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Integration*and*Future*Directions*
One*of*the*things*that*personality*psychology*promises*to*give*is*an*integrated*account*of*persons,*so*rather*then
just*studying*fragments*of*individuals*but*give*us*functioning*accounts*of*what*it*means*to*be*a*human*being**
Current'status'of'Personality'research''
Which*perceptive*should*we*be*taking?*–*
There*isn’t*a*clear*criteria*one*which*
perspective*we*should*take*partly*because*it*
would*depend*on*your*values*and*your*
worldview.*
! Conflicting*worldviews*e.g.*do*you
expect*that*everything*is*caused*or
do*you*want*to*except*that*human
beings*have*free*will*that*despite
there*being*causality*in*the*world,
human*beings*can*freely*make
decisions*(humanistic*view)
! Similarities*but*major*differences*e.g.
psychoanalytic*defense*mechanisms
but*we*can*also*see*that*in
evolutionarily*and*humanistic
approaches*have*similar*approaches
! Incompatible*approaches*or*different
levels*of*analysis?
! Different*parts*of*the*whole?
! Different*strengths*and*weakness
! How*do*we*integrate*the
perspectives?
Strength'and'Weakness'
! Psychoanalysis:*defense*mechanisms*you*can*find*in
variety*of*theories,*you*don't*necessarily*need*to*be*a*
Freudian*to*accept*that*defense*mechanisms*occur.
! Behaviorism:*consequences*to*our*actions*shape
what*we*do*and*we*need*to*take*that*into*account.
! Social*cognitive*theory
! Humanistic*psychology
! Trait*and*type*approaches
! Personal*construct*theory
! Evolutionary*approaches
" These*all*have*some*legitimist*claim*you*could*argue*for
being*incorporated*within*a*holistic*account*of*personality
Intergrading'psychology'
! Recent*calls*for*a*‘unified*psychology’
! Personality*seen*as*in*integrative*perspective*for
psychology
! The*study*of*the*‘whole*person’*and*how*the*parts*fit
into*the*whole
! Myer*(2005):*looking*at*personality*as*an*organized
functional*unit
Attempts*to*intergrade*these*components*of*personality:*
Personality:'Major'psychological'subsystems''
Myer*says*that*all*of*these*have*substantial*research*basis*they*all*need*to*be*taken*into*account*for*
understanding*personality.*
! However*major*criticism*would*be*that*he*has*given*no*indication*of*how*these*interact*with*one*another
! Its*not*really*solving*anything
Personality*structure/*hierarchy*
McAdam’s'Personality'Triad'
1. Dispositional'traits
For*McAdam*if*I*want*to*understand*you*as*a*person,*I*need*to*take*into*account*your*traits,*what*you*are*
disposed*to*do*in*certain*kinds*of*situations*e.g.*at*a*party*are*likely*to*be*social*or*be*introverted*and*avoid*
parties*all*together.***
Dimensions'of'Personality'
! Eysenck’s*E,*N*and*P*(biologically*based*theory)
! FiveZfactor*model
o "*OCEAN:*Openness*to*experience,*conscientiousness,*Extraversion/introversion,
agreeableness,*neuroticism
! A*trait*is*a*nomothetic'approach:*its*looking*at*what*features*are*common*amongst*individuals
• Limit*of*trait*psychology:*it*doesn't*really*tell*me*anything*about*as*a*person,*you’re*personally
identify*of*anything*like*that.*He*calls*this*‘psychology3of3the3stranger’3e.g.*I*can*know*you*like*going*to
parties,*I*could*know*if*your*emotional*reactive*or*not*but*I*don't*know*anything*about*you*as*a
*
person*in*sense*of*your*identity,*your*sense*of*values*–*it*doesn't*tell*me*anything*about*you*as*a
individual*it*just*tells*me*what*you*are*likely*to*do,*how*you*are*likely*to*behavior*in*a*certain
*
1*
1
situation.
Integration*and*Future*Directions*
2. Characteristic'Adaptions
These*relate*to:
! Personal*goals*and*motives
! Defense*mechanisms*and
coping*strategies
! Values*and*beliefs
! Attachment*and*relationship
styles
! DomainZspecific*skills*and
interests
! Includes:*psychoanalytic,
socialZlearning,*humanistic,
evolutionary*components
! Still*doesn't*address*who*we
are*as*an*individual*identity
3. Identity'as'Life'Stories
! When*we*are*talking*to*someone,*we*are*not*talking*to
their*traits,*we*don't*talk*to*their*interests,*we*might*talk
about*their*interests*but*when*we*communicate*with
another*human*being*we*are*talking*to*the*person*and
their*sense*of*self*and*identity
! For*McAdams*identity*is*like*a*story,*any*one*of*us*has*a
sense*of*a*story*we*could*tell,*someone*could*ask*you
about*your*self*and*you*would*tell*them*a*story*of*where
you*grow*up*etc.*a*story*from*when*you*can*remember*till
now.
