personality

Question 1

Understand that personality involves both personal characteristics and situations

Answer 1

The concept of personality also rests on the observation that a given person seems to behave
somewhat consistently over time and across different situations. From this perceived
consistency comes the notion of personality traits that characterise an individual’s customary
ways of responding to his or her world. Although only modest stability is found from
childhood personality to adult personality, personality becomes more stable as we enter
adulthood.

personality as
the distinctive and relatively enduring ways of thinking, feeling and acting that characterise a
person’s responses to life situations.

Question 2

Appreciate the three characteristics of behaviour that are seen as reflecting an individual’s personality

Answer 2

First, they are seen as behavioural components of identity
that distinguish that person from other people. Second, the behaviours are viewed as being
caused primarily by internal rather than environmental factors. Third, the person’s
behaviours seem to have organisation and structure; they seem to fit together in a meaningful
fashion, suggesting an inner personality that guides and directs behaviour

Question 3

Explain how psychodynamic theories emphasise unconscious and dynamic processes

Answer 3

The first formal theory of personality was advanced by Sigmund Freud in the early years of
the 20th century and it is the prototype of the psychodynamic approach. Psychodynamic
theorists look for the causes of behaviour in a dynamic interplay of inner forces that often
conflict with one another. They also focus on unconscious determinants of behaviour.
Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory is one of the great intellectual contributions of
modern times and it continues to influence Western thought today. Opposition to Freud’s
ideas was a stimulus for most of the other theories discussed in this chapter

Question 4

List the major theorists and concepts associated with psychodynamic theories

Answer 4

Freud divided personality into three separate but interacting structures: id, ego and superego.
The id (literally the ‘it’) is the innermost core of the personality, the only structure present
at birth and the source of all psychic energy. The id entails the instinctual drives and is totally
unconscious Freud described the id as ‘a chaos, a cauldron of seething
excitations Operating according to the pleasure principle , it seeks immediate gratification or release, regardless of rational considerations and
environmental realities. Its dictum: ‘Want . . . ta

The ego (the ‘I’) has direct contact with reality and functions primarily at a
conscious level. It operates according to the reality principle , testing reality to decide
when and under what conditions the id can safely discharge its impulses and satisfy its needs.
For example, the ego would seek sexual gratification within a consenting relationship rather
than allow the pleasure principle to dictate an impulsive sexual assault on the first person
who happened by. Freud wrote, ‘In popular language, we may say that the ego stands for
reason and sanity, in contrast to the id which contains untamed passions

The last personality structure to develop is the superego (or ‘over-I’), the moral
arm of the personality. Developing by the age of 4 or 5, the superego contains the traditional
values and ideals of family and society. These ideals are internalised by the child through
identification with his or her parents, who also use reinforcement and punishment to teach the
child what is ‘right’, what is ‘wrong’ and how the child ‘should’ be. Like the ego, the
superego strives to control the instincts of the id, particularly the sexual and aggressive
impulses that are condemned by society.

Question 5

Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the psychodynamic approaches to personality

Answer 5

Neoanalytic theorists were psychoanalysts who disagreed with certain aspects
of Freud’s thinking and developed their own theories. Among them were Alfred Adler, Karen
Horney, Erik Erikson and Carl Jung. The neoanalysts believed that Freud did not give social
and cultural factors a sufficiently important role in the development and dynamics of
personality. In particular, they believed that he stressed infantile sexuality too much
The second major criticism was that Freud laid too much emphasis on the events of
childhood as determinants of adult personality. Neoanalytic theorists agreed that childhood
experiences are important, but some theorists, such as Erikson, believed that personality
development continues throughout the life span as individuals confront challenges that are
specific to particular phases in their lives

In contrast to Freud’s assertion that behaviour is motivated by inborn sexual and Page 508
aggressive instincts and drives, Alfred Adler (1870–1937) insisted that humans are inherently
social beings who are motivated by social interest, the desire to advance the welfare of others.
They care about others, cooperate with them and place general social welfare above selfish
personal interests (Figure 13.5 ). In contrast, Freud seemed to view people as savage
animals caged by the bars of civilisation. Perhaps influenced by his own struggles to
overcome childhood illnesses and accidents, Adler also postulated a general motive of
striving for superiority, which drives people to compensate for real or imagined defects in
themselves (the inferiority complex) and to strive to be ever more competent in life

Indeed, many researchers believe that a major shortcoming of
psychoanalytic theory is that many of its concepts are ambiguous and difficult to measure.
How, for example, can we measure the strength of an individual’s id impulses and
unconscious ego defences or study processes that are by definition unconscious and
inaccessible to the person? Nevertheless, recent neuroscientific research has found some
support for Freudian dream theory. Dreaming is associated with the mesolimbic-mesocortical
dopamine pathway, which is also associated with satisfying instinctual drives.

