Lecture 2 PSYCH 290Outline of Last Lecture I. What is personality psychology?a. Definition of personalityII. Personality psychologist’s questions and debatesIII. Domains of Knowledgea. Cognitive-Experimentalb. Adjustmentc. Intrapsychicd. Dispositionale. Biological Outline of Current Lecture I. Sources of Personality Dataa. Self-Report (S) Datab. Test (T) Datac. Life-Outcome (L) Datad. Observer Report (O) DataII. Reliability a. Test-retest reliabilityb. Internal consistency (alpha)c. Inter-rater reliabilityIII. Validitya. Face validityb. Predictive/criterion validityc. Convergent validityd. Discriminant validitye. Construct validityIV. GeneralizabilityV. DesignsCurrent LectureThink About It...-Which personality traits would you look for (or avoid) in a potential roommate?-How would you find out who has these specific traits?What are the Sources of Personality Data?-Example: Impulsivity- A person has low self-control especially in the presence of rewarding activities-They have a tendency to act without thinking -Difficulty delaying gratificationSelf-Report (S) Data-Information is directly provided by the subjects using questionnaires or interviews-Example: Self-report items of impulsivity-”Do you often do things in the spur of the moment?”-”Would you do almost anything for a dare?”-”Do you stop and think things over before doing anything?”-Advantages-We are our own best experts and therefore provide the best knowledge of ourselves-Relatively easy to administer and interpret-All participants complete the same measure-You can compare data across people and samples-Disadvantages-People may lack accurate knowledge of themselves-The responses could be intentionally distorted to save one’s reputation-Examples:-”True or false: I like to gossip”-“True or false: I sometimes feel resentful when I don’t get my way”-”True or false: I never secretly take pleasure in another’s misfortune”Test (T) Data-Standardized “tests”-Laboratory experiments-Physiological data-Recording devices-Projective tests-Rorschach -Advantages-Allows control over the context-Can elicit behavior of interest-Has less potential for bias-Disadvantages-Can be time-consuming and costly-Experimenter effects-Experimenter could unintentionally influence outcomes-Demand characteristics-Participants “react” to study characteristicsLife-Outcome (O) Data-Publicly available information-Criminal records-Marriage, divorce certificates-Career outcomes-Example: Delay of gratification at age four predicts...-Higher SAT scores-Greater academic and social competence and more tolerance of frustration-Advantages-”Real world” outcomes-More objective than other sources of data-Disadvantages-Information can be difficult to collect-May be more accessible for some subjects than for others-Information is not contextualized-e.g. reasons for divorceObserver (O) Report-Data are provided by others like friends, family, and colleagues-Can be structured or naturalistic observation-Example: Parent-reports of impulsivity vs. classroom observations-Advantages-Can provide information subjects may not or cannot-Can have several observers per subject-Discrepancies between observers can be interesting-Disadvantages-Any observer has a limited view-Some traits are more observable than others-Potential for bias-parent reports-Can be time-consuming and costly-Discrepancies between observers can be problematicReliable Measures-A reliable measure yields consistent measurements across situations-Differences should reflect only differences in the “true level” of construct-If there is a measurement error, it is unreliable-Kinds of reliability-Test-retest-Scores should be consistent over time-Internal consistency (alpha)-Individual scale items should be associates -Example: Self-report items of impulsivity-”Do you often do things in the spur of the moment?”-”Would you do almost anything for a dare?”-Inter-rater-Multiple observers should agree-Example: Children’s strategies to delay gratification-Looking/turning away from temptation-Reminding themselves of later outcomesValidity Measures-A valid measure assesses what it claims to assess-An unreliable measure cannot be valid-But, a reliable measure is not necessarily valid-Types of validity-Face validity-Does the measure appear to measure what it claims to measure?-Predictive/Criterion validity-Does it predict what it claims to measure? (e.g. impulsive behavior)-Convergent validity-Is it related to other measures of the same construct?-Discriminant validity-Is it (un)related to other measures that it should not be?-Construct validity-All of the above togetherGeneralizability -A generalizable measure is valid across contexts (e.g. across cultures and genders)-Good measures should be valid, reliable, and generalizableResearch Designs in Personality-Case study-In-depth study of one person-Advantages-Potentially a lot of information-Can examine very unusual people and situations-Disadvantages-Not generalizableResearch Designs in Psychology-Correlational Study -Is there an association between two variables?-Example: Do people with PFC damage have more difficulty with self-regulation?-Compared to patients to healthy participants-PFC patients had more difficulty recognizing emotions and disclosed inappropriatelyCorrelational Designs in Personality-Example: Is PFC activity associated with individual differences in self-control?-Conscientiousness (self-report)-Self-discipline, orderliness (vs. impulsivity, distractibility)-Ability to inhibit impulses in pursuit of a goal -Volume of different brain areas are assessed with neuroimaging techniques that focus on the prefrontal cortex (PFC)Conscientiousness and the PFC-Conscientiousness is positively correlated with brain volume in PFC-Activity in this brain area is related to:-Keeping information in the working memory-Executing