Lecture 2 - Personality, Individual Differences & Attitudes

Question 1

what is personality

Answer 1

a set of characteristics possessed by an individual that influences their thoughts, emotions and behaviours

Question 2

what are the 3 historic perspectives of personality

Answer 2

1. personality is biological and heritable, fixed (Eysenk)
2. personality is formed through socialisation and behaviour varies according to situations
3. Situationism - personality doesn’t really exist and behaviour solely depends on the situation (Mischel)

Question 3

what are the two major approaches to personality

Answer 3

• nomothetic approach, which explores general laws or principles that can be applied to many people
• idiographic approach, which is an attempt to understand the unique aspects of a particular individual

Question 4

advantages of nomothetic approach

Answer 4

• generalisable findings
• scientific
• quick and easy to use

Question 5

disadvantages of nomothetic approach

Answer 5

• reductionist
• doesn’t explain variance in behaviour

Question 6

advantages of idiographic approach

Answer 6

• explains the whole person
• understands how a person is individualised

Question 7

disadvantages of idiographic approach

Answer 7

• non generalisable
• time consuming and expensive
• unscientific

Question 8

define type and trait

Answer 8

• type = extrovert OR introvert (distinct)
• trait = extrovert <———-> introvert (scale)

Question 9

what is the MBTI

Answer 9

• Myers Briggs Type Indicator
• non judgemental self report system
• well researched
• deals with everyday behaviour of normal people
• classifies 16 personality types

Question 10

what are the 8 different patterns for how we carry out mental activities (4 pairs)

Answer 10

• extraversion vs introversion
• sensing vs intuition
• thinking vs feeling
• judging vs perceiving

Question 11

advantages of MBTI

Answer 11

• non judgmental so encourages honesty
• gives career guidance
• useful in learning and development

Question 12

disadvantages of MBTI

Answer 12

• can’t predict job performance/success
• test retest reliability weak

Question 13

what are the components the the big 5 (OCEAN)

Answer 13

• openness
• conscientiousness
• extraversion
• agreeableness
• neuroticism (emotional stability)

Question 14

define openness

Answer 14

• refers to how open minded a person is

Question 15

define conscientiousness

Answer 15

• ability to be dependable, organised, punctual

Question 16

define extraversion

Answer 16

• how outgoing and social a person is

Question 17

define agreeableness

Answer 17

• the ability to be compassionate, kind hearted and helpful

Question 18

define neuroticism

Answer 18

ability to remain stable, even tempered and balanced

Question 19

advantages of the Big 5

Answer 19

• high scores on these attributes linked to:
• academic success
• the ability to cope with stress
• happier marriages

Question 20

disadvantages of the Big 5

Answer 20

• origins in data rather than in theory
• current tests show its not reliable outside of western countries