Research during the past 20 years has also vindicated Freud’s belief in unconscious psychic
events by showing that non-conscious mental and emotional phenomena do indeed occur and
can affect our behaviour. On the other hand, the
unconscious processes that have been demonstrated experimentally are not the seething cauldron of forbidden wishes and desires described by Freud (Kihlstrom, 1999). Rather,
current research has unearthed what one theorist describes as ‘a kinder, gentler unconscious’
Freud’s ideas about psychosexual development are the most controversial feature of his
theory. Although many theorists reject Freud’s assertions about childhood sexuality and the
notion of specific psychosexual stages, there is strong evidence that childhood experiences do
indeed influence the development of personality

Question 6

Describe how phenomenological-humanistic approaches emphasise integrated personal experiences

Answer 6

. This emphasis on the
primacy of immediate experience is known as phenomenology and it focuses our attention
on the present instead of the past. These theorists also regarded themselves as humanists.
They embraced a positive view that affirms the inherent dignity and goodness of the human
spirit, as well as the individual’s creative potential and inborn striving toward personal
growth.

Question 7

List the major theorists and concepts associated with phenomenological humanistic theories

Answer 7

A theory developed by George Kelly (1905–1967) in the 1950s has had a strong and
pervasive influence on many other theorists. According to Kelly, people’s primary goal is to
make sense out of the world, to find personal meaning in it. When they are unable to do so,
they experience uncertainty and anxiety. To achieve understanding, they try to explain and
understand the events of their lives, and they test this understanding in the same way
scientists do: by attempting to anticipate, to predict. pg 34

Carl Rogers (1902–1987), a colleague of George Kelly’s at Ohio State University in the
1950s, was one of the most influential humanistic theorists. As a humanist, Rogers believed
that the forces that direct behaviour are within us and that when they are not distorted or
blocked by our environment, they can be trusted to direct us toward self-actualisation , the
highest realisation of human potential.
The central concept in Rogers’s theory is the self , an organised, consistent set of
perceptions of and beliefs about oneself (Rogers, 1959). Once formed, the self plays a
powerful role in guiding our perceptions and directing our behaviour. The self thus has two
facets: it is an object of perception (the self-concept) and an internal entity that directs
behaviour.
Rogers theorised that at the beginning of their lives, children cannot distinguish between
themselves and their environment. As they interact with their world, children begin to
distinguish between the ‘me’ and the ‘not-me’. The self-concept continues to develop in
response to our life experiences, though many aspects of it remain quite stable over time.
Once the self-concept is established, there is a tendency to maintain it, for it helps us
understand our relationship to the world around us. We therefore have needs for self-consiste
ncy , an absence of conflict among self-perceptions, and congruence , consistency
between self-perceptions and experience. Any experience we have that is inconsistent, or
incongruous, with our self-concept, including our perceptions of our own behaviour, evokes t
hreat , or anxiety.

Rogers believed that we are born with an innate need for positive regard —for
acceptance, sympathy and love from others. Rogers viewed positive regard as essential for
healthy development. Ideally, positive regard received from parents is unconditional—that is,
it is independent of how the child behaves. Unconditional positive regard communicates
that the person is inherently worthy of love, regardless of accomplishments or behaviour. In
contrast, conditional positive regard is dependent on how the child behaves; in the extreme
case, love and acceptance are given to the child only when the child behaves as the parents
want.

People need positive regard not only from others but also from themselves. Thus, a need for
positive self-regard , the desire to feel good about ourselves, develops. Lack of
unconditional positive regard from parents and other significant people in the past teaches
people that they are worthy of approval and love only when they meet certain standards. This
fosters the development of conditions of worth that dictate the circumstances under
which we approve or disapprove of ourselves.

