1 Discuss four ways to look at personality BLIS behavior life informants self Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each type of data Discuss why it is important to collect as many types of data as possible 2 If you wanted to know all about the personality of the person sitting next to you what would you do 3 All parts of the psychological triad There are no perfect indicators of personality there are only clues and clues are always ambiguous p 21 Psychologist s job Something beats nothing p 23 4 Definition Usually questionnaires or surveys Most frequent data source High face validity 5 Based on a large amount of information Access to thoughts feelings and intentions Has definitional truth 6 Causal force Simple and easy data 7 Maybe people won t tell you Maybe people can t tell you Too simple and too easy 8 Definition judgments by knowledgeable informants about general attributes of the individual s personality Examples Based on observing people 9 Based on a large amount of information Based on observation of behavior in the real world 1 0 Based on common sense about what behaviors mean Definitional truth Causal force 1 1 Limited behavioral information Lack of access to private experience Error Bias 1 4 Definition Obtained from archival records or self report The results or residue of personality 1 3 Advantages Disadvantage 1 4 The most visible indication of an individual s personality is what she does p 44 Definition Two types 1 5 Based on how people act in real life Examples Advantage realistic Disadvantages 1 6 Three types of Lab data 1 Experiments 1 7 2 Certain personality tests 3 Physiological measures biological behavior 1 8 Advantages Disadvantage 1 9 Data do not always fit into only one category Purpose of 4 types 2 0 There are only clues and clues are always ambiguous p 55 It is important to collect more than one type Consistent findings increase confidence 2 1 1 How much money a person spends on groceries in a month based on receipts 2 What type of food a student purchases from dining areas and vending machines on campus 3 Reports from parents about what kind of food people ate as children 4 Answers to a Healthy Foods Healthy People survey about one s self 2013 W W Norton Company Inc 2 2