Chapter 1 1 Define personality and understand each of the elements within the definition of personality Personality the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that is organized and relatively enduring and that influences his interactions with and adaptions to the environment including intrapsychic physical and social environment 2 Within the individual 3 That is organized and relatively enduring Not a random collection of elements Linked to one another in a coherent fashion Enduring over time Being angry in the moment does not mean you are an angry person 4 And that Influences Not passive beings responding to external forces Shapes our lives 5 His or her interactions Perceptions how we see the world Selections manner in which we choose situations to enter Evocations reactions we produce in others 6 And adaptions to Functional accomplishing goals coping adjusting 2 Define trait descriptive adjectives and average tendencies and understand how these interplay with psychological traits Trait descriptive adjectives About 20 000 of them Just because someone has a personality trait they will be on average more outgoing than someone who is shy but does not apply to all situations 3 Define psychological mechanisms be able to describe and identify the three essential ingredients of psychological mechanisms and understand how certain personality traits are activated only under particular circumstances Mechanisms Activated under particular conditions Ex Courage bravery 3 ingredients inputs decision rules and outputs Inputs environment danger snake Decision rules options if courageous face it if not run Outputs behaviors RUN 4 Be able to describe and identify the four types of interactions with situations perceptions selections evocations and manipulations Perceptions Selections How we see the world Manner in which we choose situations to enter Evocations Manipulations Reactions we produce in others Ways we intentionally attempt to influence other people 5 Identify the types of questions that personality researchers ask 1 How many traits are there 2 How are the traits organized 3 What are the origins of traits 4 What are the correlations and consequences of traits 6 Describe and provide examples of the three levels of personality analysis 1 Human nature universals 2 Individual and group differences particulars 3 Individual Uniqueness uniqueness 7 Differentiate idiographic and nomothetic approaches to personality research Nomothetic Statistical comparisons of individuals or groups to identify human universals Emphasizes comparability among individuals but sees people as unique in their combo of traits Self report personality questions factor analysis Most contemporary psychologists use this Idiographic Single person used to identify uniqueness emphasizes traits differ from person to person Uses case studies biological information diaries etc 8 Describe and identify the six domains of knowledge in personality psychology Dispositional Domain Deals with ways in which individuals differ from one another and therefore cuts across all other domains Focus on number and nature of fundamental dispositions Goal is to identify and measure the most important ways in which individuals differ from one another Also interested in the origin of individual differences and how these develop over time Biological Domain Humans are collections of biological systems and these systems provide building blocks for behavior thought and emotion Behavioral genetics of personality Ex Are identical twins more alike in personality than fraternal twins Psychophysiology of personality Ex what are the neural mechanisms associated with personality Evolutionary personality psychology What kinds of adaptive problems does personality help to solve Intrapsychic Domain conscious awareness Deals with mental mechanisms of personality many of which operate outside Classic and modern versions of Freud s theory of psychoanalysis Instinctual system sexual and aggressive forces that drive behavior Defensive mechanisms repression denial projection Motivations power achievement and affiliation Cognitive Experiential Domain Focuses on cognition and subjective experience such as conscious thoughts feelings beliefs and desires about oneself and others Self and self concept Ex Do we see ourselves as good or evil Ex Are past successes or failures prominent in our self views Social and Cultural Domain Personality affects and is affected by cultural and social contexts Cultural differences between groups e g in social acceptability of aggression Ex Yanomamo Venezuela vs Kung San Botswana Ex What personality features we display may depend on culture Individual differences within cultures Ex dominant vs submissive Ex anxious vs depressed Ex sex and gender differences in personality At human nature level of analysis all humans have common set of concerns they struggle with in the social phase Adjustment Domain Personality plays key role in how we cope adapt and adjust to events in daily life Personality linked with important health outcomes and problems in coping and adjustment Linked to heart disease Health related behaviors smoking drinking risk taking How long we live Personality disorders Deepen our understanding of normal personality Discuss the three key purposes of scientific theories and be able to distinguish theories from beliefs The Role of Personality Theory Personality research is often informed by personality theory Theory has several key purposes Serves as a guide for researchers Organizes known findings Makes predictions about behavior and psychological phenomena that no one has yet documented or observed Describe and identify the five standards for evaluating personality theory Standards for Evaluating Personality Theory Comprehensiveness Heuristic Value Does the theory explain all the facts Does the theory provide a guide to new discoveries Testability Parsimony Does the theory provide precise empirical predictions Does the theory contain few assumptions Chapter 2 Personality Assessment Measurement and Research Design 1 Describe and provide examples of the four sources of data collected by personality psychologists Self report data S data Observer report data O Data Test data T data and Life outcome data L data Talk about strengths weaknesses 2 Self Report Data S data Information provided by a person such as through a survey or interview Strengths o Private access to information that others do not have
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