chapter 2 (for exam 2) Flashcards
what is temperament
tendency to act in certain ways that are believed to be biologically based- have been observed in infants and toddlers
(seen in 3-4 months)
explain the biological basis for temperaments
different temperaments have different reactions in the brain to stimuli
explain collab between developmental and personality psych
recently there has been more collab
explain childhood behaviors that could be predictive of extraversion
- social inhibition (shyness, approaching new people)
- activity level (physically active)
explain childhood behaviors that could be predictive of neuroticism (susceptible to negative emotions)
-anxious distress (manifestations of anxiety, internal)
explain childhood behaviors that could be predictive of conscientousness
- attention (sustain attention, shift attention, and avoid distraction)
- persistence (in video, reaching for toy behind glass)
explain childhood behaviors that could be predictive of agreeableness
- aggression (innate capacity to be aggressive, some have it more than others)
- prosocial behavior (seem to help others more)
explain childhood behaviors that could be predictive of openness
-this is the one researchers are the most unsure about
1) stimulation seeking (tend to seek out noises, etc) might lead to wanting to seek out new environment and experiences
2) sensitivity to sensory stimulation might lead to aesthetic sensitivity
what are the three questions of interest when thinking about personality over time
1) how consistent are people over time?
2) how much do people change in general?
3) how and why do individuals develop in their own particular ways?
two aspects of personality development
1) continuity/consistency: amount of trait remains the same
2) change: amount of trait differs overtime
amount = where person falls on continuum
what is personality coherence and examples
stability in underlying personality trait, but a change in how it is behaviorally expressed
ex. delay of gratification: performance in marshmallow task, ability to quit smoking
ex. shyness: minimal interaction with others on playground, living at home longer as adult
ex. aggression: bullying as child, crime as adult
what does research suggest about people’s personalities overtime
personality is highly consistent
- strong correlations in overall personalities, most consistent in extraversion and least consistent in agreeableness
- researchers look at ages too (what ages have more change) and they found a mid-life personality stability
what are stability coefficients
correlations
-correlation between giving personality tests overtime, did meta-analyses (see chart in book- ranged from 3-25 years old)
sketch a general graph that shows personality overtime
on paper
why are people more stable in midlife
life changes in 20s and 80s, life is mainly stable in 40s
how consistent are personality measures (comparison)
as consistent as IQ, more than BP and cholesterol
what is normative change
similar changes in personality that affect most
-often occurs as people age
what are the normative changes that usually happen
- decrease in social vitality (energy, sociability)
- increase in assertiveness and self confidence
- agreeableness and conscientiousness increase
- emotional stability increases
- openness increases, stable, then decreases
graphs on slides
why do these normative changes in personality occur
maturation: process of becoming fully developed
- most people experience similar changes at certain times of life (work, relationships, parenting, etc)
- agreeableness and conscientiousness go up because you are progressing in the work force
- relationships could play into increase in agreeableness and emotional stability
- parenting with increase in conscientiousness
non-normative experiences
not everyone goes through the normative changes, leads to non-normative personality development
ex. looking at people with abnormal work behaviors, did not increase in conscientiousness, but did in neuroticism
explain positive and negative life events
people differ in how many of these they experience which effects personality
ex. more negative events associated with increase neuroticism and more positive events associated with increased emotional stability
explain study that explains if people are generally happy with their personalities
Hudson and Roberts (2014)
method: 102 undergrads completed multiple personality measures (correlational)
- big 5 measure
- desire to change within big 5 traits
- life satisfaction in various domains
results: found 85% wanted to change at least one aspect of personality
- amount of trait (1-5 scale)
- change goals of trait (-2 to 2 scale), people wanted to change conscientiousness and stability the most
so, people do want to change personalities
why do people want to change (study cont.)?
look at correlation between trait levels and change goals
- lower in extraversion, want to increase positive change, same across all of Big 5 (see chart)
- so, the lower someone is in a trait, the more they want it, want what they do not have
also looked at life satisfaction domains
- dissatisfaction in certain domains, associated with desire to change traits relative to those domains
ex. dissatisfaction with relationships = increase in extraversion - if you are unsatisfied with certain aspects of life you need a better personality
what is the mechanism for change in personality
state level changes (if sustained overtime) can possibly lead to trait level changes (which are more permanent)
