PPE 3003 1st EditionExam 2 Study Guide: Lectures 5 - 7 Lecture 51.Know the two perspectives on traits covered in lecture and be able to describe how they are different.The first perspective is that traits are internal causal properties. These traits are internal states that have the potential to cause behavior and it does not mean they will lead to a behavior. The other perspective is that traits are purely descriptive summaries. These traits describe people’s tendencies to behave a certain way, and believe there are no traits without behavior. For example, to be considered brave you have to perform a brave act. 2.Know and be able to describe the three approaches to identifying the most important personality traits.The three approaches are lexical, statistical, and theoretical. Lexical states that all important traits are apparent in language. There are over 18,000 trait descriptive adjectives in the dictionary. It states if the word is important in the intrapsychic world then there should be a word for it. If it only exists in one culture and not another then it must not be important cross culturally. Synonym frequency is how many adjectives exist to explain the one core trait and the more adjectives the trait has, the more important and prevalent the trait is. The statistical approach gives people questionnaires and analyze using factor analysis. Traits co-vary and patterns that come out of factor analysis can be loaded together, compare differences, and see what is the best fit. Confirmatory analysis looks at how good of a fit your model is to the actual data. The theoretical approach is where a theory determines which traits are important. For example, Marlow’s hierarchal of needs or Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, “oral” or “anal” personalities. These need to have some empirical support if they are going to live on. It should be noted that usually a combination of these approaches are utilized, and lexical and statistical go very well together. 3.Know what a taxonomy is.A taxonomy is a classification system, such as the periodic table of the elements or the Big five. The goal is to identify and name groups within a subject; it organizes all the information. It not only says which ones are important but puts the information in a way that it makes more sense and is organized. 4.Know which characteristics are studied under Eysenck’s model of personality and be able to describe each.Eysenck’s Hierarchical Model of Personality measures three traits: Psychoticism (P), Extraversion-Introversion (E), and Neuroticism-Emotional Stability (N). It is important to note that each of these three traits has positives and negatives and being too high or toolow on these isn’t really a great thing. If a person scores high in extraversion they enjoypartying, socializing, having many friends, enjoys having people around to talk to, are practical jokers, are carefree, and have a high activity level. If one is high in neuroticism then they worry a lot, are anxious, are depressed, have issues sleeping, over react with negative emotions, and project psychosomatic symptoms (feeling like you are sick when you are not). If one is high in psychoticism then they enjoybeing solitary, lack empathy, may be cruel and inhumane, acts aggressively, prefer strange and unusual things, and is antisocial and impulsive. These have biological underpinnings many times.5.Know the two dimensions of the Wiggins Circumplex.The two core dimensions are dominant/submissive and friendly/hostile. A negative of this model is that there are not enough dimensions. 6.Know what the most widely accepted model for personality is.The most widely used and accepted model is the five-factor model, which is measured by the TIPI. This method can be found by many researchers using different samples and has been replicated over 50 years and in many different languages. Also, it can be replicated using different item formats. 7.Be able to list and apply the five personality characteristics recognized as the Big 5.The five factors are extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness/intellect. From the examples used in class, Forrest Gump is an example of extraversion, Nelson Mandela is an example of agreeableness, Florence Nightingale is anexample of conscientiousness, the moil from Seinfeld is an example of neuroticism, and the artist Salvador Valley is an example of openness/intellect. Lecture 61.Know and be able to explain the three basic assumptions of trait psychology.The three basic assumptions of trait psychology are that there are meaningful individual differences; traits are stable and consistent over time, and consistent across situations. People change across situations and across time. Some traits increase or decrease in intensity over time as people get older, while some traits change the way they manifest and present themselves. 2.Know and understand the formula for behavior.The formula for behavior is B=f(P x S), where B is behavior, P is person, and S is situation.Different situations may lead to different behavior for different kinds of people. 3.Know how the person-situation interaction is different for strong vs. weak situations. The person-situation reaction is different for strong versus weak situations because in strong situations most people react similarly, while in weak and ambiguous situations personality has more of an influence. 4.Know and be able to describe the following ways in which personality interacts with situations: situational selection, evocation, and manipulation.Situational selection is where people select certain situations and put themselves into these situations. For example, these would include which organizations you would decide to join and not to join, like Greek life, honor societies, and student organized clubs. Evocation is where certain traits may passively evoke specific responses fromothers. For example, when there is a disagreeable person around, it can bring out the disagreeableness in others around that person, much like Dr. House. Manipulation is where people actively influence the behaviors of others and is done purposefully. For example, when someone is being extra nice in order to personally gain something, they are being manipulative. 5.Know why aggregation is important for studying personality.Personality aggregation is the averaging of multiple observations. It is useful in longer tests because they are more reliable than shorter
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