Types, Traits and Interactionism Flashcards

Question

Eysenck started with personality described in ancient scripts: Emotionally unstable extrovert

Answer 1

``` Choleric: Active Optimistic Impulsive Changeable Excitable Aggressive Restless Touchy ```

Answer 2

- Liveliness - Dominance - Excitement - Sociability

Answer 3

- Depression - Moodiness - Anxiety

Answer 4

- Impulsive - Manipulative - Hostile

Answer 5

Interpersonal Circle (Wiggens, Phillips, & Trapnell, 1989) Assumes that core traits derive from those that concern interpersonal functioning Two core traits Dominance (Dominant Submissive) Love (Cold-hearted Warm-agreeable) Like Eysenck’s view, individual differences arise from combinations of the two dimensions

Answer 6

- Had a theoretical/research basis for approach - First to extensively examine classification system - Secondary traits; many of them, least important - Central traits; are the 5-10 traits that best describe personality - Cardinal traits; some individuals are dominated by a single all-important trait. - Functional Autonomy; behaviour that is acquired for one set of motives to be satisfied that are later used to satisfy another motive

Answer 7

- Statistical technique for reducing large numbers of intercorrelations into basic underlying dimensions - Patterns of commonality (covariance) between descriptors indicate underlying traits - Results of factor analysis can shed light on the structure of personality - Caveat:What you get out of a factor analysis depends on what you put in

Answer 8

- Personality is described in hundreds of different ways; many of which refer to similar characters - FA is a tool used to make sense of these adjectives. - Based on correlation, FA looks at how all items entered into an equation covary (to what extent all pairs of variables relate to each other). - Next, a factor extraction of the correlation matrix essentially sorts out and groups variables based on patterns of covariation. - The factors that emerge are then labeled.

Answer 9

1. In uncertain times I usually expect the best. 2. If something can go wrong for me, it will. 3. I’m always optimistic about my future. 4. I hardly ever expect things to go my way. 5. I rarely count on good things happening to me. 6. Overall, I expect more good things to happen to me than bad Questions: Which questions group together? How many factors are there? Describe/label the factors

Answer 10

Empirical Approach Demonstrated by Raymond Cattell Language has evolved to describe the basic qualities of human nature Started with 4500 words (already reduced by Allport & Odbert 1936) He applied a Lexical Criteria: notion that important qualities will have more adjectives to describe them than less important ones. Factor analyzed 171 trait names Resulted in 16 primary factors of personality such as relaxed vs tense and trusting vs vigilent Created the 16PF which is still widely used

Answer 11

Growing body of evidence suggests there are five basic superordinate traits Disagreement about the exact nature of the 5 traits Why? Factor analysis is used to identify factors Labeling of factors is subjective Results depend heavily on the items you start with

Answer 12

- Anxiety - Hostility - Self-consciousness - Impulsive - Vulnerable

Answer 13

- Warmth - Gregarious - Assertive - Activity - Excitement seeker - Postive emotion

Answer 14

- Fantasy - Aesthetics - Feelings - Actions - Ideas - Values

Answer 15

- Trust - Straight-forwardness - Alturism - Compliance - Modesty - Tender-mind

Answer 16

- Competence - Order - Dutiful - Achievement striving - Self-discipline - Deliberation

Answer 17

EXTRAVERSION (Sociability) Other labels: Social adaptability; Assertiveness; Surgency Relevant life domain: Power Reflected through behavioral and affective channels Common adjectives: Gregarious • Energetic • Timid (-) Outspoken • Seclusive (-) • Energetic

Answer 18

AGREEABLENESS Other labels: Conformity; friendly compliance; likeability Relevant life domain: Love Reflected through behavioral, affective, and cognitive channels Common adjectives: Friendly • Considerate • Spiteful (-) Kind • Cold (-) • Good-natured

Answer 19

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS Other labels: Responsibility; will to achieve Relevant life domain: Work Reflected mostly through cognitive channels Common adjectives: Cautious • Planful • Frivolous (-) Serious • Careless (-) • Hard-working

Answer 20

EMOTIONALITY (Neuroticism) Other labels: Emotional control; emotional lability Relevant life domain: Affect Reflected through affective channels Common adjectives: Nervous • Anxious • Calm (-) Excitable • Composed (-) • High-strung

Answer 21

OPENESS TO EXPERIENCE Other labels: Culture; inquiring intellect; intelligence Relevant life domain: Intellect Reflected mostly through cognitive channels with some affect and behavior input Common adjectives: Imaginative • Creative • Unreflective (-) Polished • Simple (-) • Knowledgeable Factor with least consensus about meaning

Answer 22

Are all traits included? What about evaluative words (e.g., good, bad, excellent, evil) Including these words may create 2 more factors (positive and negative valence) What is the best level of specificity? Perhaps 2 higher-order factors (socialization from N, A, & C and personal growth from E & O) Lower-order facets are more predictive of many socially significant behaviors Dimensions beyond the big 5 (Saucier & Goldberg, 1998, Paunonen Jackson, 2000 etc)

Answer 23

*Some say “No” -Behaviour across contexts tends to vary -Low association between trait self-reports and behavior -Walter Mischel’s personality coefficient (r ≈ .30) *Why low correlations? -Faulty trait self-reports of personality -Faulty measurement of behaviour As many items test a trait but behaviour usually only has 1 measure, correlations will be low so Aggregation of behavior (measure behaviour more than once and combine data) is a solution; Epstein, 1979)

Answer 24

Situationism was a major attack on trait theory * Assumption: - Situations really drives behavior - Differences in personality are irrelevant * Data don’t support this position - measures used were different so a re-analysis of this view turning data into correlations found… - Both approaches share similar correlations (e.g., 3)

Answer 25