Question 8

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the phenomenological humanistic approaches to personality

Answer 8

What matters most in phenomenological-humanistic approaches is how people view
themselves and the world. Some critics believe that the humanistic view relies too heavily on
individuals’ reports of their personal experiences. For example, psychoanalytic critics
maintain that accepting what a person says at face value can easily lead to erroneous
conclusions because of the always-present influence of unconscious defences.
Although humanism may indeed seem nonscientific to some, Rogers (1959) dedicated
himself to developing a theory whose concepts could be measured and its laws tested. One of
his most notable contributions was a series of groundbreaking studies on the process of selfgrowth that can occur in psychotherapy. To assess the effectiveness of psychotherapy, Rogers
and his co-workers measured the discrepancy between clients’ ideal selves (how they would
like to be) and their perceived selves (their perceptions of what they were actually like). The
studies revealed that when clients first entered therapy, the discrepancy was typically large
but that it got smaller as therapy proceeded, suggesting that therapy may help the client
become more self-accepting and perhaps also more realistic. Rogers and his colleagues also
discovered important therapist characteristics that either aid or impede the process of self actualisation in therapy.
Several recent developments have put humanistic concepts back into the scientific spotlight.
Deci and Ryan’s (2009) self-determination theory has focused new scientific attention on
humanistic concepts such as autonomy, competence and relatedness. New methods for
measuring brain activation are enabling psychologists to study self-processes as they occur at
a biological level (Heatherton et al., 2004). Additionally, the positive psychology movement
has redirected many psychologists to the study of human strengths, happiness, virtue and
other humanistic concerns

Phenomenological-humanistic perspectives emphasise the importance of
immediate experience and focus on present rather than past experiences.

Question 9

Explain how trait approaches describe behavioural dispositions

Answer 9

Personality traits are relatively stable cognitive, emotional and behavioural
characteristics of people that help establish their individual identities and distinguish them
from others. The starting point for the trait researcher is identifying the behaviours that define
a particular trait.
. In personality
research, factor analysis is used to identify clusters of behaviours that are highly
correlated (positively or negatively) with one another, but not with behaviours in other
clusters. Such behaviour clusters can be viewed as reflecting a basic dimension, or trait, on
which people vary. For example, you might find that most people who are socially reserved
also avoid parties, enjoy quiet activities and like being alone. At the other end of the spectrum
are people who are very talkative and sociable, like parties and excitement, dislike solitary
activities such as reading and constantly seek out new acquaintances. These behavioural
patterns define a general factor, or dimension, that we might label introversion-extraversion
(or simply extraversion). At one end of the dimension are highly introverted behaviours and
at the other end are highly extraverted behaviours

Question 10

List the major theorists and concepts associated with trait theories

Answer 10

Using this information, Cattell developed a widely
used personality test called the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) to measure
individual differences on each of the dimensions and provide a comprehensive
personality description. He was able to develop personality profiles not only for
individuals but also for groups of people.
Other trait researchers believe that Cattell’s 16 dimensions are more than we need. Their
factor analytic studies suggest that five higher-order factors, each including several of
Cattell’s more specific factors, are all that we need to capture the basic structure of
personality.

The Big Five factors are shown in . (The acronym OCEAN—for Openness,
Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism—may help you remember
them.) Proponents of the Five Factor Model believe that when a person is placed at a specific
point on each of these five dimensions by means of a psychological test, behaviour ratings or
direct observations of behaviour, the essence of her or his personality has been captured pg 51 for examples.

stability of traits 53.

Question 11

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of trait approaches to personality

Answer 11

Despite differences of opinion concerning the nature and number of basic personality
dimensions, trait theorists have made an important contribution by focusing attention on the
value of identifying, classifying and measuring stable, enduring personality dispositions.
Several challenges confront trait theorists, however. If we are to capture the true complexities
of personality, we must pay more attention to how traits combine with one another to affect
various behaviours. . All too often, researchers
try to make specific predictions on the basis of a single measured personality trait without
taking into account other personality factors that might also influence the behaviour in
question. This approach sells short the complexity of personality. In evaluating the trait perspective, we must remember the distinction between description and
explanation. To say that someone is outgoing and fun-loving because she is high in extraversion is merely to describe the behaviour with a trait name, not to explain the inner
disposition and how it operates. Traditionally, the trait perspective has been more concerned
with describing the structure of personality, measuring individual differences in personality
traits and predicting behaviour than with understanding the psychological processes that
underlie the traits. For example, a shortcoming of the Five Factor Model is its lack of
explanatory power; it tells us nothing about the causal factors that produce
extraverted, neurotic or agreeable people’s experiences and actions.

