Lecture 6 - Are we all chameleons September 19

Question 1

according to madams, is using personality trait words common

Answer 1

We talk in traits all the time.

The currency of everyday trait talk is the generalization.

Question 2

are personality generalizations true

Answer 2

may be true or useful in a relative sense but they do not apply to every instance of a person’s behavior.

Question 3

what do the big 5 depend on

Answer 3

the 'role' we play
At school
With Parents
At Work
With Friends

Question 4

is there more variance of the big 5 between roles or people

Answer 4

80% of variance on trait dimensions was across roles.

Only 20% between people.

Question 5

in what role are people more extroverted? less?

Answer 5

friends more

school less

Question 6

in what role are people more neurotic? less?

Answer 6

school more

friends less

Question 7

in what role are people more agreeable? less?

Answer 7

work and friends more

school and family less

Question 8

in what role are people more conscientious? less?

Answer 8

work more

friends less

Question 9

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

Answer 9

true

Question 10

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

Answer 10

absolutely 
Darryl Bem (1974) frames the issue

Question 11

what is the proposal for assuming that all traits are equally relevant

Answer 11

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

Question 12

explain the idea to find a moderator

Answer 12

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

Question 13

what is Bem’s Conclusion:

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Are there individual differences in variability of behavior?

Answer 14

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

Question 15

what are Mark Snyder’s Views on Self-Monitoring

Answer 15

“People differ meaningfully in the extent to which they can and do engage in expressive control.”

Question 16

someone with high self-monitoring would act how

Answer 16

“The consummate social pragmatists, willing and able to project images desired by others.

always acting

Question 17

someone with low self-monitoring would act how

Answer 17

“Not only unwilling but unable to carry off appearances.

don’t want to act diff, but feel something wrong about doing that

Question 18

can high self-monitors play the role of introverts? rise versa?

Answer 18

they can but NOT vice versa

Question 19

can low self-monitors act like extroverts at all>

Answer 19

they can fake it if they have time to prepare

think prof, he is an introverted but does presentations super well because he prepares

Question 20

what are the traits of high self monitors

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

what are the traits of low self-monitors

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

from seinfeld, is george a high or low self monitor

Answer 22

high

Question 23

what is self-monitoring used for in the real world

Answer 23

used in organizational structures

Question 24

explain the experiment with self-monitoring and the korean immigrants

Answer 24

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

Question 25

What does it mean when someone behaves differently on a given trait dimension across different situations?

Answer 25

Two possibilities:

Not a personally relevant trait;
May be a high self-monitor

Question 26

why do chameleons change colours

Answer 26

as a sign of aggression or to attract a mate