Chapter 1 Learning Objectives Introduction to Personality Psychology 1 Define personality and understand each of the elements within the definition of personality a Personality is the set of psychological traits trait descriptive adjectives and mechanisms activated under particular condition the process that occurs within the personalities within the individual Inside the person stable over time and consistent over situations that is organized and relatively enduring not a random collection of elements linked to one another in a coherent fashion enduring over time and that influences shapes our lives not passive beings responding to external forces his or her interactions perceptions selctions evocations and manipulations with and adaptations to functional accomplishing goals coping adjusting the environment including the intrapsychic physical and social environment 2 Define trait descriptive adjectives and average tendencies and understand how these interplay with psychological traits a Trait descriptive adjectives adjectives that describe a person b Average tendencies does not mean that the person is always going to have that trait 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 Inputs environment danger a b Decisions rules open if courageous face it if not run c Outputs Behavior run like hell 4 Be able to describe and identify the four types of interactions with situations perceptions selections evocations and manipulations a Perceptions how we see the world b Selections the ways which we choose situations to enter c Evocations reactions we produce in others d Manipulations ways we intentionally attempt to influence others 5 Identify the types of questions that personality researchers ask a How many traits are there b How are the traits organized c What are the origins of traits d What are the correlations and consequences of traits 6 Describe and provide examples of the three levels of personality analysis b c b a Human Nature universals traits and mechanisms of personality that are typical of our species and possessed by nearly everyone how are we like all others Individual and Group Differences Particulars individual differences ways in which each person is like some other person group differences ways in which the people of the one group differ from people in another group how are we like some others Individual Uniqueness uniqueness every individual has personal and unique qualities not shared by any other person in the world how are we like no others 7 Differentiate idiographic and nomothetic approaches to personality research a Nomothetic looks at what people have in common with each other It comes from the Greek word nomos which means law and the nomothetic approach is interested in finding patterns or laws of human personality Idiographic measuring traits using tests or experiments To them a person can take a personality test and their score on different traits will give an outline of who they are 8 Describe and identify the six domains of knowledge in personality psychology a Dispositional 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 of those working in this domain is to identify and measure the most important way in which individuals differ from one another also interested in the origin of individual differences and how these develop over time b Biological Humans are collections of biological systems and these systems provide building blocks for behavior thought and emotion behavior genetics of personality psychophysiology of personality and evolutionary personality psychology Intrapsychic deals with mental mechanism of personality many of which operate outside conscious awareness classic and modern versions of Freud s theory of psychoanalysis including work on repression denial projection and motives for power achievement and affiliation c d Cognitive Experiential focuses on cognition and subjective experience such as conscious thoughts feelings beliefs and desires about oneself and other self and self concept goals we set and strive to meet and emotional experiences in general and over time e Social and Cultural personality affects and is affected by cultural and social context cultural differences between groups individual differences within cultures and at human nature level analysis all humans have common set of concerns they struggle with in the social sphere f Adjustment 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 9 Discuss the three key purposes of scientific theories and be able to distinguish theories from beliefs a Theory has several key purposes serves as a guide for researchers organizes known findings makes predictions about behavior and psychological phenomena that not one has yet documented observed b Theories is not beliefs beliefs are based on leaps of faith and theories are based on systematic observations 10 Describe and identify the five standards for evaluating personality theory a Comprehensiveness One of the five scientific standards used in evaluating personality theories Theories that explain more empirical data within a domain are generally superior to those that explain fewer findings b Heuristic Value An evaluative scientific standard for assessing personality theories Theories that steer scientists to important new discoveries about personality are superior to those that fail to provide this guidance c Testability The capacity to render precise predictions that scientists can test empirically Generally the testability of a theory is dependent upon the precision of its predictions If it is impossible to test a theory empirically the theory is generally discarded d Parsimony The fewer premises and assumptions a theory contains the greater its parsimony This does not mean that simple theories are always better than complex ones Due to the complexity of the human personality a complex theory that is one containing many premises may ultimately be necessary for adequate personality theories e Compatibility and integration among domains and levels A theory that takes into accounts the principles and laws of other scientific
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