Lecture 2: personality introduction Flashcards
what is personality according to:
- Deyoung & Gray
- Pervin
- Hogan
- Mcadams & pals
- regularities in behaviour and experience
- a persons typical mode of response
- our identity and reputation
- a) unique variation b) dispositional traits c) characteristic adaptations d) self-defining life narratives
what are the three levels of personality according to mcadams and pals?
- dispositional traits = patterns of behaviour, decontextualised (e.g. shy, impulsive)
- characteristic adaptations = individuals particular life circumstances, highly contextualised (goals, social roles)
- life narratives = the story we have constructed about who we are, highly individualised
define dispositional (personality) traits
- probabilistic descriptions of regularities in behaviour and experience (e.g. moody, sociable)
- arising in situations to very broad classes of stimuli and situations (e.g. threat, social encounter)
= relatively decontextualised
what were the earliest trait catalogues?
- the characters of theophrastus
-> flatterer, reckless man, chatty man, gossip, surly man, distrustful man, mean man
(Ancient Greek philosophy)
what were allport and Odbert’s (1936) trait catalogues like?
- lexical hypothesis
- important characteristics will be coded in language
- collected an exhaustive list of descriptors (18,000 terms)
- more of a list than a system
how are basic trait domains structured in the statistical method (factor analysis?)
- who was it developed by?
- reduces many correlated variable to much fewer composite variables or factors
- similar terms combined and reduced to one dimension
- spearman and thurstone to explore the structure of mental abilities
who reduced allport and odbert’s list and how
-> how many factors?
cattell through varied techniques including factor analysis
-> 16
give an example of three dimensions prior to cartell that would have correlated to form a single dimension
ample, large, bulky correlated: ample x large .70 bulky x ample .65 bulky x large .75
what was cattell’s method before reaching 16 factors (7 steps)
- 18,000 descriptors
- stored into 160 clusters of synonyms
- discarding near-identical descriptors
- final 171 descriptor list
- 100 participants rate 1-2 friends on the 171 descriptors
- factor analysis
- 16 personality factors
what were the three problems with cattell’s 16 traits?
- subjectivity
- poor replicability/reproducibility = using cattell’s 171 personality descriptors, many people failed to obtain his same 16 factors
- redundancy = correlations among 16 factors were very high = they aren’t distinct!
following many factor analysis repetitions, what consistencies of cattell’s 16 traits emerged? (3)
- most replicable factor structures suggested 3-6 traits
- very similar traits appear in this taxonomies
- 5 factor model = interface best with the various solutions
= empirically derived (initially had no names)
what are the big 5
OCEAN
- openness/intellect = curious
- consientiousness = hard working
- extraversion = enthusiastic
- agreeableness = warm
- neuroticism = volatile
what was eysneck’s alternative model of the big 5 (only 3)
- extraversion
- agreeableness and consientiousness = low psychoticism
- neuroticism
what was tellegen’s alternative model of the big five
- extraversion = positive emotion/agency
- agreeableness= positive emotion, affiliation
- consientiousness = constraint/self control
- negative emotionality
- absorption
What was hogan’s alternative model of the big five
- extraversion = sociability
- agreeableness = likability
- consientiousness = prudence
- neuroticism = adjustment
- openness = intelligence
what is the hierarchal structure of traits?
describe each (6)
nuances -> facets -> aspects -> domains -> meta-traits
- e.g. liking parties
- energy levels, positive emotions
- assertiveness, enthusiasm
- neuroticism, agreeableness
- stability plasticity
lower = very precise higher = very broad
what are the big five aspects scales?
trait domains + aspects
(type of questionnaire)
- O = openess, intellect
- C = orderliness, industriousness
- E = assertiveness, enthusiasm
- A = compassion, politeness
- N = withdrawal, volatility
What are the big five inventory V.2?
traits domains + facets
(type of questionnaire)
- O = intellectual capacity, aesthetic sensitivity
- C = organisation, productiveness, responsibility
- E = sociability, assertiveness, activity level
- A = compassion, trust, respectfulness
- N = anxiety, depression, emotional, volatility
can you score highly on neuroticism and extraversion on the big five?
yes, traits are independent
Are the big 5 self report measures scientific?
