Articles Flashcards
Describe the article, “Others Sometimes Know us Better Than we Know Ourselves.” (Vazire and Carlson, 2011)
Due to things like lack of information, an overabundance of information, or our intentional manipulation of information, we are not the best judges of personality. The relationship others have with us determines their level of accuracy in judging our personality - the closer, the more accurate, though being too intimate can lead to biases as well. In a study performed by Vazire (2010) found that, while the self was better at providing information about internal traits, others had more information about external traits. Others were also better at predicting positive or negative outcomes. In conclusion, both the self and others are necessary for a complete picture of someone’s personality.
Describe the article, “Toward a Resolution of the Rorschach Controversy.”
There has been much debate over the accuracy of the Rorschach inkblot test. Rorschach advocates need to prove that this test adds more information than self-report measures, interviews or behavioural observations already explain. There is a lot of confusion as to how the Rorschach test should be concluded - because of this, sometimes its supporters say that a result supports the test when, in fact, the results were neutral or negative. Positive Rorschach results are rarely replicated. Evidence suggests that there is no scientific basis for the Rorschach.
Describe the article, “The Power of the Situation: The Impact of Milgram’s Obedience Studies on Personality and Social Psychology.”
Stanley Milgram’s study on obedience to authority led to the idea that evil resides in all of humanity. Obedience was the highest rated desired trait by parents for their children, and it was discovered that it was not inherited but learned. Obedience is the most fundamental aspect of social structure. The result of Milgram’s study impacted personality and social psychology. It was found that some environments override personality traits, and made important implications for theories of obedience and disobedience.
Describe the article, “Extraversion is accurately perceived after a 50-ms exposure to a face.”
In this article, the correlation between extraversion and a stranger’s perception of extraversion was examined by presenting portraits of strangers at 50ms. The observers then rated them on the Big Five traits. A strong correlation was found between cheerfulness of facial expression and their perceived extraversion. The lowest correlation found was neuroticism.
Describe the article, “Narcissism, Well-Being and Observer-Rated Personality Across the Lifespan.”
This study examined the link between narcissism in adolescents and young adults, and their overall life satisfaction, which would indicate a possible benefit of maintaining a narcissistic personality. The results showed that there was a strong positive correlation between life satisfaction and narcissism, but not under the facet of exploitativeness/control.
Describe the article, “Personality Resilience following a Natural Disaster.”
Milojev and colleagues wanted to see if personality traits could change after a major life event. They measured the “Big 6” personality traits using the Mini-IPIP6 questionnaire both before and after a major earthquake. The results showed that personality traits remained stable, save for emotional stability, which slightly decreased. Because of the limitations of the test-retest time constraint, other variables/personality traits could have also changed, with more time - or emotional stability could have increased back to its original state.
Describe the article, “Testosterone and Self-Reported Dominance Interact to influence Human mating behaviour.”
This study examined the correlation between social dominance and testosterone levels. The results showed that men who self-reported high social dominance had a strong positive correlation with testosterone levels, and there was a strong negative association between testosterone and opponent’s dominance behaviours.
Describe the article, “Knowing your own mate value: sex-specific personality effects on the accuracy of expected mate choices.”
Personality is a key factor in both men and women for mating success. Men who are high in the trait sociosexuality, and women who are high in agreeableness, should theoretically have the highest rate of mating success. The hypothesis of this study was that men and women who are high in these traits should have more accurate views of their sexual value. Firstly, participants were asked to fill out a self-report measure of personality, then speed dating occurred. The results showed that men and women scoring higher in these traits showed higher mate value accuracy and thus are hypothetically better mates.
Describe the article, “Self-Determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well-being.”
This article focuses on how environment and social factors influence the self-determination theory. Competence, autonomy and social support lead to greater motivation and desire for self-enhancement. The best way to motivate someone is to change their extrinsic motivation, since only the self can change intrinsic motivation.
Describe the article, “Self-Efficacy Determinants and Consequences of Physical Activity.”
This article describes how one becomes motivated to exercise and the physical and psychological benefits that exercise has. One of the biggest determinants of motivation is self-efficacy, which a person uses to judge if they are capable of completing the task that they set out to do. Previous success is an important factor in the determining of self-efficacy.
Does concientiousness predict longevity?
Yes
