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PSYC3026 MIDSEM
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- 1TEXTBOOK DEFINITION OF PERSONALITY (Allport)An individual's personality consists of characteristic patterns of behavior, thought, or emotional experience that exhibit relative consistency across time and situations
- 2Mischel and Shoda definition of personalityPersonality is “a stable system that mediates how the individual selects, construes and processes social information and generates social behaviours
- 3Theory of personalityo The conceptualization of personality is often a major aspect of a theory of personality
- 4What are some opposing facets of personality theory- Relatively changing/ unchanging
-Most important influences on human behaviour are past/ future events
- Human nature is essentially constructive/ destructive
- Main reason for own behaviour are own internal personality traits/ social factors outside your control
- People learn best when they are motivated by reward/ punishment - 5What does a good systematic explanation of personality involve?- Structure of personality
- Causes of personality
- Consequences of personality - 6What are some meta-theoretical issues in studying personality?o Related to the idea of human nature (what it is, eg. whether its rational or irrational)
o Related to the “right” method of study - 7Because personality is so complex, personality theories need to be....?SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE
Because it is so impractical to use the underlying physical laws to predict human behavior, we adopt what is called an effective theory.” (Hawking & Mlodinow, 2010) - 8Personality theories are meant to be based on what?a set of logical and interconnected principles, which can be empirically tested
- 9Why do we need research methods?- They are tools of critical thinking
- In order to be more certain that our thinking about personality is correct, we need to get evidence
• Common sense --> Philosophy --> Philosophy of Science --> Scientific method--> Research Methods --> Applications in Personality Psychology - 10A scientific personality theory must be... 8 points1. Be parsimonious (simpler theories, not complicated)
2. Be comprehensive (explain multiple personality traits)
3. Be logically consistent
4. Be testable and verifiable
5. Be supported with empirical evidence
6. Be plausible
7. Have well-defined concepts, which can be operationalized
8. Be clear and precise
AND based on observational data - 11What is the refutability criterion?Refutability (or falsifiability) – a scientific theory must state what
observational data should be possible AND what observational data should not be possible
- Developed by Popper in response to theories by Freud etc - 12Science vs pseudoscienceArgued that if you have a theory that cannot be falsified then it is a pseudoscientific theory, therefore not a real theory
- 13Example of refutability People do A because of the trait 1
If this is true, then the observational data B should be possible, but the observational data C should not be possible
Study finds that the observational data B were indeed possible, but the observational data C were
not
→ The theory has been corroborated, but has not been
proven true!
✔ A theory can never be proven true because we cannot fully predict the future - 14What is the weakness of Freud and Adler's personality theories?Every behaviour could be explained in light of Freud's and Adler's theories of
personality – this strong explanatory power is the weakness of these theories (Popper)(weakness is that they supposedly can explain everything)
--> fail to provide what observational data should not be possible - 15Personality change: The plaster hypothesis (William James)• After approximately the age of 30, it is impossible to change personality
• Cause of stability: Our biological characteristics become formed and rigid, and our personality development is finished - 16Plasticity hypothesisOur personality is malleable and can change throughout life
Cause of change: We can change personality because of life experiences, social influences (e.g., new roles, interacting with others), or working on ourselves (e.g., insight, psychotherapy) - 17How to test plaster and plasticity hypotheses? Define personality and define personality change
• Operationalize both
Conduct one or more studies
Analyse the data
Is the plaster hypothesis corroborated?
Is the plasticity hypothesis corroborated? - 18Personality change basic infoMost personality psychologists agree that there is a lot of personality change during childhood and adolescence
The disagreement seems to be related to what happens in adulthood
Personality change is primarily relevant to trait theorists --> refers to change in personality traits
• Therefore, the core refers to personality traits
✗ The Big Five - 19Absolute continuity (mean-level stability)- Absolute continuity measures the consistency of a trait in a group. If a group scores high on a trait and scores high on the same trait again 10 years later, they would show high absolute continuity.