Question 12

Describe how biological theories emphasise genetic and neural processes

Answer 12

. Biological
explanations for personality differences focus on three levels. One group of theorists uses
evolutionary principles to explain why particular traits exist in the human species. Others seek the genetic bases for trait inheritance (Plomin, 1997). And still others search
for differences in the functioning of the nervous system.

genetic factors accounted for approximately 40 to 50 per cent of
the variance among people in trait scores. In contrast, the degree of resemblance did not
differ much if the twin pairs were reared together or apart, showing that general features of
the family environment, such as its emotional climate and degree of affluence, accounted for
little variance in any of the traits. The same result occurred in a recent study of self-esteem in
Japanese twins (Kamakura et al., 2007). However, this does not mean that experience is not
important. Rather than the family environment, it is the individual’s unique environmental
experiences, such as his or her school experiences and interactions with peers, that account
for considerable personality variance. Even within the same family, therefore, individual
children have different experiences while growing up and it is these unique experiences
together with their genes that help shape personality development.

Question 13

List the major theorists and concepts associated with biological theories

Answer 13

Eysenck’s extraversion-stability model is shown in Figure 13.12 . Note that the two basic
dimensions intersect at right angles, meaning that they are statistically independent, or
uncorrelated. The secondary traits shown in the circle reflect varying combinations, or
mixtures, of the two primary dimensions. Thus, we can see that the emotionally stable
extravert is a carefree, lively person who tends to be well adjusted and to seek out leadership
roles. In contrast, unstable extraverts tend to be touchy, aggressive and restless. The stable
introvert is calm, reliable and even-tempered, but the unstable introvert tends to be rigid,
anxious and moody. Different combinations of the two basic personality dimensions can thus
produce very diverse personality patterns.

He started with the notion that there
is an optimal, or preferred, level of biological arousal in the brain. Eysenck believed that
extreme introverts are chronically overaroused; their brains are too electrically active, so they
try to minimise stimulation and reduce arousal to get down to their optimal arousal level, or
comfort zone. In contrast, the brains of extreme extraverts are chronically underaroused, so
they need powerful or frequent stimulation to achieve an optimal level of cortical arousal and
excitation. The extravert thus seeks social contact and physical arousal, likes parties, takes
chances, is assertive and suffers boredom easily.

Whereas introversion-extraversion reflects a person’s customary level of arousal, stabilityinstability represents the suddenness with which shifts in arousal occur. Unstable people have
hair-trigger nervous systems that show large and sudden shifts in arousal, whereas stable
people show smaller and more gradual shifts (Pickering & Gray, 1999). Eysenck also called
this stability dimension neuroticism because he found that people with extremely unstable
nervous systems are more likely to experience emotional problems that require clinical
attention.
Eysenck proposed that the arousal patterns underlying introversion-extraversion and stabilityinstability have genetic bases. A growing body of evidence from twin studies supports his
view. Identical twins are much more alike on these traits than are fraternal twins, and about
half of the variance among people can be attributed to hereditary factors (Loehlin et al.,
1988; Plomin, 1997). Eysenck believed that although personality is strongly influenced by
life experiences, the ways in which people respond to those experiences may be at least partly
programmed by biological factors. Contemporary research using brain imaging continues to
find brain-activation patterns related to extraversion and stability. These studies show that the
neural bases of these factors go beyond general arousal, involving specific brain structures.

Temperament refers to individual differences in emotional and behavioural styles that appear so early in life that they are assumed to have a biological basis. Such temperamental
factors as emotionality, activity level, sociability and impulsivity are visible even in infancy. Temperamental factors are not assumed to be personality traits
in their own right, but they are viewed as biological building blocks that influence the
subsequent development of personality. The fact that these temperamental factors are more
highly correlated in identical than in fraternal twins suggests a genetic link.

Although biological factors are clearly
involved, the environment can also bring about some degree of change in temperamental
characteristics. We should remember that temperamentally based behaviour patterns help
create environments that can perpetuate the behaviour patterns. For example, people are
unlikely to gravitate toward shy, inhibited individuals, thereby depriving them of positive
experiences that might counteract their shyness. Likewise, temperamental traits may need
particular kinds of environments to express themselves.