1. reliable?
2. valid?
+ what is the general model of reliability? & what does a reliable measure have less of?
- do they perform consistently, relatively free from error
- do trait questionnaires measure what they intend
observed score = true score + measurement error
-> less measurement error = a reliable measure
How do we estimate reliability (5)
- test-retest reliability = correlation between T1 and T2 & temporal stability
- rationale = a reliable measure is a repeatable measure -> you should be able to verify the score
- caveat = not applicable to all psychological phenomena
e. g. state vs traits - split-half reliability = correlation between score from one half of the scale and another half & internal consistency
- cronbach’s alpha = average of all possible split halves, internal consistency, mode widely reported measure of reliability, scales with a alpha
3 types of validity + how useful
- face validity = does the questionnaire appear valid “at face value” (not very useful)
- content validity = is the relevant content sampled among the items? (someone with expertise determines “expert judges”)
- criterion-related validity = does the measure show sensible correlations with other measures -> to show the measure related to relevant material in a sensible way
name 2 criterion-related validity & what they are
- concurrent validity:
convergent = does it correlate significantly with related measures
divergent = does it show weak or 0 correlations with unrelated measures - predictive validity:
does it predict expected outcomes or behaviours? (e.g. does a measure of extraversion predict high levels of socialisation)
Validity: important caveat (warning)
- > what validity couldn’t initially be assessed and why
- > what kind of validity is there a stronger emphasis on?
what about the new big five measures?
the big five were empirically derived
- > initially cannot assess content, convergent and discriminant validity
- > stronger emphasis on predictive validity
HOWEVER = new = all validity can be assessed
What is the limit of traits to define personality?
- traits are generic descriptors and relatively decontextualised
- much of our personality is contextualised
what kind of constructs exist that cannot be considered to be traits?
time - stage of life (toddler vs adult)
place - specific situation (at work, with friends)
role= function or duty (mother, buddhist)
what are the variables (characteristic adaptations) denoted by mcadams and pals that are contextualised to time, place or social role called?
some examples
personal concerns
motives, goals, plans, habits, values, schemas, self-images
what is another conceptualisation (characteristic adaptations) other than traits posed by deyoung?
- goals - desired future states/aspirations
- interpretations - appraised current states (perceived statistical ability)
- strategies - plans and actions to move between states (study routine, degree choice)
examples of characteristic adaptations vs traits
- T= being adventurous
CA= spending years training to climb mount everest - T= being honest
CA = viewing honesty as one’s greatest virtue
What is the richest level of personality description?
what does it mean/do?
(Mcadams)
life narratives
narrative identity = the internal, dynamic life story
shapes unity + purpose of the self
seen in personology and psychotherapy
what does the interview of life narratives focus on?
Mcadams
- 8 key events (high, low point, important adolescent memory)
- significant people
- the future script (future aims)
- stresses and problems
- personal ideology (beliefs)
- life theme
Whats the content analyses of narratives? (3)
Mcadams
- emotional tones
positive/optimist, negative/pessimistic - themes
defining concerns, typically about goals. Also meaning making - lessons and insights - form/structure
stability vs change, slow vs rapid progress
= what the narrator focuses on
what are three common narrative elements
- prominent themes
- agency (self-direction) and communion (interpersonal connection) - redemption sequences
- worse -> better (circumstances/transformations) - growth story
- personal development
3 levels of personality descriptions (from most to least rich)
- life narratives ->personal story)
- characteristic adaptations (aka personal concerns) -> goals, interpretations and strategies
- dispositional traits -> broad patterns of behaviour
strengths of the 3 levels of personality descriptions
1. life narratives
- characteristic adaptations
- dispositional traits
- highest resolution description
- captures individual circumstances
- universal structure
limitations of the 3 levels of personality descriptions
1. life narratives
- characteristic adaptations
- dispositional traits
- idiographic, no predictive value
- unclear scope/structure
- lowest resolution description
