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PSYC 315 Personality > Chapter 4: Theoretical and Measurement Issues in Trait Psychology > Flashcards

Chapter 4: Theoretical and Measurement Issues in Trait Psychology Flashcards

1
Q

what are some of the issues with using personality self-reports to match people on dating sites, select people for school/job admission, etc.

A
  • can we make accurate predictions about a person’s future based on their traits?
  • is there a way to detect if someone is lying on a personality questionnaire
  • are people motivated to lie on personality questionnaires for their benefit
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2
Q

what are the three assumptions that trait theories make about personality traits

A
  • meaningful individual differences
  • stability/consistency over time
  • consistency across situations
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3
Q

what are trait psychologists primarily interested in

A

how are people different from each other –> this is why trait psychology is sometimes called “differential psychology”

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4
Q

describe the research approach of the trait perspective

A
  • quantitative approach –> how much does a given individual differ from average
  • mathematically/statistically oriented
  • argue that by combining a few primary traits, they can distill qualities of every individual (every personality is a product of particular combinations of traits)
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5
Q

describe the assumption that personality is consistent over time

A
  • traits that are thought to have a biological basis are consistent (while attitudes/interests/opinions are not stable)
  • way in which a trait manifests in actual behaviour might change substantially (e.g. a child who is disagreeable will throw tantrums as a child, but have trouble holding a job as an adult)
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6
Q

what are some traits that decrease in intensity with age

A

activity level, impulsivity, sociopathy, general criminal tendencies

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7
Q

describe the concept of rank order

A

if all people show a decrease in a particular trait at the same rate over time, they may still maintain the same rank order relative to each other –> can account for general change with age by subtracting/adding a constant to each person’s score on a measure

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8
Q

describe the rank order of impulsivity

A

people in general show a decrease in impulsiveness as they get older, but those who are most impulsive at an earlier age are still the ones who are most impulsive at a later age

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9
Q

what has been a hot debate in personality psychology

A

whether given traits are stable across situations –> even if a person is really friendly, there are some situations where the person will not act friendly (e.g. they will be friendly at a party but not at a library)

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10
Q

what has research found of the consistency of “honesty” across situations

A

children who cheated in a field game at camp were not more likely to cheat on an exam at school –> suggests low cross-situational correlations for helpfulness and self-control

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11
Q

describe the position of situationism

A

researchers should not focus on personality traits because these change from situation to situation –> it is situational differences bringing about these changes

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12
Q

what are the two most lasting changes that trait psychologists have embraced

A
  • person-situation interaction
  • practice of aggregation (averaging)
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13
Q

describe the position that Gladwell takes on why people are successful (in his book “Outliers”)

A
  • exceptional people get special opportunities or life situations that give them some advantage
  • exposure to critical life situations at the right time is what matters to a person’s success
  • nothing to do with a person’s traits
  • but clearly this isn’t always the case…
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14
Q

describe the formula for person-situation interaction

A
  • behaviour is function of personality traits [B = f (P)]
  • Behaviour is a function of situational forces [B = f (S)]
  • personality and situations interact to produce behaviour: B = f (P × S) –> behaviour is a function of the interaction between trait and situation
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15
Q

what kinds of statements can be used to outline person-situation interactions

A

“if…if…then…”
–> e.g. if the vending machine isn’t working and if the person has a hot temper, then aggression will result
–> e.g. if a woman is friendly, and is interacting with another woman, she will be more friendly than a man

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16
Q

what is situational specificity

A

a person acts in a specific way under particular circumstances

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17
Q

why are some trait-situation interactions rare

A
  • the kinds of situations that elicit behaviour related to these traits are themselves rate
  • e.g. hard to see courageousness unless there is a specific situation requiring courageousness
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18
Q

what is a strong situation

A
  • one where nearly everyone reacts in the same way –> e.g. death of a family member
  • some of these situations create uniformity in behaviour
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19
Q

what happens in weak situations

A

these weak/ambiguous situations are when personality has its strongest influence on behaviour –> e.g. Rorschach inkblot test is a weak/ambiguous situation