Question 14

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of biological approaches to personality

Answer 14

Biological research, spurred by technical advances in measuring nervous system activity and
in evaluating genetic influences, is forging new frontiers in personality science. As we learn
more about how biological functions are affected by developmental experiences and how they
interact with situational factors, new insights about personality development will be achieved.

Behaviour genetics research on personality is moving in some exciting new directions. In the
past, twin studies of personality have typically examined degrees of similarity on self-report
measures of personality traits. Yet, as we have emphasised, personality characteristics act in
combination with situational factors. In a landmark study in Germany, Peter Borkenau and c
o-workers (2006) studied the role of genes and environment in person-by-situation
interaction patterns. The behaviours of 168 identical and 132 fraternal twins were carefully
observed and coded as each person reacted to 15 different situations, some involving social
encounters and others requiring problem-solving. By comparing the degree of similarity in
person-by-situation behavioural profiles across the 15 situations in the two types of twin
pairs, the researchers established that about 25 per cent of the variation in behavioural
profiles could be attributed to genetic factors. As in previous studies, shared-environment
effects were negligible. This study shows that genetic factors influence not only what people
say about their personality, but also how they adjust their behaviour to different situations.

Question 15

Describe how personality reflects learning and cognition

Answer 15

. They viewed
the human as a perceiver—a thinker and a planner who mentally interprets events, thinks
about the past, anticipates the future and decides how to behave. Environmental effects are
filtered through these cognitive processes and are influenced—even changed—by them. Soci
al-cognitive theories combine the behavioural and cognitive perspectives into an
approach to personality that stresses the interaction of a thinking human with a social
environment that provides learning experiences. Social-cognitive theorists believe that the
debate on whether behaviour is more strongly influenced by personal factors or by the
person’s environment is basically a meaningless one (Fleeson, 2004; Smith & Shoda, 2009).
Instead, according to the social-cognitive principle of reciprocal determinism , the
person, the person’s behaviour and the environment all influence one another in a pattern of
two-way causal links.
As an example, let us consider how these interactions or linkages might operate in the case of
a hostile and disagreeable man we’ll call Tom. Tom’s disagreeableness trait manifests itself in
an irritable, cynical and uncooperative behaviour pattern (his personality influences his
behaviour). Tom’s disagreeable behaviours tend to evoke negative responses from others (his
behaviour causes his social environment to respond to him in kind). These negative social
consequences reinforce and strengthen still further his personality trait (including his
expectations that others will eventually reject him), and they also strengthen his disagreeable
behaviour tendencies (his environment influences both his personality trait and his social
behaviour). Thus, Tom’s personality, his behaviour and his environment all influence one
another, much to his detriment.

Question 16

List the major theorists and concepts associated with social-cognitive theories

Answer 16

In 1954, Julian Rotter (whose name rhymes with motor) laid the foundation for today’s social-cognitive approaches. According to Rotter, the likelihood that we will engage in a
particular behaviour in a given situation is influenced by two factors: expectancy and
reinforcement value. Expectancy is our perception of how likely it is that certain
consequences will occur if we engage in a particular behaviour within a specific situation.
Reinforcement value is basically how much we desire or dread the outcome that we expect
the behaviour to produce. Thus, a student who strongly values academic success and also
expects that studying will result in high grades is likely to study. Note that this
approach makes use of reinforcement, a central behaviourist concept, but views its effects
within a cognitive framework that emphasises how we think about our behaviour and its
expected outcomes

One of Rotter’s most influential expectancy concepts is internal-external locus of
control , an expectancy concerning the degree of personal control we have in our lives.
People with an internal locus of control believe that life outcomes are largely under personal
control and depend on their own behaviour (Figure 13.15 ). In contrast, people with an
external locus of control believe that their fate has less to do with their own efforts than with
the influence of external factors, such as luck, chance and powerful others.

‘Internal’
university students achieve better grades than do ‘external’ students of equal academic ability,
probably because they link their studying to degree of success and work harder.

Albert Bandura: social learning and self-efficacy:
According to Bandura (1997), a key factor in how people regulate their lives is their sense of
self-efficacy , their beliefs concerning their ability to perform the behaviours needed to
achieve desired outcomes. People whose self-efficacy is high have confidence in their ability
to do what it takes to overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.