``` Assumption: Differences in personality and situations interact to cause behaviour Suggests an “Analysis of Variance” view of behavior Example: Effect of personality on behaviour “depends on” strong vs. weak situations ```

Answer 26

* People vary in strength of dispositions - Self-monitoring - -High self-monitors get situational cues from environment - -Low self-monitors don’t monitor situational cues - Implication for self-monitoring on association between personality and behaviour? * People vary in consistency of specific traits - Bem & Allen study - -Association between a personality trait and behaviour is higher in people who see themselves as being consistent on the trait

Answer 27

- Personality influences the situations people choose to enter (e.g., church, scuba diving, work, even marriage partners) - People evoke different responses from others Result: Personality can influence situations such that the situation is actually different

Answer 28

When analysis is restricted to examination of carefully conducted studies, coefficient is somewhat higher ``` Size of correlation is limited by the fact that behaviour is multiply-determined Example: -Extraversion -Self-consciousness -Trait anxiety - Ask for a date? ```

Answer 29

-Personality is linked to behaviour only when in a situation that brings it out. - Patterns of linkages between situations and actions vary among people - -Represent individuality, uniqueness - -Differences represent idiographic differences in trait expression - -Strong and weak situations - -Hedges

Answer 30

Represents an important focus of the trait perspective. Mostly self-report in nature Frequently evaluate multiple indicators Often used to create a personality “profile”

Answer 31

* What potential problems are there in investigating and/or finding cultural differences in personality? - Ethics: problem not in the facts but in what some people may do with that e.g., discrimination, oppression and even genocide - Conceptual problems: individual characterisations versus cultural characterisations - Empirically: ethnocentric & xenophobic bias

Answer 32

- 50 cultures; college/university students - Observer ratings – no self-report bias - Rated adults or students (2 groups) they know well on the NEO-PI-R - FA supported structure on most cultures (replicated or at least recognition)

Answer 33

Mid-19th Century Adolf Bastian proposed the idea of the “psychic unity of mankind” - thought all humans were a single species & must therefore share all basic cognitive and psychological characteristics. More recent anthropologists unwilling to root psychology so deeply in biology & argue culture shapes psychology. Data from this paper largely confirms recent findings of universality in trait psychology in a new sample of cultures using a different method of measurement, give strong support to Bastian’s hypothesis of psychic unity, and could be interpreted as evidence of the biological basis of personality traits Paper provided cross-cultural evidence of gender differences in person perception, showing that women are more positive than men in their assessments of others, especially other women.

Answer 34

Observer ratings vs self report ratings | T-scores

Answer 35

49 cultures Asked to complete 30 items reflecting FFM facets Overlayed stereotypes with the NEO results from the previous 2 papers

Answer 36

Biological evidence for personality dimensions Empirical evidence (FA), lexical criteria Ease of measurement & parsimonious & thus comparisons between individuals can be made Shortcut for information Cultural universality? Subtleties may be lost Doesn’t attempt to explain causality Personality profiling (good or bad?)

Types, Traits and Interactionism Flashcards

(60 cards)