Lecture 6 - Are we all chameleons September 19 Flashcards
according to madams, is using personality trait words common
We talk in traits all the time.
The currency of everyday trait talk is the generalization.
are personality generalizations true
may be true or useful in a relative sense but they do not apply to every instance of a person’s behavior.
what do the big 5 depend on
the 'role' we play At school With Parents At Work With Friends
is there more variance of the big 5 between roles or people
80% of variance on trait dimensions was across roles.
Only 20% between people.
in what role are people more extroverted? less?
friends more
school less
in what role are people more neurotic? less?
school more
friends less
in what role are people more agreeable? less?
work and friends more
school and family less
in what role are people more conscientious? less?
work more
friends less
Walter Mischel (1968): “It is impossible to demonstrate generalized consistencies in behavior and the concept of personality traits as broad dispositions is thus untenable.”
true or false
true
is there a discrepancy between our intuitions, which tell us that people do in fact display pervasive cross-situational consistencies in their behavior, and the vast empirical literature, which tells us that they do not
absolutely Darryl Bem (1974) frames the issue
what is the proposal for assuming that all traits are equally relevant
Perhaps one should not assume that all traits are equally relevant for all people.
Perhaps people will only show consistency on those traits that are personally relevant and meaningful.
essentially; find a moderator
explain the idea to find a moderator
if someone’s values are concscientoious they will remain consistent with those traits al the time but maybe not extroversion if that isnt part of their identity
what is Bem’s Conclusion:
Instead of using traits to predict what “all of the people will do all of the time”
we should
Focus on trying to predict “some of the people some of the time.”
this approach has been replicated and confirmed
Are there individual differences in variability of behavior?
Perhaps some people always tend to be more consistent across a wide variety of traits whereas others tend to be inconsistent:
Consider Self-Monitoring as a moderator
what are Mark Snyder’s Views on Self-Monitoring
“People differ meaningfully in the extent to which they can and do engage in expressive control.”
someone with high self-monitoring would act how
“The consummate social pragmatists, willing and able to project images desired by others.
always acting
someone with low self-monitoring would act how
“Not only unwilling but unable to carry off appearances.
don’t want to act diff, but feel something wrong about doing that
can high self-monitors play the role of introverts? rise versa?
they can but NOT vice versa
can low self-monitors act like extroverts at all>
they can fake it if they have time to prepare
think prof, he is an introverted but does presentations super well because he prepares
what are the traits of high self monitors
Quickly assess demands of a situation and respond accordingly.
Low consistency between trait scores and behavior.
Many friends but engage in narrow range of behaviors with each. Do not encourage social contact among friends.
what are the traits of low self-monitors
Less sensitive to nuances of situation and less likely to alter behavior.
High consistency between trait scores and behavior.
Fewer friends but engage in many different behaviors with all of them and encourage social contact even if friends are very different.
from seinfeld, is george a high or low self monitor
high
what is self-monitoring used for in the real world
used in organizational structures
explain the experiment with self-monitoring and the korean immigrants
immigrants running stores
researchers looked to explain their network, who chad good network and who could expand past just their culture
high SM had largest network AND was good at expanding building bridges
What does it mean when someone behaves differently on a given trait dimension across different situations?
Two possibilities:
Not a personally relevant trait;
May be a high self-monitor
why do chameleons change colours
as a sign of aggression or to attract a mate