Four important determinants have been identified (Bandura, 1997). First
and most important is our previous performance experiences in similar situations. Such
experiences shape our beliefs about our capabilities.
Bandura stresses that self-efficacy beliefs are always specific to particular situations. Thus,
we may have high self-efficacy in some situations and low self-efficacy in others.
A second determinant of self-efficacy is observational learning—that is, observing others’
behaviours and their outcomes. If you observe a person similar to yourself accomplish a
particular goal, then you are likely to believe that if you perform those same behaviours you
will also succeed.
Third, self-efficacy can be increased or decreased by verbal persuasion. The messages we get
from other people who affirm our abilities or downgrade them affect our efficacy beliefs.
Thus, inspirational teachers who convey high standards and a ‘you can do it’ conviction can
inspire their students to great accomplishments.
Fourth, high emotional arousal that is interpreted as anxiety or fatigue tends to decrease self-efficacy. However, if we find ourselves able to control such arousal, it may enhance efficacy
beliefs and subsequent performance.

Walter Mischel and Yuichi Shoda: the cognitive-affective
personality system.
describe a cognitive-affective personality system (CAPS) , an organised system of
five personality variables that interact continuously with one another and with the
environment, generating the distinctive patterns of behaviour that characterise the person. This dynamic interplay among these five variables (encoding strategies,
expectancies and beliefs, goals and values, affects, and competencies and self-regulatory
processes), together with the characteristics of the situation, accounts for individual
differences among people, as well as differences in people’s behaviour across different
situations.

, people differ greatly in how they customarily encode
(mentally represent, categorise, interpret) situations. Our encodings determine how we
respond emotionally and behaviourally to situations

Behaviour-outcome expectancies represent the ‘if-then’ links between alternative behaviours and possible outcomes. If I take
that course in organic chemistry, then what will happen to my weighted average mark? How
likely is it that I’ll be forgiven if I apologise? Different people may have different
answers to such questions and therefore vary in their response to the same situation.

Goals and values
Motivation plays a central role in attempts to understand behaviour. It is represented in the
CAPS as goals and values that guide our behaviour, cause us to persist in the face of
obstacles and determine the outcomes and situations we seek and our reactions to them

Affects (emotions)
Anything that implies important consequences for us, whether beneficial or harmful, can
trigger an emotional response. . Once aroused, emotions colour our
perceptions and influence our behaviour. For example, if you are already feeling bad due to
an argument with a friend and you then get negative feedback in the form of a poor mark on a
test, you may feel demoralised for a time.

People’s ability to control their own behaviour is a distinguishing aspect of
personality, as are the competencies they develop that allow them to adapt to life successfully.
One important way people regulate their own behaviour is through self-administered
consequences. Self-regulation processes refer to internal, self-administered rewards and
punishments.

shows how the CAPS system (represented inside the circle) responds to
situations and generates behaviours. Features of the present situation are perceived and
encoded as a first step. In this case, assume that the four relevant features are of a potential
male dating partner. In this case, Feature 2 (a statement by the person that he has a very bad
temper) is encoded as a warning sign. This encoding evokes an expectancy that this man
might be potentially abusive and the woman experiences a negative emotional response and
another expectancy that this would not be a good relationship to get into. Together, these two
expectancies and the anxiety they arouse about getting into a relationship with this man evoke
a competent behavioural script for gracefully declining the date (Behaviour 1). This
behaviour should effectively end the encounter (path from Behaviour 1 back to the situation).
It is worth noting that if the woman had encoded a different feature of the man (for
example, Feature 4, how handsome he is), the cognitive-affective processes might
have led to Behaviour 2 (accept the date) because she highly values a handsome dating
partner, thereby leading to a different situation (involvement in the relationship). We see,
therefore, that it is the dynamic relations among the components of the CAPS that account for
the links between the ‘active ingredients’ of situations, personality processes and behaviour,
and that our ongoing behaviours feed back into and influence the situation in accordance with
the social-cognitive concept of reciprocal determinism. In this manner, the CAPS ties
together situations, personality, behaviours and their consequences. pg 89.

As a result of interactions between situations and the personality system, people exhibit
distinctive behavioural signatures , consistent ways of responding in particular classes of
situations. These behavioural signatures are the outward manifestation of personality that
establish a person’s unique identity.

