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PersonalitiesChapter01.pdf

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Chapter 1

Personality: What It Is And Why You

Should Care

Chapter Outline

• Take a look at the word • Personality and the social media • The role of race and gender in

shaping personality • The role of culture in shaping

personality • Assessing your personality

Chapter Outline (continued)

• Research in the study of personality • The role of theory in personality

theories • Questions about human nature: what

are we like?

Personality

• Dictionary definitions – State of being a person

– Characteristics and qualities that form a person’s distinctive character

– Sum total of a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and social characteristics

Personality (continued)

• Psychological definition – Unique and relatively enduring internal

and external aspects of a person’s character • They influence behavior in different situations

• Description is complex – Humans change according to different

situations and people

Questions on Personality and Social Media Interaction

Do people present their real selves on social media?

Does the use of social media influence or change one’s personality?

Does the use of social media differ with different personalities?

Personality and Social Media

• Personality includes how others see a person online

• Social media has a wide and a more instantly reachable audience

• Shapes and reflects personality

Role of Race, Gender, and Culture in Shaping Personality

• Race and gender – Personality theorists traditionally

consisted of white men of European and American heritage • Ignored ethnic and gender influences

• Culture – Cross-cultural psychology research • Conclusion shows that personality is formed

by genetic and environmental influences

Differences in Cultural Beliefs and Values

• Individualism versus collectivism – Impacts: • Child-rearing practices • Self enhancement - Tendency to promote

oneself aggressively and be conspicuous

Assessment in Personality Study

• Evaluation of personality – Used for diagnosis, education, counseling,

and research

• Principles of measurement – Reliability: Consistency of response to a

psychological assessment device – Validity: Extent to which an assessment

device measures what it is intended to measure

Assessment Methods

Self-report inventories

Online test administration

Projective tests

Clinical interviews

Behavioral assessment

Thought and experience

samples

Self-Report Inventories

• Subjects answer questions about their behaviors and feelings – Objective measure - Minnesota

Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)

Advantages

Objective scoring

Quick assessment

Disadvantages

Not suited for people who possess limited reading skills Tendency to provide socially desirable answers

Online Test Administration

• Advantages – Less time-consuming and expensive – Objective scoring – Accepted by younger employees – Prevents test takers from looking ahead

at questions and changing their answers

Projective Tests

• Projective techniques – Rorschach Inkblot Technique – Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) – Word association and sentence completion

• Interpretation is subjective – Reliability and validity of the tests are low

Clinical Interviews

• Involves asking relevant questions about:

• Past and present life experiences • Social and family relationships • Reasons for seeking psychological help

Advantage

Problem areas can be explored in detail

Disadvantage

Subjective

Behavioral Assessments

• Observer evaluates a person’s behavior in a given situation • Assessment occurs during clinical interview

Advantage

Provides valuable insights

Disadvantage

Less systematic

Thought and Experience Sampling

• Thought sampling – Records thoughts and moods in a systematic manner

• Provides a sample over a period of time

• Experience sampling – Participants are asked to describe social and environmental

context in which the experience being sampled occurs

Thought and Experience Sampling (continued)

• Relies on technological developments

Advantage

Determines how context influences thought and mood

Disadvantage Participant may forget to record activities Emotions and mood affect nature of information reported

Gender Issues in Assessment

• Personality assessment is influenced by gender – Assessment measures indicate

differential rates of diagnosis based on gender for emotional disorders

• Therapists may exhibit bias against women

Ethnic Issues in Assessment

• Asians – Less likely to seek help for emotional

problems • African Americans – Personality tests used are biased

Ethnic Issues in Assessment (continued 1)

• Hispanics – Less likely to seek psychological

treatment • Prefer to seek mental health advice from

their family physician

• Translation of personality tests – Slang and colloquial expressions – Problems arising from cross-culture

application

Personality Assessment Highlights

Asians tend to score: • High in collectivism • Low in assertiveness &

optimism

Hispanics tend to score: • High in collectivism • High in PTSD

symptoms following injuries

African- Americans tend to score: • Low on trust • Low on hopelessness

and depression (if they identify with Black cultural values)

• Low on self-esteem if they perceive discrimination against them

Personality Research Methods

Clinical method

Experimental method

Virtual research method

Correlational method

Clinical Method

• Case study: Detailed history of an individual – Contains data from various sources – Consistencies in the patient’s lives are

used by theorists to generalize their findings

– Advantage - Provides an in-depth view of one’s personality

Clinical Method (continued)

– Disadvantages • No precision and control of the experimental

and correlational methods • Subjective • Accuracy of childhood memories cannot be

checked

Experimental Method

• Involves determining effects of variables or events on behavior – An experimental situation is arranged by

psychologists Independent variable Dependent variable

Variable that is manipulated Variable that is measured

Experimental group Control group

Exposed to experimental treatment

Does not receive experimental treatment

Experimental Method (continued)

• Advantages – Well controlled and systematic

• Disadvantages – Safety and ethical reasons restrict

control over some aspects of personality and behavior

– Dependent variable is influenced by the subject’s attitude

Virtual Research Method

• Online test administration – Psychological tests, opinion surveys, and

subject responses to experimental stimuli

• Advantages – Fast responses – Inexpensive – Reaches broad range of subjects

Virtual Research Method (continued)

• Disadvantages – Sample may not represent the

population – Online test-takers may have different

characteristics from non-responders – Honesty and accuracy of data is

questionable

Correlational Method

• Measures the degree of relationship between two variables – Expressed by the correlation coefficient,

which ranges from -1.00 to +1.00

Advantage

Helps make predictions in the real world

Disadvantage

Cause and effect conclusions may be flawed

Theory in the Study of Personality

• Theory – Provides the framework to describe data in a meaningful way – Set of principles that must: • Be testable and capable of stimulating

research

• Be able to clarify and explain data by organizing those data into coherent framework

• Help understand behavior

Questions About Human Nature

• Free will or determinism? • Inherited nature or nurturing

environment? • Dependent or independent of

childhood? • Unique or universal? • Satisfaction or growth? • Optimism or pessimism?