PSYC 4520 1nd Edition Lecture 2 Outline of Last Lecture I The Person and the Situation A What shapes our behavior B Social psychology vs personality psychology II Defining Personality A What does personality consist of III Six Approaches to Personality A Psychoanalytic approach B Trait approach C Biological approach D Humanistic approach E Behavioral social learning approach F Cognitive approach G How to reconcile the different approaches IV Personality and Culture A The role of culture in developing personality V The Study of Personality Theory Application Assessment and Research A The first step to understanding personality Developing a theory B The second step to understanding personality Applying the theory C The third step to understanding personality Assessing traits and behaviors D The fourth step to understanding personality Researching the theory Outline of Current Lecture I Data Sources A L Data B S Data C T Data D O Data II The Hypothesis Testing Approach These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute A Theories and hypotheses B Prediction vs hindsight C Replication III The Case Study Method A What are case studies B Strengths of case studies C Limitations of case studies D When are case studies appropriate IV Experimental Research A Experimental variables B Manipulated vs non manipulated independent variables C Statistical analysis of data D Statistical significance V Correlational Research A Correlation coefficients VI Personality Assessment A Reliability B Validity Current Lecture I Data Sources A L Data i L Data is life data Researchers collect data from an individual s natural daily life behaviors in order to measure their characteristic behavior patterns in the real world They may measure anything from marital status to school grades to annual income B S Data i S Data is self data Researchers collect data from an individual s selfreport of his or her own behaviors feelings thoughts and attitudes The information is provided by the individual through a personality questionnaire or interview C T Data i T Data is test data Researchers observe an individual s reactions to standardized experimental situations created in a laboratory In this way researchers may objectively observe and measure the individual s behavior D O Data i O Data is other data or observer data Researchers collect information about an individual that is provided by another person II The Hypothesis Testing Approach A Theories and hypotheses i In a way we are all personality psychologists We all wonder about the nature of personality the only difference between us and a professional is the sophistication of the study Professionals generate hypotheses form theories conduct experiments and research extensively ii Most personality research begins with a theory a general statement about the relationship between constructs or events A theory may explain a broad range of events an example of this is using Freud s psychoanalytic theory to explain what causes psychological disorders or why people turn to religion More often researchers work with theories that explain a narrower range of events such as why some people are more motivated to succeed than others iii A good theory is parsimonious and useful Scientists work under the law of parsimony the simplest theory that can explain the phenomenon is the best theory Additionally a useful theory is one that can generate useful testable hypotheses Without the ability to test a hypothesis about a phenomenon the theory cannot be scientifically examined and thus holds little value iv Researchers do not a theory directly rather they derive testable hypotheses from that theory A hypothesis is a formal prediction about the relationship between two or more variables that is logically derived from the theory For example a researcher may form the following theory Loneliness is caused by lack of social skills Then one may make a testable prediction about the theory if the theory is true we may expect that lonely people make more socially inappropriate statements than non lonely people Next this prediction can be tested a judge may count the number of inappropriate statements made by lonely and nonlonely people in a conversation with a stranger B Prediction vs hindsight i If a scientist has a legitimate theory he could probably make accurate predictions about the results of a study before the data are revealed Since the purpose of research is to support a hypothesis researchers should have an idea of what results will appear after the study is conducted For example a researcher may examine the relationship between self esteem and helping behavior but have no clear prediction beforehand of what this relationship may be If the results show that people with high self esteem help more than those with low self esteem the researcher may conclude that this is because people with high selfesteem maintain their confidence by doing good things The explanation is reasonable but the data do not support the hypothesis the hypothesis was made after results were revealed In these cases there is no way that the hypothesis would NOT be supported because it is being made after data are already in Overall explaining results after they have already been revealed means nothing C Replication i Scientists are cautious about relying on one research finding when drawing conclusions about human behavior There are many reasons a scientist could find a statistically significant effect in a study there may be something unique about the subjects in the sample or about the time the research was conducted Thus we cannot assume that a significant finding from one study gives reliable evidence for an effect ii To deal with this we use replication The same study is repeated multiple times and the more often a certain effect is found in research the more confident we can be that it reflects a genuine relationship iii Replications often examine sample populations different from those in the original study this helps determine whether the effect applies to a large or limited group of people iv However there is one major difficulty with determining the strength of an effect by how often it is replicated This difficulty is called the File Drawer problem researchers tend to report and publish those findings that contain significant effects When a replication attempt fails they may decide that something went