Question 17

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of social-cognitive approaches to personality

Answer 17

A strength of the social-cognitive approach is its sound scientific base. It brings together two
perspectives that have strong research traditions: the behavioural and the cognitive. The
constructs of social-cognitive theory can be defined, measured and researched with considerable precision. As a result, the social-cognitive approach has advanced our
understanding of how processes within the person and characteristics of the situation interact
with one another to influence behaviour. Another strength is its ability to translate insights
derived from other perspectives into cognitive-behavioural concepts.
Social-cognitive theory also helps resolve an apparent contradiction between the central
assumption that personality produces stability in behaviour and research findings that
people’s behaviour is not very consistent across different situations (Funder, 2008). Mischel
and Shoda’s CAPS theory suggests that the inconsistency of a person’s behaviour across
situations is actually a manifestation of a stable underlying cognitive-affective personality
structure that reacts to certain features of situations. However, the ability of the CAPS to
predict specific behaviour needs further examination, and it will be challenging to measure
the numerous interactions among the CAPS components. Much more needs to be learned
about how the CAPS operates, but this question is being explored by many current
researchers (Cervone, 2005; Mischel et al., 2004). Another major challenge will be to find
out what active ingredients of situations cause people to encode them in similar ways, thereby
producing the consistencies in behaviour that constitute behavioural signatures (Ten-Berge et
al., 2002). The study of emotional and attachment-related information (Edelstein, 2006) in
this chapter’s ‘Research close-up’ is one attempt to identify the active stimulus ingredients of
a situation.
applied example pg97.

Question 18

Appreciate the importance of culture and socialisation on personality

Answer 18

Among the
most important, yet unappreciated, environmental and social influences is the culture in
which we develop. We are often unaware of these influences because they serve as an
amorphous background against which the specific events of our lives unfold. Culture
encompasses unstated assumptions (including assumptions about the very nature of reality),
norms, values, sex roles and habitual ways of behaving that are shared by members of a social
group. It influences what we perceive, how we perceive, how we relate to ourselves and
others, and how we behave. Cultural assumptions thus
provide a potential source of bias when conducting personality research. For instance, given
that personality theories have typically emerged from WEIRD cultures (Western, educated,
industrialised, rich and democratic countries), there are questions about whether these
theories are truly universal or are instead reflective of more European American contexts.

One is complexity. Consider how much more complex a
Western information-age culture is than a hunter-gatherer culture in a remote region of an
undeveloped country. Consider also how much more potential for diversity and conflict of
values and behavioural norms exists in a highly complex culture.

A second cultural dimension is tightness. In tight cultures, there are many rules about
behaviour, and those who deviate from the cultural norms, even in minor ways, are likely to
be punished. In Singapore, for example, adolescents are expected to adhere strictly to social
norms that forbid experimenting with alcohol, tobacco or sexual intercourse. As a result of explicit norms, people tend to differ less from one another in tight
cultures than they do in loose cultures, where diversity in beliefs, values and ‘doing your own thing’ is permitted or even encouraged. Loose cultures are most likely to occur where people
within a social group are not highly dependent on one another and where diversity is tolerated
or favoured.

Important personality differences have been found between people in individualistic and
collectivistic cultures, although we should emphasise that significant variation can be found
within any given culture. On average, only about 40 per cent of people within a particular
culture strongly embrace either individualistic or collectivistic goals

Question 19

Understand the interaction of biological, environmental and social influences on personality

Answer 19

Biological:
Global personality dispositions are shaped by evolutionary forces, and
individual differences in these dispositions occur because of
environmental forces that require particular adaptations (evolutionary
personality theory).
-Genetic factors account for significant heritability of most personality
variables (behaviour genetics).
-Individual differences exist in customary levels of cortical arousal and
speed of arousal shifts (Eysenck).
-Temperamental differences present from birth influence personality
development.

Environmental and social
-Early relationships with parents and other significant figures underlie
personality differences and working models of the world
(psychoanalytic, neoanalytic and object relations theorists).
-Environmental factors can support or interfere with the natural tendency
toward self-actualisation (humanistic theorists).
-Shared and (especially) unshared environments interact with genetic
predispositions, including temperament (behaviour genetics).
-Past social learning experiences, cultural learning and current situational
factors help create behavioural signatures (social-cognitive theorists)

PSYCHOLOGICAL LEVEL
-Psychodynamic processes involving impulse, defences, unconscious
conflicts and psychosexual developmental factors shape adult
personality (Freud).
-Object relations and attachment styles develop during childhood
-Personal constructs influence how the world is understood and
responded to (Kelly).
Behaviour is influenced by self-actualisation, the self-concept, self verification and self-enhancement processes (Rogers).