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20
Q

what are the three ways personality traits can interact with situations

A
  • situational selection
  • evocation
  • manipulation
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21
Q

what is situational selection

A
  • tendency to choose the situations in which one finds oneself –> e.g. do you choose to run by yourself or play interactive/group games
  • people typically choose situations that fit their personalities
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22
Q

describe how the relationship between persons and situations is bidirectional

A
  • personality can influence the situations people enter into, but situations can also influence peoples’ responses
  • e.g. people asked to be extraverted in group setting rated having more positive emotions in the discussions (regardless of the person’s actual trait of extraversion)
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23
Q

what is evocation

A
  • certain personality traits may evoke specific responses from the environment
  • people may create their own environments by eliciting certain responses from others
  • e.g. people who are disagreeable and manipulative may evoke hostility and avoidance from others
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24
Q

what is “evocation” similar to

A

“transference” in psychoanalysis –> e.g. a boring person causes the therapist to feel bored, which gives evidence to the therapist of potential relationship issues that the person is having (she is also boring her partners)

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25
Q

what is manipulation

A
  • various means by which people influence the behaviour of others –> intentional use of tactics
  • altering environments already inhabited
  • e.g. using a “charm tactic” by complimenting others and acting warm to influence them
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26
Q

describe an example of aggregation in personality

A

you might choose to marry someone because they are cheerful (on average), but there will definitely be days where they are not cheerful –> what matters most to you though is their average mood

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27
Q

describe why questionnaires assessing aggregation of personality are more accurate

A
  • aggregating several questions or observations results in better trait measures and longer tests are more reliable
  • e.g. if you are asked “how many times this year have you stopped to help someone stuck in snow”, but you live in a place where it never snows, you might look unhelpful –> need more questions to tap this trait
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28
Q

what is the Spearnman-Brown prophecy formula

A

determines precisely how much a test’s reliability will increase as it is made longer

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29
Q

what does the technique of aggregation imply

A

traits are only one influence on behaviour –> at any given time, for any given behaviour, many factors influence why a person does one thing and not another

30
Q

if a person is highly conscientious, why is it hard to predict whether they will be on time on a certain day

A

situational factors, like alarm clock not going off or flat tire, are things we can never predict

31
Q

what is the concept of density distribution of states

A
  • each trait is associated with specific states,
  • states are distributed over time within an individual
  • people high in a particular trait will have state distributions that are more dense with state manifestations of the trait (e.g. an extraverted person will display on average more friendliness, but not necessarily at all times)
32
Q

what is the Goldilocks zone of personality measurement

A

“personality factor measures are too broad, personality behaviour measures are too narrow, but personality trait measures are just right” –> trait level most robustly predicts behaviour

33
Q

what are the three most common errors/issues with self-report measures of personality

A

carelessness, faking, and barnum statements

34
Q

describe how carelessness might play a role in peoples’ responses to self-reported personality questionnaires

A

participants might rush through questions and answer randomly, might forget to circle a response (invalidating their measure), may be tired while responding, etc.

35
Q

what are two common methods for detecting carelessness on personality self-reports

A
  • using an infrequency scale –> contains items that all/most people will answer in a particular way, and if a person endorses them in the wrong direction then the test is flagged as suspicious (e.g. “I make all my own clothes and shoes”)
  • using duplicate questions spaced far apart in the questionnaire (if two different responses are given, carelessness is suspected)
36
Q

describe faking on questionnaires

A

motivated distortion of answers on a questionnaire (e.g. motivated to “fake good” to appear to be better adjusted or even “fake bad” to appear distressed for a court-appointed psychologist)

37
Q

what is a way to assess faking good and faking bad on personality questionnaires

A

created a “faking good profile” and a “faking bad profile” by asking participants to fake being good or fake being bad –> these profiles can be compared to data from real participants and can look at how well an individual’s responses fit the profile of the fake answers group

