● You should be able to describe and identify an example of each of the approaches to personality
described in your textbook and lecture.
Basic approach: systematic, self-imposed limits on personality evaluations
trait approach: ways people differ psychologically, how differences may be
conceptualized/measured/ followed over time
biological approach: understanding differences in terms of body
psychoanalytic approach: focuses on people’s conscious experience
TERMS:
Impulsivity: the tendency to act without thinking
Delay of gratification: being able to put off the immediate desire to satisfy a craving
Funder’s first law: something’s biggest strength may be its biggest weakness (and vice versa)
What are the different methods used in test construction? Be able to describe each method well.
Rational method: create items that seem directly, obviously, and rationally related to what
developer wants to measure (face validity)
Factor analysis: identifying groups of things with something in common
Empirical method: one test given to control + diagnostic groups, answers compared to each
other to find patterns
TERMS:
Funder’s second law: there are no perfect indicators of personality, only ambiguous clues
Third law: something beats nothing, 2/3 of the time
Rorschach test: inkblots on a piece of paper that are described by the patient + interpreted by
psychologist
ambiguous situations test: asking person to interpret ambiguous situation + interpreting results
thematic apperception test: shows ambiguous photo of people + asks participant to describe situation
occurring
face validity: to what degree is it measuring what it says its measuring
What factors can increase and decrease reliability?
Low precision, participant’s state may vary, experimenter’s state may vary, uncontrollable
environmental factors
What are the different kinds of validity, and what’s an example of each?
Construct validity: testing various avenues to see if results are related + potentially caused by a
construct (seeing if desire to talk at a party and loneliness are related + caused by extraversion)
Face validity: the degree to which a test seems to measure what it claims to measure (a test
claiming to measure conscientiousness that asks whether you plan to sell your car does not have
high face validity
What are the pros/cons of each type of research method in personality psychology? Be prepared to
describe an example research study of each type.
Case study: in-depth study of an individual
Pros: potentially lots of info, can examine very unusual situations, valuable for new hypothesis
cons: can’t test hypothesis, findings not generalizable
Correlational study: understand potential association between variables
pros: examines naturally occurring relationships, some variables can’t be manipulated
cons: association between variable may be caused by unknown third variable, difficult to
understand direction of causality
experimental study: manipulating a variable to see what it causes
pros: powerful test of causality
cons: are you manipulating what you think you’re manipulating? Can create unnatural contexts,
most interesting variables can’t be manipulated (culture, family dynamics, trauma, injury, etc)
What are some examples of “questionable research practices”?
Deception, lack of privacy, causing emotional or physical harm
open science: fully describe all aspects of all studies, reporting those that failed as well as
succeeded, freely sharing data
TERMS:
construct: cannot be directly seen/touched, but affects + helps explain things that are visible (e.g.,
gravity, intelligence, sociability)
type I error: deciding one variable has effect on another, when it really doesn’t
type II error: deciding one variable doesn’t affect another, when it DOES
p-hacking: messing with variables to get statistically significant results that truly don’t mean anything (if
data sets are large enough, you can make a relationship between anything
p-level: the probability that the we would get similar results if nothing was actually going on
effect size: number that reflects magnitude of results (more meaningful)
publication bias
generalizability: measure that’s valid across contexts/populations
aggregation: averaging
Define situational constraint: Situational constraint is the degree to which a situation demands certain
behaviors (a park has low situational constraint; a job interview has high situational constraint
Fundamental attribution error: Attributing the effects of a situation to outside forces if you are involved
(blaming traffic if you’re late) but attributing the effects of a situation to personal traits if it is another
person involved (calling a person lazy if they are late)
● What factors moderate the accuracy of personality judgments? How do each of these factors
influence personality judgments?
judge: not all judges are good at diving personality (factors: investment in relationships,
generally positive person, emotional intelligence, women are better at it)
target: openness/transparency, self-aware, stability
trait: ease of judging, visibility of trait
information: quantity + quality
Realistic Accuracy Model: Availability -> Detection -> Relevance -> Utilization
What do we know about self-knowledge? How can we improve self-knowledge?
Accurate self-knowledge helps us make wise choices. Improve self-knowledge thru introspection
(utilization), seeking feedback (availability/detection), + observing your own behavior (relevance)
● Know the unique dynamics and the pros/cons of the following approaches: (a) single-trait, (b) manytrait, (c) essential trait, & (d) typological approach.
a) single-trait: looking at one specific trait and all the behaviors it can cause
b) many-trait: looking at one specific behavior and all the traits that can cause it
c) essential trait: what are the core traits that make up a person’s personality?
d) typological approach: what are the types of personalities people can be sorted into?
● What are the lexical, statistical, and theoretical approaches to identifying traits? What are the
strengths and weaknesses of each approach?
Lexical: the number of words used to describe a certain trait in a language tell us how essential
that trait is to a culture
statistical/factor analysis: correlation-matrix to see which traits are the most involved w/ each
other
theoretical approach: important traits identified from theory (e.g., narcissism personality index
came from clinical criteria for NPD)
● What is the California Q-set and what advantages does it have when measuring personality?
Purpose: understand particular outcome/behavior
how: start w/ several descriptive broad statements, sorted by participants/observers/informants
from most to least characteristic
Which 3 personality “types” replicate the best across multiple studies?
Well-adjusted, maladjusted-overcontrolling, maladjusted-undercontrolling
TERMS: self-monitoring, narcissism
What are the types of person-environment transactions? What is an example of each type?
Active: selecting compatible contexts + avoiding incompatible contexts (e.g., an introverted
person not raising their hand in class so they don’t get called on)
Reactive: people react differently to the same situation (an extrovert might immediately socialize
at a party, but an introvert might go hide in the bathroom at the same party)
Evocative: people’s traits + behaviors change the situations they are involved in (an introvert
might make a conversation short and boring, extrovert might make it lively and overwhelming)
TERMS:
cohort effects: change attributed to historical period
meta-analysis: big review of a bunch of different studies
cross-sectional: several ages studied @ same time
longitudinal: same people studied over time
cumulative continuity: personality becomes more stable over time
heterotypic continuity:
temperament:
maturity principle: change in traits useful to adult roles
social clock: there is a socially pre-determined time to reach certain milestones
narrative identity: actor, agent, author
● What are the functions of these brain regions (particularly in relation to personality): amygdala,
prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, hippocampus?
Amygdala
- detection + perception of emotions (esp negative emotions)
- well connected to other brain regions (e.g., memory)
- links emotions w/ other bodily responses (e.g., hormones)
- involved in emotional learning
Anterior cingulate (AC)
- involved in inhibiting emotional responses, negative emotions, physical pain
- can modulate amygdala activity
- plays a role in autonomic functions (blood pressure, heart rate)
- plays a role in higher-level functions (detecting errors, impulse control)
Frontal lobes (prefrontal cortex)
- higher cognitive function (self-regulation, decision-making, planning)
- lateralization (specialization) of emotion
- left PFC activity linked with positive emotions
- right PFC activity linked with negative emotions
Hippocampus
- vital for memory consolidation (new memories, secretary in your brain that is sorting new
memories + retrieving them
- memories are NOT stored in hippocampus
- hippocampus + amygdala work together to form emotional memories
How are the following neurotransmitters and hormones related to personality: norepinephrine,
dopamine, serotonin, testosterone, cortisol, estrogen?
Norepinephrine (neurotransmitter) and cortisol (hormone): most positively related to
neuroticism
Dopamine: positively associated with extraversion + openness to experience
Estrogen/oxytocin: caregiving, bonding, intimacy
Testosterone: dominance, aggression, sexual behavior
Serotonin: positively associated with agreeableness, negatively associated with neuroticism
● How does DeYoung propose that the Big Five traits are linked with neurotransmitters, hormones,
and brain structures?
Stability traits (emotional stability, conscientiousness, agreeableness) associated with serotonin,
plasticity traits (extraversion + openness) associated w/ dopamine
TERMS:
phrenology: study of personality by observing texture of the scalp/skull and making assumptions about
what traits might be represented by certain bumps or lumps on the scalp