1 Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology Lecture 11

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Psychology 307: Cultural Psychology

Lecture 11

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Scoring Questionnaire 1

In order to score your questionnaire, you must compute 3 scores. For each score, give yourself 1 point for each of the following responses.

Score 1: Yes 10, 14, 22, 31, 39No 2, 6, 18, 26, 28, 35, 43

Score 2: Yes 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 32, 36, 44, 48No 27, 41

Score 3: Yes 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46

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Scoring Questionnaire 2

In order to score your questionnaire, you must compute 5 scores.

Score 1: Sum items 1, 6, 11, 16, 21

Score 2: Sum items 2, 7, 12, 17, 22

Score 3: Sum items 3, 8, 13, 18, 23

Score 4: Sum items 4, 9, 14, 19, 24

Score 5: Sum items 5, 10, 15, 20, 25

PsychologyTri-Mentoring program

Graduate Study Workshop: Panel Discussion

Date: Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011Time: 5:00PM - 7:00PMLocation: Kenny 2510

The Tri-Mentoring Program would like to invite you to join us in our panel discussion with professionals from diverse areas of graduate studies! There are limited spaces available!

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Announcement

Please note that grades for the midterm exam are now available on the course website. The mean score on the exam was 68% (SD = 16%, range=16-99%).

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TA for students with last names A-Q: Kate, rogerskh@psych.ubc.ca.

TA for students with last names R-Z: Will, wmhall@psych.ubc.ca

The TAs will hold a review session for the midterm exam on Wednesday, February 23rd, at 2:30. Please meet the TAs in Kenny, 1907. If you are unable to attend the session and would like to review your exam, you may see your TA during her/his office hours or contact your TA to schedule an appointment to meet.

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Personality

1. Do trait theories adequately describe personality in non-Western cultures?

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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

1. discuss how early educational experiences may foster distinct self-construals among children in China, Japan, and the United States.

2. discuss contemporary debates regarding the nature of personality across cultures.

3. describe Eysenck’s theory of personality.

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Do trait theories adequately describe personality in non-Western cultures?

● Personality: “… refers to an individual’s characteristic patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior, together with the psychological mechanisms … behind those patterns” (Funder, 2004).

● Given that research has shown that the self-beliefs of people from collectivistic cultures are variable across social contexts, some theorists (e.g., Shweder, 1991) maintain that personality is not a valid construct to study in collectivistic cultures.

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● Consistent with this view, Hsu (1985) argues that “… the concept of personality is an expression of the Western ideal of individualism.”

● Similarly, Cross and Markus (1999) maintain that personality psychology is “an ‘indigenous psychology’ of Western Europeans and North Americans, rather than a universal psychology of human behavior.”

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● In contrast to this view, other theorists maintain that the concept of personality is universally relevant. In support of their view, they note that all cultural groups possess terms to describe individuals’ enduring

characteristics. Examples:

Pakikiramdam (Filipino; sensitive, empathetic)

Ren qin (Chinese; relationship-oriented)

Simpatico (Mexican; avoiding of conflict)

Mitratapurne (Hindi; friendly)

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● Although a number of theories of personality have been proposed (e.g., psychoanalytic theory, social-learning theories), researchers who have studied personality across cultures have largely focused on trait theories.

● According to trait theories, personality is best described as a constellation of traits (e.g., anxious,conscientious, outgoing). Traits are viewed as descriptive summaries of behaviour.

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● Trait theories attempt to identify the traits that are most central to describing personality. These traits are viewed as the basic dimensions of personality or as “superordinate traits” that encompass numerous, more narrowly defined traits.

● Two types of trait theories exist—those developed on the basis of pre-existing theories and those developed on the basis of empirical research.

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1. Eysenck’s (1967, 1975) Trait Theory of Personality

In his original theory, Eysenck suggested that there are 2 basic dimensions of personality:

Eysenck developed his theory of personality on the basis of pre-existing theories—specifically, theories proposed centuries earlier by Hippocrates and

Galen.

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Extraversion: Reflects a desire for social interaction, excitement, and activity. E.g., lively and sociable vs. passive and quiet.

Emotional Instability: Reflects a tendency to experience unstable emotions. E.g., anxious and moody vs. calm and even-tempered.

Using these two dimensions, Eysenck identified 4 personality types:

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High Emotional InstabilityLow Emotional

Instability

High Extraversion

The unstable extravert: Active, aggressive,

changeable, excitable, impulsive, optimistic,

restless, touchy

The stable extravert: Carefree, easygoing,

lively, leaderly, outgoing responsive, sociable,

talkative

Low Extraversion

The unstable introvert: Anxious, moody, pessimistic, quiet,

reserved, rigid, sober, unsociable

The stable introvert: Calm, careful, controlled, even-tempered, passive,

peaceful, reliable, thoughtful

Eysenck’s (1975) Personality Typology

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Eysenck, Eysenck, and Barrett (1985) developed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised (EPQ-R) to assess extraversion, emotional instability, and psychoticism. The EPQ-R is a 48-item measure that employs a “yes/no” response format.

On the basis of subsequent research, Eysenck identified a third personality dimension:

Psychoticism: Reflects a psychological detachment from others. E.g., tough-minded and impersonal vs. tender-minded and sympathetic.

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The EPQ-R(Eysenck, Eysenck, & Barrett, 1985)

Score 1: Psychoticism

Score 2: Extraversion

Score 3: Emotional Instability

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Personality Dimension

Maximum Possible Score

Mean Score for Males

Mean Score for Females

Psychoticism 12 3.6 2.6

Extraversion 12 7.4 7.6

Emotional Instability

12 5.2 5.9

The EPQ-R: Statistics for a British Sample(Eysenck, Eysenck, & Barrett, 1995)

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In light of the popularity of Eysenck’s theory, cultural psychologists have examined its universality across cultures.

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Personality

1. Do trait theories adequately describe personality in non-Western cultures?