! Lives*may*be*viewed*as*narrated*texts,*known*and*‘read’
as*stories,*framed*through*discourse*and*told*in*culture
! Stories*central*to*identity*throughout*life
! Through*our*stories*we*define*ourselves*and*achieve
sense*of*identify
" But*for*McAdam*he*would*say
! Our*stories*combine*a*sense*of*unity*across*time,*so
that*I*still*don't*know*you*as*a
through*our*stories*we*can*a*sense*of*identity*but*also*a
individual,*I*may*know*what*you
sense*of*unity'and*purpose,*with*the*same*person
like*to*do,*I*may*know*what*you
throughout*our*lives*even*though*things*change.
interested*in*but*I*don't*have*a
! We*can*a*sense*of*unity*of*self*even*though*we*have
sense*of*your*identity*at*this*kind*of
changed*there*is*something*that*has*reminded*the*same
stage.
throughout*–*this*is*our*identity*and*part*of*our*life*story
and*this*also*related*to*giving*us*a*sense*of*purpose
!
Idiographic*(life*story:*everyone*will*have*their*own
Life'Story,'Identity'and'the'Self'
unique*story)*and*humanistic*(interested*in*the*human
For*McAdams*our*sense*of*identity*is*a*
being)
connection*that*persists*through*our*
lives*and*is*projected*on*into*the*future*
What*McAdams*also*gives*us*is,*‘Who*we*are*and*how
e.g.*you*imagine*where*will*be*in*5
we*conceptualize*personality*now*might*be*different*in
years*time*–*these*are*projections*of
100*years*time.*That*any*point*in*time*we*get*a*snapshot
who*we*think*we*are*going*to*be
how*personality*it*and*how*its*being*expressed’
! We*construct*moreZ*or*less
! If*the*psychologist*seeks*to*describe*and*explain
coherent*stories*which*‘provide
the*personality*of*a*typical*adult*living*in*modern
the*person*with*a*purposeful
society,*then*the*answer*to*this*question*is
self*history*that*explains*how
identity.3The*answer*stems*from*the
the*self*of*yesterday*became*the
characteristic*mind*set*of*modernity,*within
self*of*today*and*will*become
which*individuals*are*expected*to*create,
the*anticipated*self*of*tomorrow
discover,*explore,*control*and*‘work*on’
! Our*stories*connect*past,
personalized*selves*as*reflexive*projects*that
present*and*future
define*who*they*are*over*time*and*how*they*are
similar*to*as*well*as*different*from*other
So3can3McAdams3bring3it3all3together3in3
individuals’
a3more3coherent3sense3then3Myer3did?33
!
Is*there*such*a*thing*as*modern*personality?
! With*Myer*he*puts*everything
What*he*wants*to*do*is*contextualize*personality
into*a*box*–*those*areas*of
rather*than*just*saying*we*developed*these
research*all*got*evidence*but
theories*of*personality*and*they*are*universal*and
there*is*no*sense*of*how*it
are*right*for*everyone*for*the*rest*of*time,*he
connects*to*one*another.
wants*to*say*that*maybe*our*theories*will*be
! McAdams*try*to*show*how
outdated*in*50*or*100*years*time,*we*knows*what
there*are*causal*links*between
advances*in*human*society*might*occur.
