Personality Flashcards
Define key terms:
Personality
Temperament
This links to the study of THOMAS, CHESS AND BIRCH MUST KNOW BY NAME!
Describe the aim, method, results and conclusion of this study?
And evaluation?
Key terms:
Personality: thoughts, feelings and behaviours that make an individual unique.
Temperament: the genetic component of personality.
THOMAS, CHESS AND BIRCH
Aim: To discover whether ways of responding to the environment remain stable throughout life.
Method: They studied 133 children from infancy to early adulthood. Their behaviour was observed and their parents were interviewed. The parents were asked about the child’s routine and it’s reaction to change.
Results: The children fell into three categories: ‘easy’ ‘difficult’ or ‘slow to warm up’. The ‘easy’ children were happier than the ‘difficult’ children and the ‘slow to warm up’ children did not respond to change but then became happier.
Conclusion: These ways of responding stayed with children as they developed. Temperament is innate.
Evaluation:
▪Parents could’ve lied and given socially desirable answers.
▪Participant variables.
▪Unrepresentative of world as only applies to middle class people in New York.
This links to the study of BUSS AND PLOMIN MUST KNOW BY NAME!
Describe the aim, method, results and conclusion of this study?
And evaluation?
BUSS AND PLOMIN
Aim: To test the idea that temperament is innate.
Method: They studied 228 pairs of monozygotic and 172 pairs of dizygotic twins. They rated the temperament of the twins when they were 5 years old. They looked at 3 dimensions of behaviour: emotion, activity and sociability. They then compared the scores for each pair of twins.
Results: There was a closer correlation between the scores of monozygotic twins than the dizygotic twins.
Conclusion: Temperament has a genetic basis.
Evaluation:
▪Monozygotic twins are more genetically similar than dizygotic.
▪Can’t be representative of world population as not everybody is a twin.
▪Monozygotic twins are usually treated very similarly so this could explain their scores rather than their genes.
This links to the study of KAGAN AND SNIDMAN MUST KNOW BY NAME!
Describe the aim, method, results and conclusion of this study?
And evaluation?
KAGAN AND SNIDMAN
Aim: To investigate whether temperament is due to biological differences.
Method: The reactions of 500 4 month old babies were studied in new situations. For a minute, the baby was placed in a seat next to their caregiver. For the next three minutes, their caregiver moved out of their view whilst they were shown different toys by the researcher. 11 years later, a follow-up study took place.
Results: 20% showed distress (high reactive) and 40% showed little emotion (low reactive). The rest were somewhere between the two. 11 years later they found there was still a difference; the high reactors were shy and the low reactors were calm.
Concusion: They concluded that these two temperaments are due to inherited differences in the way the brain responds.
Evaluation:
▪Used large sample which means it’s easier to generalise results to the whole population.
▪Conducted in a lab so they may not have reacted naturally.
▪The researcher may have missed some behaviour or be inaccurate as it is hard to measure.
Define key terms:
EPI
This links to the study of EYSENCK MUST KNOW BY NAME!
Describe the aim, method, results and conclusion of this study?
And evaluation?
Key terms:
EPI: Eysenck Personality Inventory
EYSENCK
Aim: To investigate personality differences between people.
Method: 700 servicemen completed a questionnaire and the results were analysed.
Results: He identified two dimensions of personality: extroversion - introversio and neuroticism - stability.
Conclusion: Everyone can be placed along these two dimensions of personality. Most people lie in the middle of the scale.
Evaluation:
▪Not representative pf whole population as only tested on servicemen. However, this study has been tested many times and has come up with similar results.
▪He only described a limited number of personality types - very basic.
▪People may give socially desirable answers.
Define key terms:
DSM
APD
This links to the study of RAINE et al MUST KNOW BY NAME!
Describe the aim, method, results and conclusion of this study?
And evaluation?
Key terms:
DSM: Diagnostic, statistical manual - lists different mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them.
APD: Antisocial Personality Disorder - a condition in which the individual does not use socially acceptable behaviour or consider the rights of others.
RAINE et al
Aim: To support the theory that abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex cause APD.
Method: 21 men with APD and 34 without had an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan.
Results: The men with APD had an 11% reduction in prefrontal grey matter compared to the men without APD.
Conclusion: APD is caused by a reduction in the brain’s grey matter.
Evaluation:
▪Not representative of the whole population as only tested on men.
▪Sample size is very small.
▪Participants were volunteers so may not be representative of everybody with APD.
This links to the study of FARRINGTON MUST KNOW BY NAME!
Describe the aim, method, results and conclusion of this study?
And evaluation?
FARRINGTON
Aim: To investigate the development of offending and antisocial behaviour in males studied from childhood to the age of 50.
Method: The researchers carried out a longitudinal study of the development of antisocial behaviour in 411 males living in deprived inner city London. They were first studied at age 8 until they were 50. Their parents and teachers were interviewed and their criminal records were checked for them and their family.
Results: 41% were convicted at least once. Ris factors were crime in the family, low achievement at school and poor parenting.
Conclusion:Situational factors lead to the development of antisocial behaviour.
Evaluation:
▪Only studied men living in deprived inner city London so unrepresentative of world.
▪Parents and teachers may give socially desirable answers.
▪Study took place over the course of 42 years so there are many extraneous variables.
This links to the study of ELANDER et al MUST KNOW BY NAME!
Describe the aim, method, results and conclusion of this study?
And evaluation?
ELANDER et al
Aim: To investigate the childhood risk factors that can be used to predict antisocial behaviour in adulthood.
Method: Researchers investigated 225 twins who were diagnosed with childhood disorders and interviewed them 10-25 years later.
Results: They found that childhood hyperactivity, conduct disorders, low IQ and reading problems were strong indicators of APD and criminality in adult life.
Conclusion: Disruptive behaviour in childhood can be used to predict APD in adulthood.
Evaluation:
▪Unrepresentative as not everybody is a twin so can’t be applied to everyone.
▪Could have given socially desirable answers when interviewed.
▪Those who were interviewed 10 years later may remember things better than those interviwed 25 years later.
