Course Wrap Up

Question 1

Which Big Five Dimension is Most Strongly Related to Health?

Answer 1

Answer: Conscientiousness
– Careful; methodical; task-focused
– Not easily distracted; not impulsive

Question 2

Low Conscientiousness Predicts…

Answer 2

• Heavy drinking and tobacco use
• Marijuana and heroin use
• Eating junk food
• Obesity
• Drunk driving & speeding
• Risky sexual behavior

Question 3

The Big Five and Development of Health Behaviors

Answer 3

• 1999 study assessed 963 adults
• Originally studied in 1959-1967, as children
  – Childhood personality rated by teachers

Findings:
– Less agreeable girls -> adult smokers
– Emotionally unstable children -> adult drinkers
– Less agreeable children -> higher BMI
– Unconscientious girls -> higher BMI

Question 4

Personality and Work - Personality testing?

Answer 4

Large percentage of American corporations use personality tests as part of the hiring and promotion process
– Personality testing is a $400 million a year industry

Most popular personality test is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
– Used by 89% of Fortune 100 companies
– 2.5 million Americans take the test each year
– It’s one of the worst personality measures ever
developed

Question 5

Which traits predict work success?

Answer 5

Conscientiousness predicts job performance across all types of jobs
– Conscientious adolescents attain higher levels of occupational success by age 50

Extraversion predicts performance in sales jobs
– Hiring “greeters” at The Gap

Question 6

Which traits predict criminality?

Answer 6

Negatively correlated with agreeableness and conscientiousness, also weak correlation with neuroticism

Question 7

5 Perspectives
- Why do people act consistently across situations and over time?
- What drives human behavior?

Answer 7

1. Psychodynamic behavior?
   – Defense mechanisms
   – Instinctual drives (basic instincts)
2. Phenomenological/Humanistic
   – Self-concept; identity, striving to self-actualize
3. Trait/biological
   – Traits (stable dispositions)
   – Genes, physiology
4. Learning/behaviorist
   – Learned stimulus-response patterns, reinforcement,
   modeling
5. Cognitive
   – Personal constructs; explanatory style, schemas

Question 8

Domains of Knowledge?

Answer 8

Personality psychology is typically divided into major theories, perspectives, or “domains of knowledge”

These differ in:
– theoretical approaches
– research methods
– Beliefs about the causes of personality

But, each domain provides a piece of the
puzzle

Question 9

Multiple Perspectives?

Answer 9

Each perspective provides a different but complementary view of human nature

“There is no need to choose a single lens for personality when we can enjoy a kaleidoscope of perspectives.”
– Gordon Allport

Best approach is to choose the perspective that best fits the question you want to ask