decisions in impersonal way
- feeling = prefers a person/value oriented way of processing information, harmony, forgiveness
describe the judging/perceiving typology of the MBTI
- judging = prefers living a well-ordered and controlled life, thinks rules and deadlines should be respected
- perceiving = prefers to live spontaneously, with room for flexible activities, likes to improvise
–> hard to place Jobs on this dimension because he has some characteristics of both
describe the issue with the categorical approach to personality taken by the MBTI
- assumes large between-type differences, and no within
- there is evidence that the 4 factors are more dimensional than truly dichotomous (looks like a bell curve)
describe the reliability of the MBTI
- many studies have found low test-retest reliability –> this is problematic because personality is relatively stable
- as many as 50% of respondents will be classified into a different type over a short retest interval
describe why the content of the MBTI is questionable
- are thinking and feeling really opposites? typically they co-occur
- why is emotional stability not included on the scale
- where are narrow traits like conscientiousness
- is the definition of introversion/extroversion complete and accurate
why is the MBTI so popular
- might be popular because it is popular
- we like the idea of being categorized and want to know where we are –> don’t like idea of being on a dimension or in the middle
what is aggregation
- process of adding up/averaging several single observations –> results in a better (more reliable) measure of a personality trait than any single observation
- implies that traits refer to a person’s average level of experience/behaviour across situations and over time
- differentiates between traits and states
describe what a density distribution of states shows
a high density of states could suggest a personality trait –> but it could still be the situation, so we need to collect density over a longer period of time before drawing conclusions –> more evidence of a state increases our confidence on a person’s trait(s)
what is the trait ascription bias
- the tendency for people to view themselves as relatively variable in terms of personality, behaviour and mood (across different situations) while viewing others as much more predictable/stable
- draw conclusions about peoples’ internal characteristics from single observations
what is the fundamental attribution error
comes from trait ascription bias–> we tend to emphasize the internal characteristics of other people (rather than external factors) when explaining their behaviour, but we better recognize situational factors in our own behaviour
what are some of the negative implications of the fundamental attribution error
victim blaming
what are two reasons why we make the fundamental attribution error
- don’t want to believe the world is a random place –> we want to feel in control of our outcomes
- we don’t have information about other people so we resort to blaming their internal characteristics
what are the two main challenges in predicting single acts/behaviours in others
- causal variables are numerous (“causal density”) –> too many possible causes to account for
- contextual factors are numerous (situations are unpredictable and there’s so many things possible)
–> human behaviour and experience are very complex but psychology can generate successful predictions
describe the fie temperament types outlined by the Dunedin study
- well-adjusted
- confidence (extraverted)
- reserved
- undercontrolled (emotionally unstable, impulsive)
- inhibited (shy, fearful)
what did the Dunedin study find
- 3 year old children were examined for their temperament (confidence, inhibition, etc.)
- the children were examined 23 years later with self- and other-reports on the big 5
- childrens’ early emerging behavioural styles were associated with behaviours, thoughts and feelings in adulthood
what are the two qualities that signal personality change
- internal –> changes are internal to a person, not occurring in the external environment and surroundings
- enduring –> changes are not temporary
would it be a personality change if Jia moved to Canada from China and is displaying more extraversion?
- she changed after an environmental change
- would have to examine how her personality looked if she returned to China
- she could have always been extraverted, but her previous environment did not allow her to display these characteristics
would it be a personality change if Mike developed PTSD 3 years ago and is displaying more neuroticism, but is starting to recover?
- not very enduring because he is showing signs of recovery
- PTSD could have aggravated neuroticism he already had
- disorder ≠ personality
- however, depression and self-consciousness (part of neuroticism) is not directly linked to PTSD
would it be a personality change if Alyssa went through a divorce and ever since has been more independent, less agreeable, and more rigid in her thoughts/values?
- depends on the nature of her relationship –> was it controlling? Maybe she couldn’t display these characteristics in the relationship
- experiences can change a person, so maybe it is a personality change
what event would undeniably cause a personality change
- brain injury or physical trauma
- this would directly cause changes to the structure & function of the brain, causing both internal and enduring changes
what are the two types of personality changes observed in research
- rank order change –> one’s position within a group
- mean level –> average level of a population
describe what rank order change and stability would look like
- change = person’s trait changes relative to another individual
- stability = little/no change in rank-ordering within a group
–> both of these assessed by test-retest reliability correlations
describe what mean level change and stability would look like
- change = average (normative) level changes over time
- stability = no change in average level over time
–> measured using longitudinal studies, t-tests to see differences between means
what does it mean if there is low rank order stability in a personality trait
this trait is more volatile and can be easily changed by environmental factors –> less predictable, more maleable
what might be some factors that influence mean level change is a personality characteristic
- aging (developmental changes)
- societal changes (cohort effects)
- common life experiences (e.g. puberty)
describe the mean level changes that occur in sensation seeking
- there is a predictable trajectory
- peaks in late adolescence
- decreases from adolescence to adulthood
- roughly corresponds to decreases in impulsivity
describe the differences between changes in sensation-seeking vs impulsivity that occur
- decline in impulsivity is steeper and begins earlier than declines in sensation-seeking
- impulsivity is much higher in early adolescence
- suggests different biological systems involved in each (one corresponds with a socioemotional system while the other corresponds with a cognitive control system)
describe the stability/changes observed in self-esteem
- people differ in their self-esteem levels daily
- self-esteem declines markedly during adolescence (mean level change), more so for girls than boys
- young men recover more quickly than young women
- observed mean level changes –> age seems to have an impact because people experience common life events (loss of loved ones, declining mobility, etc.)