--> investigate with (comparing first test and second test)
• Analysis of variance (repeated measures)
• T-test (paired-samples)
NO PERSONALITY CHANGE IF YOU GET ABSOLUTE AND DIFFERENTIAL CONTINUITY - 20Differential continuity (rank-order stabilityrefers to the individuals placement in a group with regards to their score on a particular trait.
Related to The correlation coefficient – r
✔ Test-retest correlation – the correlation of the scores at time 1 and time 2
- wanna see the correlation between your scores now and 10 years later eg. if the correlation is 1, there is perfect correlation --> there is no rank order instability --> element of personality stability - 21Personality change: Roberts et al. (2006); Meta-Analysis of 92 Longitudinal StudiesLooks at absolute continuity
A lot of change
Openness seems to increase from 10-18, 18-22, but doesn’t really change later on, and then decreases 70+
Agreeableness keeps slightly increasing as they age - 22Roberts and DelVecchio (2000); Meta-Analysis of 152 Longitudinal StudiesRelated to correlational coefficients and differential continuity
A lot of instability when people are younger, more and more stability when they age when it comes to rank ordering of individuals on a particular trait
But none of these ever approach 1 --> can be sure based on these many studies that there is no differential continuity present either, therefore personality changes - 23What to do about imperfect data in psychology?Three alternatives:
1. Reject all kinds of data – given their imprecision
2. Decide that certain kinds of data are better than other kinds of data
3. Try to do something with the data you have – knowing that your conclusions might never be perfect - 24Describe the three different types of research: correlational, experimental and case studies Correlational research
• Individual differences are central
• Treatment or situations are usually peripheral
Experimental research
• Treatment or situations are central
• Individual differences are usually peripheral
Case studies
• A single individual is central
NEED FOR MULTIMETHOD APPROACH - 25What is the meaning of the correlation coefficientA correlation coefficient (r) expresses the nature of and the degree to which two sets of scores are
related
r=0 no correlation
r= .5 positive correlation
r= -.7 negative correlation - 26What is validitythe extent to which the test measures what it is meant to measure
- 27Content validitywhether all the relevant facets of a particular construct are being included in the test (eg. if measuring narcissism, must include all the different subtraits of narcissism are being included) (would ask experts if all the facets are being included)
- 28Criterion validity - Concurrent - Predictivedoes our measure predict this particular criteria or not
• Concurrent validity: when you have a different kind of measure that measures a very similar construct, administer your test and this test at the same time and if they correlate there is concurrent validity (AT THE SAME TIME)
• Predictive validity: if your test predicts well how the variable will act in the future (FUTURE) - 29Construct validity - Convergent - Discriminantrelated to theory, does your test appropriately measure a particular theoretical construct
if it does can locate it within this particular Nomological network (causes and consequences)
• Convergent validity : relates to whether there is a significance between your measure and other theoretically related measures
• Discriminant validity : whether there is no relation to other theoretically unrelated measures - 30What is reliabilitywhether a particular measure reliably measures a particular construct
- 31Inter-rater reliabilityIt is a score of how much homogeneity or consensus exists in the ratings given by various raters
- 32Alternate-form reliabilitywhen the same participants are tested with two different versions of the same test, whether there is strong correlation
- 33Split-half reliabilitywhen you split a test in half and see if there’s reliability between two halves
- 34Inter-item consistency(Kuder-Richardson reliability and coefficient alpha): want to see how much the items are correlated with each other, look at all interactive correlations, if score is higher than .7, then its reliable
- 35Compare reflective and formative measures Reflective measures
• Reflect an underlying construct
• Require reliability coefficients
Formative measures
• Form a construct
• Do not require reliability coefficients - 36Outline informal (non-scientific) personality assessment Self-assessment
• Can be accurate
• Insight, self-understanding
• (accuracy can have) Implications for psychological well-being and life outcomes
Assessment of others
• Implications for our and other people's behaviour and self-views
• Can be accurate – even with minimal information
• But it can be inaccurate and affected by many biases as well as highly superficial features - 37Effects of extended phenotype on personality assessment Etcoff et al. 2011One condition: people saw faces for 250ms
In the other could look at faces for as long as they want
25 different women’s faces: 4 conditions
- model had no makeup
- model had natural makeup
- model had professional makeup
-model had glamourous makeup
Makeup had effect on attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness and attractiveness
When people looked at faces for longer time, attractiveness and competence went up again
Main result: makeup will have an effect on perception, not surprising that it increased attractiveness, but surprising that it had an effect on the other outcomes - 38Can personality be assessed scientifically?• Yes – but not unique personality, which cannot be studied by scientific methods
• Science attempts to understand the general, not the unique
• Nomothetic (general laws, personality traits) vs. idiographic (unique personality) approach - 39Compare nomothetic vs idiographic approachbook
- 40the two different kinds of science Popper outlines✔ Historical sciences → study the particular/individual
✔ Generalising sciences → study the general
Can use science to study both the individual and the general - 41what are psychometrics• A scientific study of the measurement of individual differences – including personality
- 42What are negatively keyed items in a personality questionnaireItems that oppose the construct
- 43What is MACH-IV Mach-IV is an objective measure of a single personality characteristic (Machiavellianism)
✔ Measures a personality that has a highly manipulative, cynical, controlling, and cold approach to interpersonal interactions and morality; absence of psychopathology
✔ The measure has been found to be reliable and valid, and has been widely used in research
Mach IV is usually included as a measure of one of the Dark Triad personality traits
Treated as unidimensional, though the test developers assumed that there are three facets: tactics, views, and morality - 44Monaghan, Bizumic and Sellbom (2016)investigated:
• The dimensionality of the Mach-IV
• Samples:
✔ Cross-sectional sample: 1478 US participants
Longitudinal sample: 218 Australian participants
• Major finding: there are only really 10 items that distinguish these 2 dimensions (tactics and views)
• Machiavellin views and machievellin tactics represent 2 dimensions
• Views tended to be much more strongly related to many domains of psychopathology than tactics
• Being machiavellin can translate in many forms of psychopathology - 45Monaghan, Bizumic and Sellbom (2018)investigated:
• The nomological network of the two dimensions of Machiavellianism across 15 samples (N = 17,004) in five countries (Korea, Australia, the US, Hungary, and Canada)
✔ The two dimensions again existed across samples, and they had numerous correlates, a number of which were specific to each dimension
E.g., the views dimension related uniquely to higher neuroticism and lower self-esteem - 46Cross cultural support for studiesMales are higher in mach tactics, seems to be the case across many studies
Males also higher in mach views --> Some bio explanations suggest that males genetically predisposed to being more self-centered - 47MACH-IV and the TDMS consist of...• Positive (or protrait) items
• Negative (or contrait) items - 48What is the acquiescence bias A response bias where participants tend to agree or disagree with items regardless of their content
Certain participants may agree (or disagree) with items that are contrary to each other - 49what are some other response biases Deviation
- Participants tend to respond in a very unusual, unexpected and odd way
Social desirability
Participants respond in such a way to present themselves in a more favourable light
✔ Paulhus: BIDR (measure) (Inventory of Desirable Responding)
Two subscales
✗ Self deception
● E.g., “I don't care what other people really think of me.”
✗ Impression management (people know that they’re lying but present themselves in a more positive light - 50What is the extreme responding biasParticipants tend to respond in a more extreme way than others
- culture can affect extremity of responses - 51What is the Omnibus TestThe Personality Research Form (PRF) - widely used
Douglas Jackson
20 personality variables (originally defined by Murray, 1938) + 2 validity scales
Different versions
✔ Each containing hundreds of True/False items
✔ A very comprehensive measurement of personality - 52What are the two types of scales in the Omnibus testBipolar scales (include both items that measure a particular construct and the opposite of that construct)
✔ Dominance (opposite construct is submissiveness)
✗ Attempts to control environment and to influence or direct others; enjoys the role of leader
✔ Social recognition
✗ Desires to be held in high esteem by acquaintances; concerned about reputation and what others think works for approval - 53What are the two types of scales in the Omnibus Test✔ Validity scales:
✗ Infrequency
● Responds in implausible or pseudo-random manner
✗ Desirability
● Describes self in terms judged as - 54Why is the Omnibus Test a good personality test Reliability
✔ Strong and extensive evidence
✗ E.g., the median reliability of .91 for two sittings over two weeks
Validity
✔ Strong and extensive evidence
✗ E.g., positive relationships with conceptually similar variables and no relationships with conceptually unrelated variables - 55What are the methods of test construction for objective tests? Rational
• E.g., the PRF
Empirical
• E.g., the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)
Factor Analytic
• E.g., the IPIP measure of the Big Five personality traits (Lab 2) - 56What are some applications for objective tests?• Research
• Personnel selection
• Clinical applications
• Self-understanding - 57What is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) Henry Murray
Investigates the main unconscious needs, emotions and conflicts of a personality
Test Material: a set of standard pictures + one blank card, which call for constructing a story
Participants invent a story for each card and psychologists interpret the stories, by
focusing on internal and external variables and themes across stories
Attributes of the heroes may often represent personality tendencies in the participant
Attributes in the environment often represent forces in the participant's environment - 58What is the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank Semi-structured projective test
• Participants are asked to complete sentences, such as:
✔ The happiest time …
✔ Other people …
✔ I secretly …
Rigorous systematic scoring
✔ High reliability and validity
Criticism
✔ Not deep enough for many clinicians! - 59Why are projective tests used less than objective tests?- Clinicians more likely to use them than researchers
- Issues with their validity and reliability - 60What is Allport's definition of a trait“a generalized and focalized neuropsychic system (peculiar to the individual) with the
capacity to render many stimuli functionally equivalent, and to initiate and guide consistent
(equivalent) forms of adaptive and expressive behavior” - 61Allport's features of traits• have more than nominal existence → they really exist and are not mere descriptions
• are more generalized than habits
• are individual neuropsychic systems
• exist despite “acts, and even habits, that are inconsistent with a trait”
• exist in a unique way in one personality (idiographic approach) and are distributed in the population (nomothetic approach)
• can be studied and established statistically and empirically - 62How can factor analysis reduce the complexity of many traits? A mathematical procedure that can reduce a large number of correlations to a smaller number of factors
→ Latent variables that cause the intercorrelations
Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis
• Initially exploratory factor analysis was widely used
✔ With powerful computers, we can now use a confirmatory factor analysis to test specific hypotheses - 63Exploratory factory analysis (EFA)Exploratory factor analysis is a method for finding latent variables in data, usually data sets with a lot of variables.
- 64Confirmatory Factory Analysis (CFA)Related to hypothesis testing
The researcher specifies elements of a theoretical model
then conducts a study to examine her/his hypotheses
• In relation to many aspects of model fit
If there is a good fit between the model and data → model/ theory is corroborated - 65Five Factors - Early Approaches + most influential researchersMcDougall (1932)
• “Personality may to advantage be broadly analyzed into five distinguishable but separate factors”
Most influtential researchers today
• Robert McCrae
• Lewis Goldberg
• Paul Costa - 66Five Factors Broad consensus for five factors
Different approaches – the same solution
• Peer ratings
• Self-reports
✔ Traits
✔ Questionnaire items – e.g., from the NEO-PI-R
• Expert ratings
• Personality disorder symptoms
Five factors – broad (bipolar) dimensions
• Better seen as groups of similar personality traits than unitary traits - 67What are the five factor theory's (McCrae & Costa, 2008) assumptions about human nature• Knowability: we can study individuals using scientific methods
• Rationality: people are rational and they can understand other people, their reports are useful because they know who they are
• Variability: people tend to differ from each other in meaningful and consistent ways
• Proactivity: we have these internal dispositions that can shape our behaviour and life (contrary to the idea that people are just passive and react to the world around them) - 68What are the Five Factor Theory's traits-Neuroticism
-Extraversion
- Conscientiousness
- Openness to Experience
- Agreeableness - 69Five Factor Theory - 5 basic tendenciesAbstract basic tendencies include a wide range of characteristics, such as language abilities and the five basic traits
• Every adult has a standing on each trait
✔ 5-dimensional space
• They are internally caused, heritable and generally unaffected by the environment
Their development is characterised by biological change
• They are “relatively stable”
Traits have a hierarchical structure
✔ Higher-order, broad and general Big 5 traits
✔ Lower-order, narrow and specific traits
✔ 30-dimensional space - 705 basic tendencies Characteristic adaptations
• Are not traits
• Include various beliefs, plans, goals, roles, habits, etc. - as well as the self-concept (who am I?)
• Caused by the interaction between the basic tendencies and external influences
Behaviour (and more broadly objective biography)
• Caused by the interaction between characteristic adaptations and external influences - 71Kosinski et al (2013) "Can Facebook Likes reveal your personality" Method:
58,000 participants provided their Facebook “Likes”, demographic information, and the
results of psychometric tests (including IPIP personality traits → Lab 2)
Results:
The Facebook likes significantly predicted personality profiles of participants – as well as demographic information - 72Youyou et al (2015) "Are computers better judges of personality than humans?" Method:
86,220 participants completed the 100-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Five-Factor
Model of personality questionnaire
Computer-based personality judgements, based on Facebook Likes, were obtained for 70,520 participants
A sample of participants were judged by one friend; and a sample of participants were judged by two friends
Results:
Computers average accuracy tended to increase the more facebook likes you had
Computers almost as good as spouses at predicting personality - 73Strengths of the Five Factor Model Highly influential
✔ The dominant model of personality today
Very parsimonious
✔ Reduced enormous complexity
✔ Useful to organize data
Has generated a lot of research
✔ Mainly supportive
Empirical support
✔ Cross-cultural and longitudinal support
✔ Support from various kinds of data
✔ Produced, and is based on, reliable and valid measures - 74Limitations of the Five Factor Theory- doesn't consider situations and is somewhat reductionist
- personality is tangible and we are using language to describe it
- not a lot of consensus when it comes to the subtraits - 75Situationist critique of the trait approach Traits weakly predict people's behaviour
Situations are the primary determinants of people's behaviour
Situations are more important than individual differences
• Social psychology has traditionally been a situationist discipline
Stability in individual behaviour
• Is due to stability in external situations
• Unstable external situations create unstable individual differences
There are no internal traits that drive people's behaviour - 76Problems with situationism No agreement on how to define, describe, and measure situations
The variance that situations explain in behaviour is usually not high
• Similar to the amount of variance that traits explain
Traits predict behavioural trends (across situations), not necessarily a particular behaviour in a particular situation
Personality may predispose people to be in particular situations
Different individuals can perceive the same objective situation in vary different ways
• These perceptions relate to these individuals' personality
Situations in labs are often artificial and may not allow participants to express their personality - 77Resolution between trait approach and situationismBOTH MATTER
Additive
• Both situations and traits explain a certain amount of variance in behaviour
Problem
✔ One discipline's subject matter is another discipline's error variance (Cronbach, 1957; Meehl, 1976 - 78What is the approach that is the solution between trait approach and situationism?INTERACTIONISM
To predict behaviour, we need to understand situations, traits, and their interaction
Different kinds of interactionism
E.g., mechanistic:
✔ Explanatory variables:
✗ Manipulated variable: Situation
✗ Measured variable: Trait
✗ Their interaction term
✔ Outcome variable:
✗ Behaviour - 79Problems with interactionism Interactions are usually very difficult to replicate
Despite most researchers saying they are in favour of interactionism,
• they have very different conceptualisations of what interactionism is
It is very difficult to study empirically the dynamic nature of interactionism
Science is interested in general principles, not specific interactions - 80What are the four temperaments described in the biological approach?A dominant bodily fluid (“humour”) is associated with a personality type:
Phlegm – Phlegmatic (quiet, unemotional)
Yellow bile – Choleric (impulsive, easily angered)
Blood – Sanguine (lively, optimistic, courageous)
Black bile – Melancholic (sad, depressive, pessimistic) - 81What is physiognomy? Human facial features correlate with personality traits
One can infer someone’s personality traits by observing their face - 82What is phrenology? Personality is located in the brain
Different parts of the brain are differentially related to different personality characteristics
The skull adapts to the brain
Accordingly, personality can be observed through skull bumps - 83Describe Lombroso's criminal personality theory Used both physiognomy and phrenology as well as evolutionary theory to argue:
- Some people are born criminals
- One can observe criminal personality by recognising specific facial features and skulls - 84Kretschmer and Sheldon body types and personalityBody types reflect different kinds of personality, genes cause both
-Ectomorph (skinny)
-Mesomorph (athletic): courageous, independent, don't care what others think
- Endomorph (larger): nice, want other people to like them, fun to be around - 85Valla et al (2011) men's faces criminal identificationPeople are likely to differentiate criminal faces from non-criminal faces, we have evolved to do this
- 86What are the areas of contemporary biological investigations Anatomy of the central nervous system
Biochemistry
Hormones
Neurotransmitters
Genes and evolution - 87What parts of the brain/ CNS are related to personalityThe frontal lobes
Poor decision making, selfcontrol, ability to plan
Psychopathy
The amygdala
Anxiety, fear
Neuroticism
BPD - 88DeYoung et al. (2010): The Big 5 and the Brain Tested whether the volume of different brain regions would correlate with the Big 5 traits
Assumption:
“A greater-than-average volume of a specific brain structure may signify greater-than-average power to carry out specific functions associated with that structure, on the assumption that larger populations of neurons can produce larger outputs and can therefore be more influential than smaller populations of neurons.” (eg. if you have more of one part that's associated with a trait, then you're more likely to show that trait)
116 participants
Big 5 measure by Costa and McCrae
Structural brain scans
Results:
- positive betas suggest that the more a part of the brain is developed, the more it’s associated with a particular personality trait (e.g. if positive beta, people who are higher on extraversion would have more developed medial or metofrontal cortex) / (if negative beta, people who are higher on extraversion would have less developed other parts of the brain)
Conscientiousness: middle frontal gyrus
Neurotisicism: medial temporal lobe - 89Biochemistry association with personality (hormones)• Testosterone
o Aggression, dominance, antisocial behaviour
• Cortisol
o Neuroticism, anxiety, depression
• Oxytocin
o Less life-long aggression - 90Biochemistry association with personality (neurotransmitters)• Dopamine
o Extraversion, impulsivity, sensation seeking, openness
• Serotonin
o Low: Neuroticism; sensation seeking
• Norepinephrine
o Neuroticism
• Correlation does not imply causation
• Research suggests that changes in the environment and life experiences can affect changes in biochemistry
• E.g., testosterone - 91Genetics: twin study method- an indirect method
- Central concept: heritability coefficient - 92Bouchard (2004) Heritability of big 5Heritability for big 5 traits between .42 for agreeableness and .75 for openness to experience
Didn’t find any kind of shared environmental effect for personality
Heritability for intelligence at 26yrs is .88, not as high for children but increases throughout life - 93Molecular genetics and personality• A more direct method
• Explores the prevalence of specific genes in a population high or low on a particular trait
• Candidates for personality genes:
--> DRD4
Approach-related personality traits -> extraversion, sensation seeking, novelty seeking
--> DRD2
Impulsivity, obesity, substance abuse
--> COMT
Extraversion and reasoning abilities - 94Why is the impact of genes on personality not direct?
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- Flashcards on PSYC3026 MIDSEM , created by Catrina Dorrell on 17/09/2019.
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