Chapter 4

Question 1

What are the three important assumptions about personality traits shared by trait theories?

Answer 1

o Meaningful individual differences
o Stability over time
o Consistency across situations

Question 2

Why are trait psychologists primarily interested in individual differences?

Answer 2

Trait psychologists focus on the ways in which people differ from each other, as any meaningful difference may potentially be identified as a personality trait.

Question 3

What is another term for trait psychology and what does it include?

Answer 3

Differential psychology, which includes the study of abilities, aptitudes, and intelligence in addition to personality traits.

Question 4

Why has trait psychology historically been concerned with accurate measurement?

Answer 4

Because it emphasizes the quantitative approach to how much a given individual differs from average.

Question 5

What does the quantitative approach in trait psychology emphasize?

Answer 5

It emphasizes the amount or degree to which individuals differ from each other.

Question 6

How do trait psychologists view the complexity of personality?

Answer 6

They believe that every personality, no matter how complex, is the product of a particular combination of a few basic and primary traits.

Question 7

What is the evidence for the stability of personality traits over time?

Answer 7

Research shows that traits like intelligence, emotional reactivity, impulsiveness, shyness, and aggression have high test-retest correlations over years or decades.

Question 8

Which personality traits are particularly noted for their stability due to a biological basis?

Answer 8

Extraversion, sensation seeking, activity level, and shyness.

Question 9

What does rank order stability suggest about personality traits?

Answer 9

Individuals scoring high or low on a particular trait will continue to score high or low on that trait over time.

Question 10

What is the third assumption of trait psychologists?

Answer 10

Traits will exhibit some consistency across situations.

Question 11

Why has the consistency of traits across situations been debated?

Answer 11

Walter Mischel’s review of studies suggested low correlations between similar behaviors in different situations, questioning the consistency of personality traits.

Question 12

What is situationism?

Answer 12

The theory that situational differences, rather than underlying personality traits, determine behavior.

Question 13

What is aggregation and why is it important in trait psychology?

Answer 13

Aggregation is averaging several single observations to obtain a more reliable measure of a personality trait.

Question 14

Explain the formula B = f(P × S).

Answer 14

This formula suggests that behavior (B) is a function of the interaction between personality traits (P) and situational forces (S).

Question 15

What is situational specificity?

Answer 15

Situational specificity refers to the idea that people act in specific ways under particular circumstances, implying behavior is influenced by the situation.

Question 16

How do personality traits interact with situational forces to produce behavior?

Answer 16

Personality traits and situational forces combine to influence behavior, with some traits being expressed differently depending on the situation.

Question 17

What is situational selection?

Answer 17

The tendency to choose the situations in which one finds oneself, influenced by one’s personality.

Question 18

What is evocation?

Answer 18

The idea that certain personality traits may evoke specific responses from the environment.

Question 19

What is manipulation in the context of trait psychology?

Answer 19

The intentional use of certain tactics to influence the behavior of others, differing from selection, which involves choosing existing environments.

Question 20

What is the primary method used to measure personality traits?

Answer 20

Self-report questionnaires.

Question 21

What are some issues with measurement in trait psychology?

Answer 21

Carelessness, faking, false negatives, and false positives.

Question 22

What is the purpose of an infrequency scale in questionnaires?

Answer 22

To detect carelessness by including items that almost all people will answer in a particular way.

Question 23

What is the difference between overt and covert integrity tests?

Answer 23

Overt integrity tests ask directly about counterproductive behaviors, while covert tests assess personality traits correlated with such behaviors.

Question 24

Why do integrity tests have a good record of demonstrating freedom from disparate impact?

Answer 24

They have extensive statistical evidence demonstrating their validity in predicting counterproductive behavior and are generally fair to all groups.

Question 25

What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in relation to personality testing?

Answer 25

The ADA states that employers cannot conduct medical examinations or inquire about disabilities during the selection process.

Question 26

What is the main legal concern for employers using personality testing?

Answer 26

Privacy, ensuring that questions do not intrude on an applicant’s rights.

Question 27

What are the problems with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)?

Answer 27

It is based on Jung’s theory, which is not widely endorsed by researchers, and it uses a typological scoring system that can lead to unreliable classifications.

Question 28

What is the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) and what does it measure?

Answer 28

The HPI measures aspects of the Big Five traits relevant to motives important in business settings, such as acceptance, status, and predictability.

Question 29

What has research shown about the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)?

Answer 29

More than 500 validity studies support its reliability and ability to predict job-relevant criteria.