- Individual differences in behaviour are attributed to presumably stable
personality traits (trait theorists).

-Cognitive-affective person variables interact with situational and social
learning factors to create behavioural signatures (social-cognitive
theorists)

Question 20

Define the fundamental concept of test reliability

Answer 20

To be useful from either a
scientific or a practical perspective, personality tests must conform to the standards of
reliability and validity. Reliability, or consistency of measurement, takes several forms. A test
that measures a stable personality trait should yield similar scores when administered to the
same individuals at different times (test-retest reliability). Another aspect of reliability is that
different professionals should score and interpret the test in the same way (interjudge
reliability).

Question 21

Define the fundamental concept of test validity

Answer 21

Validity refers to the most important question of all: is the test actually measuring the
personality variable that it is intended to measure? A valid test allows us to predict behaviour
that is influenced by the personality variable being measured

Question 22

Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the major methods of personality assessment

Answer 22

Structured interviews contain a set of specific questions that are administered to every
participant. An attempt is made to create a standardised situation so that interviewees’
responses to more-or-less identical stimuli can be interpreted and compared. Such interviews
are frequently used to collect research data or to make a psychiatric diagnosis. Other
interviews are unstructured, with interviewers tailoring their questions to the particular
individual and situation. Good interviewers do not limit their attention to what an interviewee says; they also look at
how she or he says it. They note interviewees’ general appearance and grooming, their voice
and speech patterns, the content of their statements and their facial expressions and posture.
Sometimes, attitudes that are not expressed verbally can be inferred from behaviour, as in this
instance.

behavioural assessment , psychologists devise an
explicit coding system that contains the behavioural categories of interest. Then they train
observers until they show high levels of agreement (interjudge reliability) in using the coding
categories to record behaviour. Assessors may code the behaviour in live settings or they may
code recorded behaviour sequences. A staple of behaviourists, behavioural assessment can
provide valuable information about how frequently and under what conditions certain classes
of behaviour occur.

Through remote behaviour sampling , researchers and clinicians
can collect self-reported samples of behaviour from respondents as they live their daily lives.
A tiny computerised device resembling a mobile phone is used. The device pages respondents
at randomly determined times of the day. When the beeper sounds,
respondents rate or record their current thoughts, feelings or behaviours, depending on what
the researcher or therapist is assessing. Respondents may also report on
aspects of the situation they are in so that situation-behaviour interactions can be examined.
Remote sampling procedures can be used over weeks or even months to collect a large
behaviour sample across many situations.
Personality scales, or inventories, are widely used for assessing personality in both research
and clinical work. They are considered objective measures because they include standard sets
of questions, usually in a true-false or rating-scale format, that are scored using an agreed-on
scoring key.
. Their advantages include (1) the ability to collect
data from many people at the same time, (2) the fact that all people respond to the same items
and (3) ease of scoring. Their major disadvantage is the possibility that some people will
choose not to answer the items truthfully, in which case their scores will not be valid
reflections of the trait being measured. To combat this threat to validity, some widely used
tests have special validity scales that detect tendencies to respond in a socially desirable
manner or to present an overly negative image of oneself.

In the rational-theoretical
approach items are based on the theorist’s conception of the personality trait to be measured. For example, to develop a measure of introversion–extraversion.
e NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI), which measures the
Big Five personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and
neuroticism.

empirical approach , in which
items are chosen not because their content seems relevant to the trait on rational grounds, but
because each item has been answered differently by groups of people (e.g. introverts and
extraverts) known to differ in the personality characteristic of interest.

The Minnesota Multi
phasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) is a widely used personality test developed
according to the empirical approach.
pg119.

The Ro
rschach test consists of ten inkblots. The person being tested is shown each one in
succession and asked, ‘What does this look like? What might it be?

The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) consists of a series of pictures derived from paintings, drawings and magazine illustrations. In general, the pictures are less ambiguous
than the Rorschach inkblots, but they still require an interpretation. To illustrate, look at the
picture in Figure 13.26 , and then write a story that addresses the following questions: