Psychology - Unit 1

Personality

What is Personality?It is a complex hypothetical

construct. It has various definitions, for psychology we focus on the definition below:

• an individual’s unique set of behavioral traits that remain constant across situtations

• Personality Trait: a durable disposition to behave in a particular way in a variety of situations

Honest, Dependable, Moody, Impulsive, Suspicious, Anxious, Excitable, Domineering, Friendly

Factor Analysis: correlations among many variables are analyzed to identify closely related clusters of variables.

The Rorschach Inkblot Test Write what you see in this image.

Rorschach Inkblot Test

•Most widely used projective test.

•Projective Test- is a personality test designed to let a person respond to ambiguous stimuli, presumably revealing hidden emotions and internal conflicts

•Set of 10 inkblots was designed by Hermann Rorschach. Seeks to identify people’s inner feelings by analyzing their interpretations of the blots using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both

“What do you see?”

Projective Tests: CriticismsCritics argue that projective tests lack both reliability (consistency of results) & validity (predicting what it is supposed to).

1. Even trained raters evaluating the same patient can come up with different interpretations (reliability).

2. Projective tests may misdiagnose a normal person as having a disorder.

3. They are to subjective.

How do you eat your Oreo?Can the way you eat an Oreo cookie tell you something about your personality?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef6-iS2BAeI&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHF0VXPanU8&feature=youtu.be

Assessing Personality★ Life Outcomes

★ Situational Tests★ Observer Ratings★ Self-Reports

Objective Personality Tests★ Multiple choice (Locus of Control)

★ MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory)

Projective Personality Tests

★ Rorschach★ TAT (Thematic Apperception Test)

TAT: The Thematic Apperception Test, a projective psychological test. Proponents of this technique assert that a person's responses reveal underlying motives, concerns, and the way they see the social world through the stories they make up about ambiguous pictures of people.Historically, it has been among the most widely researched, taught, and used of such tests.

Personality Tests & Employee Selection

Are personality tests valuable tools in the selection of good employees?

Problems:★ How well do the tests predict behavior?★ Are the tests an invasion of privacy?★ How will tests be interpreted and used

in the future?

Personality tests, like the Rorschach test, have been a staple in many industries. N.F.L. players now take the Player Assessment Tool.

While they found that Wonderlic scores play a large role in determining when QBs are selected in the draft -- the only equally important variables are height and the 40-yard dash -- the metric proved all but useless in predicting performance. The only correlation the researchers could find suggested that higher Wonderlic scores actually led to slightly worse QB performance, at least during rookie years.

Personality Theories: The 4 to Focus On

1. Psychodynamic Perspective2. Behavioral - Social Cognitive3. Humanism 4. Biological

**Trait Theory

PARADOX: Personality tests have a number of shortcomings and weaknesses, but they remain invaluable measurement instruments for both research and clinical work.

The Five Factor Model of Personality

Personality Trait Perspective

Trait - a tendency to respond in a certain way in many different kinds of situations.

★ trait theorists believe that every trait applies to all ★ all traits can be measured★ trait theorists also look for connections between

an individual’s behavior patterns

Trait Theorists often ask:What behaviors go together? Which are similar? What do the behaviors & traits mean?

Gordon AllportDescribed personality in terms of fundamental traits, or characteristic patterns of behavior or dispositions to feel or act in a certain way. 3 Main traits:

★ Cardinal trait★ Central trait★ Secondary trait

Cardinal Trait - characteristic or feature so important that a person is identified by it

Ex, Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol”

Central Trait - traits that make us predictable in most situations

Ex, He’s a flirt or She is shy

Secondary Trait - least important of the 3, but conveys our preferences to items like music or food.

Ex, Rap Music & Chinese food

Personality Trait Perspective16 Personality Factors (16PF) by Raymond Cattell Using statistics (factor analysis) identified:16 Personality Factors (16PF) that he believed made up the building blocks of each individual’s personality.

Everyone has the same 16 characteristics - to varying degrees.

Eysenck and Eysenck (EYE-SINK) (Hans & Sybil) 2 basic dimensions of personality, rated on a continuum

Extraversion vs. IntroversionExtraversion - sociable, outgoing, active, and lively personIntroversion - thoughtful, reserved, & quietEmotional Stability vs. InstabilityStability - easy-going, relaxed, well-adjusted and even-temperedInstability - moody, anxious, and restless

Costa & McCrae: The Big 5 Testhttp://www.outofservice.com/bigfive

Find how you rate on the big 5 (OCEAN)

1. Openness2. Conscientiousness3. Extroversion4. Agreeableness5. Neuroticism

Traits Versus TypesTraits: Quantitative differences among people.

How much of each trait does the person have that unique combination makes up personality.

Types: Qualitative differences between people. More like putting people into categories.

Evaluation of Trait Theory:★ Better at describing than understanding people.★ How are traits related to thoughts and feelings

that precede, accompany, and follow behavior?★ Fails to capture how traits combine to form a

complex and dynamic individual.

Personality Trait PerspectiveThe Big Five - Set of slightly expanded factors and currently the best approximation of basic trait dimensions.

★ Not the work of just one theorist, but a compilation of the work of many

★ The most accepted trait theory in Psychology today.

★ The traits are rated on a continuum scale (like Eysenck & Eysenck)

**remember this is on a continuum, not usually extremes - falls on scale**

1. Emotional Stability: Identifies individuals who experience things relatively easily without getting upset.

Opposite is neuroticism - being constantly angry or worried or complaining all the time. Tend to look for the bad rather than the good.

2. Extroversion: Associated with talkativeness, and being energetic

Opposite is introversion - being quiet, shy and cautious.

3. Agreeableness: Involves being sympathetic, cooperative, kind, trusting, and good-natured.

Opposite is antagonism - being abrasive, irritable, suspicious & jealous

4. Openness to experience: Describes people who are open-minded and willing to try intellectual experiences, new ideas, or creative experiences.

Opposite is resistance to new experience - being predictable, conforming and unimaginative.

5. Conscientiousness: Identifies individuals who are dutiful, dedicated to completing tasks, organized, and responsible.

Opposite is impulsiveness - includes tendencies such as carelessness, giving up easily and being irresponsible.

What do you need to know about Behavioral Theory:

★ Explain the behavioral view of personality structure.

★ Discuss how Skinner’s principles of operant conditioning can be applied to the development of personality.

★ Discuss how Bandura’s social learning theory can be applied to the development of personality.

Behaviorism - psychology should study only observable behavior.

★ Watson - 1913 began campaigning for the behavioral view.

★ Most prominent proponent of Behaviorism - Skinner.

★ Skinner - you can NOT observe what goes on inside people’s minds. So why try?

★ Instead measure their behaviors by tweaking their environment.

Social-Cognitive Approach★ Importance of conscious thoughts and emotions★ Approach derived from the principles of animal

and human learning (behaviorism)

The social cognitive perspective of personality emphasizes the importance of observational learning, self-efficacy, situational influences and cognitive processes.

Albert Bandura: Emphasized the importance of social learning, or learning through observation.

His theory emphasized the role of conscious thoughts including self-efficacy, or our own beliefs in our abilities.

YouTube: Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

YouTube: A Secret History - Emotions - Bandura Bobo Doll Experiment

Reciprocal Determinism - BanduraSelf-Efficacy – The learned expectation of success. If we think we will succeed, we have a better chance of succeeding.

Reciprocal Determinism – Behavior, the external environment and personal factors interact to create our personality and define how we interact in the world.

YouTube: Bandura - Personality Converting Observation into a Cognitive Rule

1. Attention2. Retention3. Reproduction4. Motivation

Reproduction: most difficult to accomplish.

Motivation: where Skinner’s Reinforcement comes into play.

Rotter’s Expectancy Theory

Learning creates expectancies that guide behavior - Julian Rotter, 1982

Decision to engage in a behavior is determined by:

★ What the person expects to happen following the behavior.

★ The value the person places on the outcome.

★ Why buy an expensive suit for a job interview?

