Chapters 6 & 7: Traits & Personality Change Flashcards
Single-Trait Approach
the research strategy of focusing on one particular trait of interest and learning as much as possible about it’s behavioral correlated, developmental antecedents and life consequences
Many-Trait Approach
the research strategy that focuses on a particular and investigates its correlates with as many different personality traits as possible in order to explain the basis of the behavior and to illuminate the workings of personality
Essential-Trait Approach
the research strategy that attempts to narrow the list of thousands of trait terms into a shorter list of ones that really matter
Typological Approach
the research strategy that focuses on identifying types of individuals
each type is characterized by a particular pattern of traits
California Q Set
a set of 100 descriptive terms (e.g. “is critical, skeptical, not easily impressed) that comprehensively covers the personality domain
Lexical Hypothesis
the idea that, if people find something is important, they will develop a word for it, and therefore the major personality traits will have synonymous terms in many different languages
Rank-Order Consistency
the maintenance of individual differences in behavior or personality over time or across situations
Temperament
the term often used for the “personality” of very young, pre-verbal children
aspects of temperament include basic attributes such as activity level, emotional reactivity, and cheerfulness
Heterotypic Continuity
the reflection of the consistently of fundamental differences in personality that changes with age
e.g. the emotionally fragile child will act differently than the emotionally fragile adult, but the underlying trait is the same
Person-Environment Transactions
the processes by which people respond to, seek out, and create environments that are compatible with, and may magnify their personality traits
Active Person-Environment Transactions
the process by which people seek out situations that are compatible with their personalities, or avoid situations that they perceive as incompatible
Reactive Person-Environment Transactions
the process by which people with different personalities may react differently to the same situation
Evocative Person-Environment Transactions
the process by which a person may change situations they encounter through behaviors that express their personality
Cumulative Continuity Principle
the idea that personality becomes more stable and unchanging as a person gets older
Personality Development
change in personality over time, including the development of adult personality from its origins in infancy and childhood, and changes in personality over the life span
Cross-Sectional Study
a study of personality development in which people of different ages are assessed at the same time
Cohort Effect
the tendency for a research finding to be limited to one group, or cohort, or people, such as people all living during a particular era or in a particular location
Longitudinal Study
the study of personality development in which the same people are assessed repeatedly over extended periods of time, sometimes many years
Maturity Principle
the idea that traits associated with effective functioning increase with age
Social Clock
the traditional expectations of society for when a person is expected to have achieved certain goals such as starting a family or getting settled into a career
Narrative Identity
the story one tells oneself about who one is
What are the questions and goals of the single trait approach?
what do people like that do?
study 1 trait and find all the behaviors that differentiate people high vs. lox on that dimension
What are the questions and goals of the many trait approach?
who does that?
study 1 behavior and find all of the traits that characterize the people who engage in it
What are the questions and goals of the essential trait approach?
determine the most efficient way to describe personality, covering the most differences with the fewest traits
What are the questions and goals of the typological approach?
categorize people into qualitatively different groups (rather than examining differences along dimensions)
What are the Big Five personality traits?
the most common labels are neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness
What is the lexical hypothesis?
important aspects of life will be labeled with words, and if something is truly important and universal, there will be many words for it in all languages
What are the typological approaches to personality?
important differences between people may be qualitative
Caspi’s 3 types: well adjusted, maladjusted overcontrolling, maladjusted under-controlling
types do not predict behavior or life outcomes beyond what can be predicted with the trait that define the typology
categorization is problematic, and unreliable
What is rank-order consistency?
rank-order consistency (i.e. one’s position within the group) is compatible with changes at the mean-level (i.e., the typical/average level of that trait for the group
consistency is established with correlation between measures over time, and between personality and behavior
What is the process of active person-environment transaction?
person seek out compatible environments and avoids incompatible ones
examples: aggressive person goes to bar where fights are frequent; introvert avoids social gatherings
What is the process of reactive person-environment transaction?
different people respond differently to the same situation
examples: extravert finds party enjoyable; introvert finds same party unbearable
What is the process of evocative person-environment transaction?
aspects of an individual’s personality leads to behavior that changes the situations he or she experiences
example: conscientiousness person tells group “it’s time to get to work”; disagreeable person starts argument over minor matter
What are cross-sectional studies?
surveys of people at different ages
plagued by cohort effects
What are longitudinal studies?
follow the same people over time
plagued by history effects
What are sequential studies?
combination of cross-sectional and longitudinal
What is the maturity principle?
traits needed to effectively perform adult roles increase with age
What are the causes of stability in personality?
temperament
physical and environmental factors
birth order (maybe)
early adverse and positive experiences
person-environment transactions
cumulative continuity principle
What are the causes of change in personality?
physical development
increases in intelligence and linguistic abilities
hormone-level changes
changes in social roles and responsibilities
maturity principle
