Chapter 2: Intro to Personality Theory II

Question 1

What does LOTS (of data) stand for?

Answer 1

L- life record data
O- observer data
T- test data
S- self-report data

Question 2

what is life record data? Give an example

Answer 2

info from person’s life history/record
eg. student’s grades- when researching relation bw personality and school performance

Question 3

what is observer data? give an example

Answer 3

info provided by individuals who have observed target person who’s being assessed
eg. parents, friends, coworkers, teachers of target person

Question 4

what is test data?

Answer 4

(gold standard) info from experimental procedures that measure people’s performance on a task
-implicit measures bc participants unaware of personality aspect

Question 5

example of test data

Answer 5

marshmallow test for kids- ability for impulse control (wait to receive reward)

Question 6

what is an example of self reported data

Answer 6

questionnaires, surveys

Question 7

what are the limitations of self reported data

Answer 7

-response bias (overreport positive, underreport negative)
-diff cultures define words differently
-unaware of their own psychol. characteristics

Question 7

what is the advantage of self reported data

Answer 7

-convenience (in person or online)
- easy to obtain

Question 8

what kind of research is generally conducted using life record data?

Answer 8

correlational research

Question 9

what is a limitation for observational data

Answer 9

based on assumptions, not 100%

Question 10

what are contemporary developments in personality research?

Answer 10

• lanugage and social media
• computerized text analysis methods

Question 11

what is a fixed measure?

Answer 11

the exact same measures are administered to all the people in a study ; scores computed in the same way
- most common method in personality psych.

Question 12

what are the pros of fixed measures?

Answer 12

objective, simple

Question 13

what are the cons of fixed measures?

Answer 13

-some items may be irrelevant to some of ppl taking the test
-features of personality that are not on the test

Question 14

what is a flexible measure? give an example

Answer 14

unstructured personality tests
eg. let ppl describe themselves in own words

Question 15

define nomothetic

Answer 15

fixed measures that are applied in the same manner to all persons

Question 16

define idiographic

Answer 16

flexible assessment techniques that are tailored to the particular individual being studied

Question 17

what are 2 types of evidence (bio evidence) about brain functioning that are valuable?

Answer 17

• electroencephalography (EEG)
  -fMRI

Question 18

how does EEG work?

Answer 18

electrodes placed on scalp- detect neurons

Question 19

how does fMRI work?

Answer 19

uses imaging for blood flow to different parts of brain during task performance

Question 20

what is a personality assessment?

Answer 20

any standardized procedure for learning about an individual’s personality/measuring differences in personality among people in a population

Question 21

what guides the choice of assessment technique?

Answer 21

theory

Question 22

what are the 4 targets of assessment in personality psychology?

Answer 22

-average behaviour
- variability in behaviour
- conscious thought
- unconscious mental events

Question 23

define reliability

Answer 23

extent to which observations can be replicated; whether measures are dependable/stable

Question 24

what factors impacts reliability

Answer 24

-psychological state -carelessness in scoring test -ambiguous rules for interpreting scores -mood, motivation, age, location of test, etc.

Question 25

how is reliability measured?

Answer 25

using: - internal consistency -test-retest reliability - inter-rated reliability

Question 26

what is internal consistency?

Answer 26

do different items on the test correlate with one another, as one would expect if each is a reflection of a common psychological construct?

Question 27

what is test-retest reliability?

Answer 27

if people take the test at 2 different times, do their scores correlate with one another?

Question 28

what is inter-rated reliability

Answer 28

different results with different researcher eg. one researcher was really hot so your personality is "different"

Question 29

define validity

Answer 29

extent to which observations reflect phenomenon of interest in a given study - are you measuring what you say you're measuring?

Question 30

what do ethical principles encompass?

Answer 30

-treatment of participants -interpretation and presentation of results -reduction of personal and social bias

Question 31

what is a case study

Answer 31

in depth analysis of individual cases - idiographic approach

Question 32

what are the 3 general approaches to research?

Answer 32

-personality questionnaires & correlational research - case studies & clinical research -lab studies & experimental research

Question 33

what is the stereotype threat (Claude Steele)?

Answer 33

if person is member of group where there's a stereotype, and if the person thinks of the stereotype, becomes threatened that they might confirm the stereotype

Question 34

what are the key features of controlled experiments?

Answer 34

-participants assigned at random -one or more variables manipulated -can conclude variable causality

Question 35

what is the correlation coefficient

Answer 35

stat used to gauge degree to which 2 variables and measures are linearly related

Question 36

what are the strengths of questionnaires & correlation research?

Answer 36

-study wide range of variables -study relationships among many variables -large samples easily obtained

Question 37

what are the limitations of questionnaires & correlation research?

Answer 37

-establish association, not causal -problems of reliability and validity of self report questionnaires -individuals not studied in depth

Question 38

what are the strengths of lab studies & experiment. research?

Answer 38

-manipulate specific variables -objective data - establish cause & effect

Question 39

what are the limitations of lab studies & experiment. research?

Answer 39

-exclude phenomena that can't be studied in lab -artificial setting that limits generality of findings -foster demand characteristics and experimenter expectancy effects

Question 40

what are the strengths of case studies & clinical research?

Answer 40

-avoid artificial lab -study full complexity of person environment relationships -lead to in depth study of person

Question 41

what are the limitations of case studies & clinical research?

Answer 41

-lead to systematic observation -encourage subjective interpretation of data -do not establish causal relationships