38
Q

what are the two ways for psychologists to make a mistake when trying to distinguish between genuine and faked responses

A
  • false negatives (conclude that a truthful person was faking and reject their data)
  • false positives (conclude a person who was faking was actually be honest)
39
Q

how might the removal of likert-type scales result in more robust predictive validity when faking is present

A

participants who are required to make a forced choice, which avoids the inflation of responses that result from participants ranking themselves high on positive dimensions and low on negative ones

40
Q

what are Barnum statements

A

generalities (statements that could apply to anyone) –> appear to participants as though they truly are personal to them (this happens a lot in astrology)

41
Q

describe how personality test interpreters are subject to the Barnum effect

A

in “interpreting” someones personality, they give very generalized responses that can apply to anyone –> valid interpretation services typically give quantitative information or information about their relative standing compared to others, and also check for careless responding

42
Q

what are the three main reasons why employers use personality assessments in the workplace

A
  • personnel selection
  • integrity testing
  • concerns over negligent hiring
43
Q

describe personnel selection

A

employers use personality tests to select people who are suitable for a specific job (e.g. high extraversion = sales job) and screen out people with other traits (e.g. high neuroticism)

44
Q

describe integrity testing

A

personality tests assessing honesty and integrity are most commonly used for these purposes (especially retail/financial services or when handling money in unsupervised settings) –> predict tendencies towards theft or counterproductive behaviours (as an alternative to a polygraph test)

45
Q

what are the two typical parts of integrity tests given in the workplace

A
  • attitudes towards theft
  • admissions to theft and other wrongdoing (in past jobs)
46
Q

describe the validity of integrity tests in work settings

A
  • some shows they are reliable and valid, and some have shown decreases in inventory shrinkage due to theft
  • some studies show they are improving in their resistance to faking and coaching
  • some new testing formats are using ethical decision-making scenarios instead
47
Q

describe concerns over negligent hiring

A

concerned about being involved in legal matters is an assault occurs in the workplace, and the employer is charged with negligent hiring (hiring someone unstable or prone to violence)

48
Q

what are some legal issues surrounding personality testing in employment settings

A
  • rights to privacy
  • discrimination
  • disparate impact
  • race/gender norming
49
Q

describe how personality testing in employment settings is an infringement on one’s right to privacy

A

employees are relatively unaware of the implications/significance of their responses on personality tests and thus are more likely to reveal their private thoughts and emotions –> responses might be interpreted about intelligence or mental health (which we would prefer to keep private)

50
Q

describe how psychological testing could be considered a form of medical examination

A

it might provide evidence that could lead to a diagnosis or identification of a mental disorder/impairment –> gives employers greater opportunities to violate the privacy of job applicants

51
Q

describe how personality testing can lead to discrimination in employment settings

A
  • job candidates might behave differently in uncertain testing situations which might seem more/less favourable to employers
  • responses might discriminate against people because of their mental health, intellectual capacities, etc.
  • “undesirable traits” might be associated with certain social/minority groups, which can further discrimination
52
Q

what is the employment equity act

A

requires federally regulated industries in Canada to adopt proactive employment practices in order to improve the employment rates of four social groups: women, individuals with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and visible minorities –> employers should be careful when administering psychological testing to people in one of these groups as they might be vulnerable to forms of discrimination

53
Q

describe the results of the study on gender differences in traits in organizations

A
  • gender differences observed on traits relating to extraversion and conscientiousness
  • women rated higher on communion while men rated higher on agency
  • historical and stereotypical notions of men and women in the workplace
  • when primed to consider traits, employers changed their hiring process (e.g. if aware that men are higher on agency, they hired more men)
54
Q

what is disparate impact

A
  • plaintiff must show that an employment practice disadvantages people from a protected group
  • must be a big enough disparity for it to not have likely occurred by chance
  • few of these cases involving personality tests so far
55
Q

what is race or gender norming

A

differential scoring practices based on race/gender –> different standards developed based on data from large samples of people (should be avoided)

