chapter 4 Flashcards
person-situation debate
this is the idea that since people are so inconsistent in their behaviour from one situation to the next that there is no point in finding personality traits
person-situation debate: the resolution
- there is an effect of personality on behaviour and it shows up in relative consistency. behaviour change and consistency are often seen in the same data
- people keep their personalities even as they adapt to different situations
- people can adapt, but still make it adapting in their own way
does your personality affect your life?
yes, a survey of research literature shows that personality traits affect important life outcomes such as health, longevity, and interpersonal and career sucess
when are situational variables better for predicting behaviour
in specific situations
when are personality traits better for predicting behaviour?
in patterns of behaviour that persist across relationships, work settings, economic decisions, and other life situations
the trait approach
this is the idea that people differ in characteristic patterns of thought, feeling, and behaviour (the patterns are called personality traits)
- most of the research relies on correlational designs
- traits should be able to predict behaviour
- the idea that everyone is unique, everyone has aspects that are: like all others, like some others, and like no others
interactionism of the person-situation debate
this recognizes that:
- the effect of the person variable may depend on the situation and vice versa
- people with different personalities may be seen in different situations depending on their personalities
- the situations are affected by the people in them
why might someone be rooted in the situation side?
- if this side is taken, it implies personal equality and individual flexibility
- it also takes the blame off the person and puts it on the situation
why might someone be rooted in the person side?q
because they like that it accentuates the importance of self determination and personal responsibility
strengths and weaknesses of the trait approach
strengths: assesses and attempts to understand how people differ
weaknesses: neglects aspects of personality that are common to all people
person situation debate: consistency: situationist criticism
behaviour is too inconsistent across situations for individual differences to be characterized by traits
-walter mischel said that there was a .4 correlation
person situation debate: consistency: person rebuttle
- the study had poor methodology
- some people really are more changable across situations, like people with high self monitoring
- whereas some people are much more consistent
- certain behaviours are also more consistent
- .4 correlation is 70% accuracy using BESD so not low
person situation debate: situationism: situationist criticism
says that situations are more important for predicting behaviour
-they say that if you subtract .09 from 1, it reflects the effect of the situation (using micheal’s review)
person situation debate: situationism: the person side rebuttle
-micheals review is not a legitimate practice any longer, the conclusion that situationists come to because of it could be due to other personality traits, and it says nothing about important aspects of the situation
-they use an incorrect statistical interpretation, and a better one would suggest that both personality and situations are important
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person situation debate: absolute vs relative consistency
- individual differences are maintained across situations, even when absolute behaviour changes
- situations influence behaviour, but people are still consistent
