Chapter 1

Question 1

What are trait-descriptive adjectives?

Answer 1

Trait-descriptive adjectives are adjectives that describe characteristics of people.

Question 2

Approximately how many trait-descriptive adjectives exist in the English language?

Answer 2

There are nearly 20,000 trait-descriptive adjectives in the English language.

Question 3

What are some aspects of personality that adjectives can describe?

Answer 3

Adjectives describing personality can refer to inner qualities of mind (e.g., thoughtful), effects on others (e.g., charming, humorous), relational stances (e.g., domineering), intensity of desires (e.g., ambitious), qualities of mind and products (e.g., creative), and strategies used to attain goals (e.g., deceitful).

Question 4

Who authored the first textbooks on personality, and in what years were they published?

Answer 4

Gordon Allport authored a textbook on personality in 1937, and Henry Murray authored one in 1938.

Question 5

How is personality defined according to the chapter notes?

Answer 5

Personality is the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments.

Question 6

What are psychological traits?

Answer 6

Psychological traits are characteristics that describe ways in which people are different from each other and similar to some others, and they describe the average tendencies of a person.

Question 7

What types of questions does research on personality traits typically ask?

Answer 7

Research on personality traits typically asks about the number of traits, how traits are organized, the origins of traits, and the correlations and consequences of traits.

Question 8

Why are psychological traits useful?

Answer 8

Psychological traits are useful for describing people and understanding the dimensions of difference among people, explaining behavior, and predicting future behavior.

Question 9

What are psychological mechanisms and how do they differ from traits?

Answer 9

Psychological mechanisms are processes of personality that involve information-processing activities and typically include inputs, decision rules, and outputs. They differ from traits as they refer more to the processes rather than static characteristics.

Question 10

Explain the three levels of personality analysis according to Kluckhohn and Murray.

Answer 10

The three levels are:
1. Like all others (human nature level) - traits and mechanisms typical of the species.
2. Like some others (individual and group differences) - ways individuals or groups differ.
3. Like no others (individual uniqueness) - ways each person is unique.

Question 11

What is nomothetic research?

Answer 11

Nomothetic research involves statistical comparisons of individuals or groups to identify universal human characteristics and dimensions of individual or group differences.

Question 12

What is idiographic research?

Answer 12

Idiographic research focuses on a single person, trying to observe general principles that manifest in a single life over time, often resulting in case studies or psychological biographies.

Question 13

What are the six domains of knowledge about human nature in personality psychology?

Answer 13

The six domains are:
1. Dispositional Domain
2. Biological Domain
3. Intrapsychic Domain
4. Cognitive-Experiential Domain
5. Social and Cultural Domain
6. Adjustment Domain

Question 14

What are the three essential ingredients of most psychological mechanisms?

Answer 14

The three essential ingredients are inputs, decision rules, and outputs.

Question 15

What are the five scientific standards for evaluating personality theories?

Answer 15

The five standards are comprehensiveness, heuristic value, testability, parsimony, and compatibility and integration across domains and levels.

Question 16

Describe the importance of the dispositional domain.

Answer 16

The dispositional domain focuses on identifying and measuring the most important ways individuals differ from one another, the origins of these differences, and how they develop and are maintained.

Question 17

What are some research areas within the biological domain?

Answer 17

Research areas within the biological domain include genetics, psychophysiology, and evolution.

Question 18

How do social and cultural contexts influence personality according to the social and cultural domain?

Answer 18

Personality affects and is affected by social and cultural contexts, influencing behaviors based on what is acceptable and encouraged by the culture, as well as affecting individual differences in social interactions.

Question 19

How is personality linked to health outcomes in the adjustment domain?

Answer 19

Personality is linked to important health outcomes such as heart disease and health-related behaviors like smoking, drinking, and risk-taking, as well as overall life expectancy.

Question 20

What makes a theory a good theory in personality psychology?

Answer 20

A good theory provides a guide for researchers, organizes and explains known findings, and makes predictions. It also fulfills scientific standards such as comprehensiveness, heuristic value, testability, parsimony, and compatibility and integration across domains and levels.