56
Q

what is the popular test given to RCMP candidates

A
  • the MMPI –> detects mental illnesses and related traits to screen people with mental or emotional difficulties out of the pool of potential officers
  • CPI found some “unsuitable” candidates that had been selected by the MMPI, and was more accurate at screening people who were having problems
57
Q

what are some valuable traits screened for in RCMP officers

A

high conscientiousness, boldness/self-confidence, low need for support from others –> more of a “masculine” or instrumental profile, but men and women appear equally equipped with these traits

58
Q

what is the six factor personality questionnaire

A
  • completed by RCMP applicants as part of a larger selection battery that includes a polygraph
  • extraversion, agreeableness, openness, independence, industriousness and methodicalness
59
Q

describe how the six factor personality questionnaire divides conscientiousness into two parts

A
  • industriousness (diligence, persistence, commitment to work)
  • methodicalness (order, precision, deliberation)
60
Q

what is the most commonly used personality assessment in business settings

A

the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) –> uses a forced choice format (no scale measures) and certain “types” give evidence for good leadership skills (in a work setting)

61
Q

what are the eight fundamental preferences measured by the Myers-Briggs type indicator

A
  • extraversion
  • introversion
  • sensing
  • intuition
  • thinking
  • feeling
  • judging
  • perceiving
62
Q

what is the problem with the Myers-Briggs personality test

A

it is based off of the theory of psychological types (Carl Jung) which isn’t widely endorsed by academia –> people don’t come in types, traits are normally distributed (not a bimodal distribution)

63
Q

what is a negative consequence of forcing a typology onto a trait

A
  • most use the median score as the cutoff point for whether they have one trait or another, but the majority of people will be clustered around the median (and can easily be classified in the other category if the median point shifted slightly)
  • scores are unreliable (50% of people received a different type upon retest)
  • assumes large between-category differences and no within-category differences
64
Q

why does the MBTI continue to be popular despite its problems and controversy

A
  • popularity reflects success of the publisher’s marketing campaign
  • test comes with simple scoring and interpretation instructions –> usable and understandable
  • interpretations are readily translated into sensible predictions about work and interpersonal relations
65
Q

where might the MBTI be useful

A
  • NOT for employment selections or career decisions
  • team-building, career exploration, relationship counselling
  • can get people thinking about individual differences and the relationships between personality and behaviour
66
Q

what is the Hogan Personality Inventory

A
  • captures aspects of personality important to business and that dominant themes in social life are to get along with others and get ahead of others –> used for employment selection
  • measures aspects of the Big 5 relevant to motives of acceptance, status and predictability
  • reliable in predicting occupational outcomes
67
Q

according to Hogan’s theory, what three things do people want in groups

A
  • acceptance (respect and approval)
  • status and control of resources
  • predictability

–> business problems occur when one of these motives are violated

68
Q

what are the seven primary factors of the Hogan Personality Inventory

A
  • adjustment
  • ambition
  • sociability
  • interpersonal sensitivity
  • prudence
  • inquisitivness
  • learning approach
68
Q

what are the seven primary factors of the Hogan Personality Inventory

A
  • adjustment
  • ambition
  • sociability
  • interpersonal sensitivity
  • prudence
  • inquisitivness
  • learning approach
69
Q

what are the six occupational scales of the Hogan Personality Inventory

A
  • service orientation
  • stress tolerance
  • reliability
  • clerical potential
  • sales potential
  • managerial potential
70
Q

why is the Hogan Personality Inventory a better choice than the MBTI for employee selection

A
  • HIP is based on the big 5 model
  • high reliability
  • more than 400 validity studies of HPI
  • predicts occupational success
71
Q

describe the structure of the Hogan Personality Inventory

A
  • true/false items, takes 20 minutes to complete
  • no items that are invasive or intrusive
  • no scales show adverse impact on gender/race/ethnicity
  • maintains professional levels of ethical, legal and scientific standards in its assessment practices

PSYC 315 Personality (16 decks)

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