when population changes are shown on a graph, what type of stability/change is this graphing
mean level changes (NOT rank order)
describe the mean level changes observed in self-esteem in college students
there is a marked decrease in self-esteem after the first semester of university –> students are comparing themselves to others, having lower grades than high school, etc.
describe the rank order stability of self-esteem in college
it is pretty high (suggests that peoples’ order within a group does not change)
what are some mean level changes observed in the big 5 personality traits
- agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and social dominance gradually increases from young adulthood to middle age –> due to psychological maturation, more life experiences, etc.
- openness and extraversion gradually decline –> more set in beliefs, smaller group of friends, learning what you want and being comfortable with that
when looking at college students, what mean level changes and rank order changes are observed in the big 5 traits
- there is mean level increases in agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness, and a mean level decrease in neuroticism
- rank order stability is high for all traits (position in comparison to population remains stable)
describe peoples’ perceptions of change in the Big 5 traits throughout college
- people think they’ve increased in extraversion when they really haven’t –> this is likely because they are in a more socially stimulating environment
- on other traits, most people correctly perceive they’ve increased/decreased in a trait
- in general, people tend to overestimate how much they’ve changed
is it helpful or harmful that people overestimate how much their personality traits have changed over time
- could be a helpful placebo in some situations (e.g. increasing self-esteem by thinking they’ve changed in a positive direction)
- narcissists tend to score higher on positive illusions
what are some circumstances where personality change is out of one’s control
- when they are subject to physical brain injury/trauma
- e.g. phineas gage damaged frontal lobe and as a result was more impulsive, disrespectful, etc.
- e.g. patient KC damaged temporal lobes and as a result was less social
–> damage can change levels of sensitivity to reward and dopamine –> damage is undoubtedly internal and enduring
can psychological/emotional trauma change your personality
- it is possible –> trauma has been associated with changes to brain structure and function (e.g. hyperactive amygdala)
- BUT most extreme personality changes result from changes to brain biology caused by injury/disease –> “deep psychology”
what is personality coherence
- predictable changes in manifestations or outcomes of personality factors over time, even if the underlying characteristics remain stable
- stability in underlying trait but change in outward manifestation
- e.g. temper tantrums in childhood vs relationship stability in adulthood –> both characteristic of high neuroticism
what are the broad conclusions we can draw about personality change
- we see moderate evidence for mean level change in some traits
- rank order stability is very high –> changing position in a group is difficult!
- but changeability varies between people (depends on individual and situational factors)
when do people’s personalities appear to stop changing
- McCrae & Costa claim personality is set at 30
- others suggest stability increases with age and peaks at age 50
- victoria longitudinal study found evidence of significant change in big 5 traits from age 55-85
can we actively change our personality
- most people want to work on aspects of their personality (e.g. decrease their neuroticism, increase their conscientiousness/extraversion)
- there is some evidence you can set intentional goals to change (but it is questionable whether any of these changes are enduring)
- mindfulness based meditation can decrease anxiety and increase conscientiousness and cooperativeness
- increasing cognitive ability can increase openness
what did the study on actively increasing extraversion find
- intentional goals on a daily basis were strongly associated with state measures of extraversion
- asked people how much more extraverted they felt –> was this internal and enduring?
what was found about using mindfulness-based meditation to change personality
- meditation was associated with decreased trait anxiety and increased conscientiousness & cooperativeness
- but is this personality or is this just coping with anxiety?
what evidence is there that people can actively become more open minded
- interventions increasing cognitive ability in older adults was found to increase openness –> did not follow up so not sure if these changes were enduring
- psilocybin (mushrooms) increases openness, especially if people had mystical/spiritual experiences
what evidence is there that psychadelics can change personality
- psilocybin might increase openness, especially in people who have a mystical/spiritual experience while on them
- use of psychadelics might reduce antisocial tendencies –> men had reduced likelihood of perpetrating physical violence against their partner
- better emotional regulation
describe evidence on volitional personality change
- people were coached in a 16 week intervention to make changes in the big 5 traits they desired
- tended to increase their agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and extraversion is desired
- did this by setting practical intentions
what can you definitely change about yourself
specific behaviours, thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, values and social roles
how might changing specific behaviours, attitudes, etc. result in personality change
- becoming more invested in job increases conscientiousness
- investing in romantic relationship increases emotional stability
–> might be social reinforcement from others in both of these cases