Internals vs. Externals: “Locus of Control”

Do we see ourselves as controlling the outcome of events, or is it factors outside ourselves?

Relationship Between Personal & Situational Variables

Personal dispositions: A person's inherent qualities of mind and character★ Influence behavior only in relevant

situations.★ Can lead to behaviors that alter

situations which promotes other behaviors.

★ People choose to be in situations that are in accord with them.

★ They are more important in some situations than in others.

Personality - Humanistic PerspectiveBy 1960s psychologists had become discontented with Freud’s negativity and mechanistic psychology of behaviorists.

Abraham Maslow &

Carl Rogers

Humanistic Theory: Emphasizes that individuals control their own behavior. View human nature in a more positive light - we are all good.

Very popular perspective in the 1960s - “Flower Power”

Humanistic ApproachThe humanistic perspective of personality focuses on psychological growth, free will and personal awareness. It takes a more positive outlook on human nature and is centered on how each person can achieve their individual potential.

★ The focus is on a human’s unique mental capabilities.

★ Behavior motivated mainly by an innate drive toward growth.

★ This drive helps us to understand how a person views the world.

★ Roots in existential philosophy of Kierkegaard and Sartre as well as the work of Gestalt Psychologists

Rogers’ Self TheoryBelieved in the inherent goodness of people and emphasized the importance of free will & psychological growth. He suggested that the actualizing tendency is the driving force behind human behavior.

Actualizing Tendency - Innate inclination toward growth that motivates people. ★ Importance of the Self

Self-Concept – how we think of ourselvesSelf-ActualizationRole of Positive Regard

Conditions of Worth – feelings of being evaluated as a person, rather than actions

Personality shaped by:★ Actualizing tendency★ Evaluations made by others

Maslow’s Growth Theory

Abraham Maslow

Self-Actualization: not just a tendency, it is a NEED.

➢ Deficiency Orientation – Most people are preoccupied with their perceived needs for things they DON’T have.

➢ Growth Orientation – Drawing satisfaction from what is available in life rather than focusing on what is missing.

➢ Peak Experiences – When we have growth orientation we are open to new and joyful experiences. Love of life.

“Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”-- We move UP the hierarchy

Basic at Bottom ---- Self-Actualization at Top

Self-Actualizing PersonMaslow believed that we tried to reach the state of self-actualization to fulfil our potential.

He believed this desire exists in all people but it is often thwarted by one’s environment.

characteristics:

- accepts self unconditionally

- spontaneous and natural

- democratic in nature

- like privacy

- focus on problems outside of themselves

- strong ethical and moral sense

- close, yet limited number of friends

- very realistic

YouTube: “Shatner of the Mount by Fall on your Sword” - Why is Captain Kirk climbing the mountain? Where no man has gone before.

This may be the greatest video in the history of YouTube. Or not.

Carl Rogers Believed in individuals personal growth tendencies. People are naturally good.

Central feature of personality = self-conceptOur perception of our abilities, behaviors and characteristics if self-concept is positive, we act in positive ways.

For an individual to grow, Rogers said must have:

1. Genuineness: being open with feelings and drop facades

2. Acceptance: Get rid of conditions of worth. Must have/offer unconditional positive regard

3. Empathy: Sharing and mirroring our feelings and reflecting meanings

Assessing the Self in Humanism According to Carl Rogers

In an effort to assess personality, Rogers asked people to describe themselves as they would like to be (ideal) and as they actually are (real).

If the 2 descriptions are close, the individual had a positive self-concept.

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves, boils down to the answer of a single question:

“Who am I?”

Refers to self-concept

Evaluating the Humanistic Approach★ Consistent with how many people

view themselves.★ Inspired forms of psychotherapy.★ Criticized for being naïve, romantic,

and unrealistic.★ Criticized for emphasizing culture,

specific ideas about mental health: very individualistic.

1. Humanistic psychology had pervasive impact on counseling, education, child-rearing, and management.

2. Concepts in humanistic psychology are vague and subjective and lacked scientific basis.

3. Individualism can lead to self-indulgence, selfishness, and corruptions.

So need to be careful of emphasis.

What about the collective?