General introduction

Question 1

where does the word personality come from?

Answer 1

the Latin “persona”, meaning “mask“. – different mask for every role and situation

Question 2

is there something stable behind personality?

Answer 2

yes and evolving across time

Question 3

personality definition (Funder, 2004)

Answer 3

“Personality refers to an individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour together with the psychological mechanisms – hidden or not - behind those patterns.”

Question 4

personality definition (Burger, 2004)

Answer 4

“Personality can be defined as consistent behaviour patterns and intrapersonal processes originating within the individual.”

Question 5

general definition

Answer 5

Basically, ‘personality’ refers to our attempts to capture or summarise an individual’s ‘essence’; or that which is consistent across situations and over time – consistency can be demonstrated over time

Question 6

individual differences

Answer 6

Individual differences - cornerstone subject area in modern psychology

Where psychology emerged from philosophy

Theorists own experiences is where theories come from

The search for broad generalisations and laws of behaviour omits the extraordinary diversity of human behaviour, it omits individual differences. – looking for group or experimental effects

Question 7

indv diffs assumptions

Answer 7

People vary on a range of psychological attributes. This variation is consistent between situations and across time. – why people vary open to question – temperament?

It is possible to measure and assess these individual differences.

People can be classified according to their personality characteristics and intelligence. – or not safe?

Individual differences are useful for explaining and predicting behaviour and performance.

Question 8

what does the study of indv diffs examine?

Answer 8

the ways in which people are psychologically similar and psychologically different.

Question 9

when can personality psych be traced back to?

Answer 9

Greek philosophers

Question 10

Plato (360BC)

Answer 10

“No two persons are born exactly alike; but each differs from the other in natural endowments, one being suited for one occupation and the other for another.” (Plato 360BC)

Skinner also had same idea

adoption studies show it to be wrong

Question 11

when did psych split from philosophy?

Answer 11

early 19th century

Question 12

phrenology

Answer 12

Franz Gall (1758 -1828)

• lumps and bumps on the skull reveal character traits and mental abilities
• 1832 – 29 UK Phrenology Societies

It was proposed that selection of MPs be based on phrenology

Today - various parts of the brain have particular functions

Question 13

2 main camps of modern personality psychology

Answer 13

Scientific psychology (e.g. Trait approaches, Behaviourists and Social Learning Theorists and cognitive)

Clinical psychology (e.g. Psychoanalysts, Humanists and Existentialists)

They both strive to understand the ways in which people are psychologically similar and psychologically different.

Question 14

the six different paradigms/approaches to personality

Answer 14

The psychoanalytic approach

The trait approach

The biological and evolutionary approaches

The phenomenological/humanistic approach

The learning approach (behaviourism and social learning theories)

The cognitive approach

Question 15

the psychoanalytic approach

Answer 15

Unconscious mind & unconscious motivations that drive us

Resolving internal conflict

Problem – sexual desires – understood in different way - understand trauma now

Question 16

the trait approach

Answer 16

How people differ

Conceptualising and measuring differences

Continuum of traits and behaviours

Can test for reliability and validity

Question 17

the biological and evolutionary approaches

Answer 17

Anatomy, physiology, inheritance and evolution

Inherited predispositions

Not coherent whole

Question 18

the phenomenological/humanistic approach

Answer 18

Conscious experience of the world

Personal responsibility and self acceptance

Underpins qualitative research methods

Subjective experience and realities

Question 19

the learning approach (behaviourism and SL theories)

Answer 19

Comprises Behaviourism, Social Learning Theory and Cognitive Personality Theory

Learning helps to adapt their behaviour via rewards and punishments

Question 20

the cognitive approach

Answer 20

Role of perception and memory

Different ways in which people process information

Trauma learning

Question 21

why so many personality theories?

Answer 21

The theories originators hold different philosophical assumptions (paradigms) about people. The theories are often incompatible.

Different theories address different questions.

Each approach has interesting and useful things to say about human personality but each is incomplete.

We can’t come up with one big theory of personality because of this trade off.

Look at all to get nearer to reality

Express lots about themselves

Question 22

philosophical assumptions

Answer 22

Freedom (humanists) versus determinism (Freud – unconscious and behaviourists - stimuli)

Hereditary (biological) versus environmental (social)

Uniqueness (idiographic - Freud – cant lump people together) versus universality (nomothetic – quantifiable and measurable)

Proactive versus reactive

Optimistic (humanist) versus pessimistic (Freudian)

Conscious (phrenology and humanistic) versus unconscious (cog and Freud)

Question 23

ways to evaluate philosophical assumptions

Answer 23

coherence

relevance

comprehensiveness

compellingness

Question 24

coherence

Answer 24

is the philosophical position clear, logical and consistent?

Question 25

relevance

Answer 25

does the theory deal with issues that are important and meaningful to us today? Are the theoretical assumptions compatible with empirical reality?

Question 26

comprehensiveness

Answer 26

does the theory encompass a wide array of phenomena? Does it cover what it claims to cover in a profound or superficial way?

Question 27

compellingness

Answer 27

Does the theory convince you?

Question 28

what makes a useful theory?

Answer 28

1. Generates hypotheses/research
2. Falsifiable – problem with Freudian theory
3. Organises and integrates existing data and empirical knowledge
4. Suggests practical answers to day-to-day problems
5. Internal consistency
6. Simplicity/parsimony

Question 29

basic issues

Answer 29

To what extent is personality culturally determined? – personality’s partly determined by culture

Which is more important in determining what people do, the person or the situation?

Personality differences between men and women – what are they and where do they come from? – not clear

Question 30

individualistic cultures

Answer 30

(include most Northern European countries and the USA) emphasise individual needs/accomplishments.

People tend to have an ‘I’ orientation.

Great value placed on autonomy, youth, equality and individual security

Question 31

collectivist cultures

Answer 31

(include many Asian, African, Central and South American countries) emphasise cooperation rather than competition and group rather than individual accomplishments.

People tend to have a ‘we’ orientation.

Great value placed on duty, tradition, age, hierarchy, group security

‘I’ isn’t a good thing

Question 32

the person-situation debate

Answer 32

The person vs. situation debate has been a strongly contested topic since the late 1960’s.

Walter Mischell, (1968) - Personality and Assessment.

The issue: Which is more important in determining what people do, the person or the situation?

Situational variables are best suited to predicting behaviour in specific situations, personality traits are more able to predict patterns of behaviour that persist across situations and time

Question 33

the Forer/Barnum effect

Answer 33

The Barnum effect is also called the Forer effect after B. R. Forer (1948).

The Barnum effect - people tend to accept vague and general personality descriptions as uniquely applicable to themselves.

People tend to accept questionable, even false statements about themselves, if they are deemed positive or flattering enough.

Question 34

the Barnum effect study

Answer 34

Forer (1948): asked students to evaluate the personality description from 0 to 5, with “5” meaning “excellent” and “4” meaning “good.”

Accuracy of the personality description amazed the participants

The class average evaluation was 4.26.

The test has been repeated hundreds of time with psychology students, the average is still around 4.2.

Question 35

pseudoscience

Answer 35

tarot, astrology, fortune telling

Question 36

what do personality theories/assessment have to be?

Answer 36

specific, reliable, valid and testable.

Question 37

the psychometric approach

Answer 37

Psychometrics - theory and methods of psychological measurement.

Psychometrics includes Intelligence testing, measurement of personality traits and vocational testing.

The impact of testing on the individual and in wider society is substantial which highlights the importance of high professional standards for the development, administration and interpretation of tests.