Exam 2 Flashcards
What are the 3 assumptions of trait psychology?
- There are meaningful differences between people (traits)
- Traits are stable over time
- Traits stay consistent across situations
Broad traits are relatively ______ but trait expression may _______ with time.
stable
change
If a trait changes a lot with time, it is ______
inconsistent
Solutions to trait stability over time:
- Focus on ______ differences between people
- Recognize that _________ will be different
rank order
manifestation
What was the original idea in the person/situation debate?
2 possible explanations for behavior:
personality traits –> behavior
situational factors –> behavior
What is the traditional assumption for the person/situation debate?
cross situation consistency
What was Walter Miscel’s famous theory?
situationism
Mischel’s theory that if behavior varies most across situations, then situational differences (not traits) determine behavior; traits don’t explain much, we should focus on situations instead
Situationism
A single behavior or occasion is more likely to be influenced by ________
situation
averaging multiple observations; multiple measures of same behavior
aggregation
What was the result of the person situation debate?
both sides have tempered views
What is the modern idea in the person/situation debate?
Personality and situation interact to produce behavior
situations can provoke out of character behavior
situational specificity
In a strong situation, everyone will act ________. In a weak/ambiguous situation everyone will act _________.
the same
differently
What is the assumption of measurement ideas?
people differ on traits
The trait approach often relies on _____
self reports
Participants rush through study and don’t pay attention
carelessness
Carelessness, fatigue, acquiescence, social desirability, extreme responding, and faking are all examples of what?
response sets
What are the 2 solutions to carelessness?
- detect using infrequency scale
2. place duplicate items far apart
survey is too long and participants get tired and stop caring
fatigue
What are the 3 solutions to fatigue?
- give participants a break
- counterbalance (reverse orders)
- keep scales as brief as possible
agreeing, regardless of content
acquiescence
What is the solution to acquiescence?
reverse key some items
tendency to give endpoint responses
extreme responding
What are the 2 solutions to extreme responding?
- Use ranking scale
2. Use an ipsative/forced-choice scale
Participants try to appear better or worse than reality
faking
Participants respond in ways that make them appear likable
social desirability (faking good)
What are the 4 solutions to social desirability?
- ensure anonymity/confidentiality
- Ask if participant was honest
- measure socially desirable responding and correct
- tell participants you’ll check answers using a lie detector
What are the two views on social desirability?
- Its distortion
2. Reflects personality
Personality traits + job requirements =
performance at work
What are the 3 reasons to use personality tests for personnel selection?
- Identify traits that lead to success
- Integrity testing
- Negligent hiring
designed to assess general honesty/dishonesty; replaced polygraph
integrity tests
measures physical signs of anxiety
polygraph
What does the Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory (MMPI) do?
screens for mental illness
Research suggests that some commonly used measures for personnel selection are disadvantageous to some groups
race/gender norming
What is the solution for race/gender norming?
use assessments that do not disparately impact groups
Psychological testing may fall under ADA if test could be classified as a ________
medical examination
personality test: widely used in business settings; assess extraverted/introverted, sensing/intuitive, thinking/feeling, judging/perceiving; 16 categories; 4 letter codes; based on Jungian archetypes; used in personnel selection and career advising
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
What are the 3 criticisms of the MBTI?
- people are not types
- attempts to validate scale have failed or are inadequate
- Even Jung thought archetypes did not accurately reflect personality spectrum
general statement that could apply to anyone; used in astrology; not scientifically valid
Barnum statement
How personality changes/stays the same with age
personality development
Real personality changes are _____ and ______
enduring; internal
studies that follow a group of people over time
longitudinal studies
What are the 3 levels of analysis?
- population level
- group differences level
- individual differences level
changes that apply to almost everyone
population level
changes that affect certain groups
group differences level
predicting risk factors for problems later in life
individual difference level
early assessment of individual differences
temperament
Stability in temperament _______ as infants mature
increases
How do we measure temperament?
parent reports
How could we measure temperament better?
activity level via actometer or teacher
correlations between different measures at the same time point
validity coefficient
correlations between same measures at different time points
stability coefficient
measures activity level
actometer
observer reports of activity level
judge-based
At what age is physical aggression at it’s highest?
age 2 and early adulthood (for males)
At what age is relational aggression at it’s highest and what gender is more prevalent to this kind of aggression?
13-16
females
Self esteem: _____ at adolescence, ______ during teenage years, _______ at 60-69, and ______ at 80-90
high
low
high
low
The Big 5 traits have ___ to ____ levels of rank order stability
moderate to high
Personality tends to become more ______ with age
stable
Subtle changes in personality occur over time, especially during _____
early twenties
Conscientiousness and agreeableness show gradual ____ with time, while openness, extraversion, and neuroticism _____ until around 50 years old
increase
decrease
Self control: ______ from ages 4-18 then _______
increases
levels off
Differences in self control can have long term impact on ______
achievement
_______ impulsivity (_____ self control) = lower GPA, more likely to drop out of college, only for students with high SAT scores (intelligent)
high
low
Personality changes in men:
Sharp ______ in ambition; ______ in autonomy, leadership motivation, achievement, and dominance
decrease
increase
Personality changes in women:
_______ in femininity from early 40s through early 50s
decrease
Divorced moms, women without kids, and working moms have ______ in independence
increase
Traditional homemaker moms show no _____ in independence
increase
Significant life events can have a dramatic effect on _____
personality
significant life events that affect a large population can result in ________
cohort effects
________ (M and F) and ________ (M) at marriage are associated with marital dissatisfaction
neuroticism
impulse control
________ and ________ have been linked with substance abuse problems and emotional problems
neuroticism
impulse control
_________ and ________ in adolescence are linked with later life religiousity
agreeableness
conscientiousness
Associated with better health:
____ extraversion and conscientiousness
____ hostility and neuroticism
high
low
