Lecture 4 PSYCH 290Outline of Last Lecture I. Research designs in Psychologya. Correlational studyb. ExperimentII. Personality traits and taxonomiesIII. Most important traitsa. Lexical approachb. Statistical approachc. Theoretical approachIV. The Big Fivea. Neuroticismb. Openness to new experiencesc. Extraversiond. Agreeablenesse. ConscientiousnessV. Personality at work (Guest lecture by Veronica Rabelo)a. Research questionsb. Personality tests in the workplacec. Origins of leadership behaviord. When personality predicts job performance: the important role of motivatione. When personality does not predict job performance: the role of self-awarenessf. The ethics of integrity testingOutline of Current Lecture I. Critiques of the Five Factor ModelII. Broader Critique of Personalitya. Person-Situation DebateIII. Personality’s ResponseIV. Birth OrderV. Can Personality Change?a. Types of changeb. Rank-Order StabilityVI. Egos Inflating Over Time?Current LectureMore Facts about the Big Five-Most factors are found across cultures/languages-Openness sometimes not replicable (e.g., “unconventionality” in Dutch)-Most factors also observable in children-Some factors found in other animals-Neuroticism and extroversion are replicated across species-Agreeableness is found except in guppies, and octopi -Some evidence for openness in primates and dogs (playfulness)-Conscientiousness is primarily in humans and chimpsCritiques of the Five-Factor Model1. Atheoretical2. Too broad3. Descriptive, not explanatory4. Not comprehensive-Positive and negative evaluation-Religiosity-Honesty-humilityBroader Critique of Personality-Person-Situation Debate-Historical Context: 1960’s-Post-World War II-How can “regular people” commit unthinkable acts?-How far will people go when “following orders”?-1960’s: Rise of Situationism-Emphasis on the power of the situation to shape behavior-Milgram’s obedience study-Zimbardo’s prison study-Asch’s conformity -Walter Mischel’s (1968) Critique -Personality doesn’t predict behavior-Low (.30) correlations-People act differently across situations-Which is more influential?-Personal characteristics-Traits-Genetic dispositions-Free will-Situational factors-Obedience to authority-Peer pressure-Social rolesPersonality’s Response1. Personality traits predict behavior over time-Extraversion is..-A good predictor of number of parties attended during semester-A weak predictor of party attendance on any given night-Aggregation-Averaging/summing together a set of behaviors2. Broad traits predict broad behaviors, narrow traits predict narrow behaviors-Conscientiousness predicts academic performance-Punctuality predicts showing up to class on time3. People are consistent relative to others-Rank-order consistency-Jessica Biel has moderate extraversion-Justin Timberlake has high extraversion-Talkativeness across situations-At church vs. at the Oscars4. Personality traits explain as much variance as situations-.30 may not be so small after all!Resolution?-Interactionism-Both personality and situation are important predictors of behavior-More than the some of their parts-Situational constraint -Low-Party-Dorm room-Football game -Park-More variation in behavior, personality more influential-High-Church -Job interview-Elevator-Class-Less variation in behavior, situation more influentialInteractionism-Importance of situational constraint-Situational characteristics are better predictors of behavior-In strong situations – high level of constraint-Personality traits are better predictors of behavior…-In weak situations – low level of constraint-Importance of personality x situation interactions = behavior Personality development: Where do Differences Come From?-Infant temperament-Individual differences seen early in life-Characteristic style of expressing emotion-Influenced by-Genetics-Prenatal environment-Temperament (Rothbart)-Activity level (surgency/positive emotionality)-Smiling/laughter (surgency/positive emotionality)-Fear (inhibition) (negative emotionality)-Distress to limitations (negative emotionality)-Soothability (negative emotionality)-Duration of orienting (effortful control)Birth Order-Siblings compete for a “niche” in the family”-First-borns tend to identify with parents and authority-More conservative, conscientious, achievement-oriented-Less likely to challenge status quo-More than ½ of U.S. Presidents were first-borns-21 of the 23 first astronauts were first-borns-Later-borns-Strive to be unique-More rebellious, empathic, creative-Willing to challenge the status quo-More revolutionaries among later-bornsThe End of the History Illusion-We (accurately) perceive more change in the past than we (inaccurately) expect in the future-Asked 7,519 adults to “predict” or “recall” personality change Can Personality Change?-What do we mean by change, stability?-Are particular traits more stable than others?-Are certain life periods more open to change than others?-Are some people more stable than others?Kinds of Change-Mean-level change-Change in average level of a trait over time-Population-level change-Example: Does neuroticism increase with age?-Methods-Longitudinal: same participants over time-Cross-sectional: Different people compared at different ages-Assessing mean-level change-Is personality “set like plaster” after 30?-Biological perspective argues little change after 30-132,551 people competed personality measures online-Cross-sectional study-Mean-level changes across the lifespanWomen Men-Is personality set at age 30?-Meta-analysis (aggregation across studies) of longitudinal studies on personality change-92 different samples (N=50, 120)-Compared mean-level changes across different ages-Focused on Big Five-But split extraversion into social dominance and social vitality-And neuroticism = “emotional stability” -Mean-level change-Potential issues-Cohort effects: change attributed to historical period-Doesn’t tell us whether/how the average person is changing-Rank-order change-Change in relative position over time-Example: shynessRank-Order Stability-(Basically) a correlation coefficient-Tells us about individual consistency-Tells us nothing about mean-level change!-Can only be studied longitudinally-Dependent on reference group-Assessing rank-order stability-Is personality “set like plaster” after 30?-Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies on personality change-Compared “personality