these*varies*components
*
2
Integration*and*Future*Directions*
Criticism'of'personality'theories'
! Theories'of'personality:
rooted*in*Western*
philosophical*and*religious*
assumptions*about*persons*
! Most*research*conduced*on
WIERDos*–*Western,
Educated,*Industrialized,*Rich,
and*Democratic*cultures
! These*assumptions*are*then
imposed*upon*different
cultures
! Ignores*cultural*differences
Assumptions''
Western3Traditions3
! Person/situation*debate*–*we
said*that*the*person*is*distinct
from*the*situation*and*there
was*been*an*huge*debate,
what*is*the*primary
determinate*of*behaviour
! Person*is*distinct*from*the
(social*environment)
! Assumed*‘universality’*of
personality
Models'of'Self'
Individualist3cultures33
More*value*is*placed*on*the*unique*selfZ
separate*from*the*situation**
*
! Individualist:*values*independent*and
unique*self*(generally*western)
! Independent,*egocentric*selfZconstrual
! Most*psychology*theories*value*‘
individualist*selves’
Collectivist3Cultures33
More*interdependent*self,*where*your*group*
identity,*your*relationship*to*others**is*taken*
much*more*into*account.*Part*of*a*network*
rather*than*being*a*unique*individual*separate*
from*everybody*else.**
! Collectivism:*values*interdependent
self*embedded*within*social*context
! Interdependent,*socioZcentric*selfZ
construal
*
! Strong*group*identity
! Person*is*a*node*within*a*social
network
! Majority*of*the*world
Cultural'Research'and'Criticms'
of'personliaty'theories''
! Western*Bias
! The*model*that*is*inscried
in*many*theories*of
personality*does*not
relfect*human*nature;
instead*it*relfects*the*ideas
&*practices*of*European
American*contexts
! Futhermore:*the*model
only*reflects*middle'class
values*e.g.*valyes*of*selfD
expression
SUMMARY:'
! Personality*theory*attempts*to*integrate*the*various*aspects*of*psychology
! McAdams*approach*addresses*traits,*adaptations*and*the*self*(narrative*identity)
! Personality*approaches*have*been*criticized*as*biased*towards*Western*perspectives
(person*independent*of*the*situation)
! Ongoing*research*and*theory*development
*
3
Personality,Assessment,&,Theory,
Why$assess$personality?$$
! Organizational$e.g.,personnel,selection
! Counseling,e.g.,career,choice;,managing
solutions
! Clinical$e.g.,DSM5,and,increased,interest,in
personality,e.g.,personality,disorders
Personality$Assessment$$
Basics:,Psychometric,components,
Reliability$and$validity$$
! A,good,personality,assessment,tool,is,both
reliable,and,valid
! Not,always,easy,to,determine
! Many,tests,available
Reliability:$Consistency$
! Internal$consistency:,consistency,among
different,components,of,the,test.,When,we
are,talking,about,something,being,internally
reliably,,we,are,looking,that,the,test,is
consistent,with,itself.(e.g.,test,items,and
how,well,they,correlate,with,each,other),e.g.
test,components,correlate,well
! Inter@rater$reliability:,consistency,in
information,found,by,different,users,e.g.
similar,outcomes,across,different,users,(so
if,one,person,gets,a,test,,if,two,different
people,score,it,,hopefully,they,come,up,with
the,same,result.,Hopefully,there,is,some,sort
of,consistency,between,two,people,scoring
the,same,test.)
! Test@retest$reliability:,consistency,over
testing.,Correlation,between,two,separate
sittings,of,the,test.
Validity:$Construct$validity,$
Does,a,tool,assess,what,it,intends,to,assess?,E.g.,
test,of,‘self,esteem’,should,not,be,assessing,
‘arrogance’,,
! Convergent/divergent/discriminant,validity
! Predictive/criterion
The$significance$of$theory$
! When,assessing,X,it,helps,to,have,some,idea
of,what,X,is
! What,is,personality?,–,Its,hard,to,say
personality,is,this,and,that,,there,are
actually,200+,constructs
! Assessment,determined,by,one’s
,
understanding,of,personality,as,there,are
differing,approaches
What,is,personality?,
McAdams,–,Personality,structure/,Hierarchy,
1. Dispositional,Traits
2. Characteristic,adaptions
3. Narrative,identity,as,‘life,story’
1.Dispositional,Traits
! Personality,dimensions
! CrossVsituational,,enduring,‘dispositions’
! Digman:,Personality,can,be,understand,of,5
traits
! OCEAN:,openness,to,experience,
conscientiousness,,Extraversion/Introversion,,
Agreeableness,,Neuroticism
! Trait,stability,&,predictability
Personality$Inventories$
! Traits,assessed,typically,via,self@report
! Quantification,and,assessing,scale,reliability
and,aspects,of,validity
! Measurement,and,precision
! International,Personality,Item,pool–,lists
some,200,constructs,and,free,to,use,scales,for,
assessing,various,personality,components
! Closed,ended,questions,(typically)
• A,number,of,response,alternatives,are
provided,for,the,respondent,to,choose
from,e.g.,True/False
Advantages*and*disadvantages*of*self/report*
questionaries’**
! Limits,of,behavioral,observation
! SelfVreport,allows,gathering,large,amount,of
information,fairly,easily
! Not,without,problems:
• Biases,e.g.,social,desirability,,acquiescence
• Faking,food,and,faking,bad;,cheating
• Memory,errors,and,limits,of,insight,(e.g.
kids),
• NOTE:,self,report,still,generally,predicts
performance
A*very*common*type*of*scale*format*is,Liket$scale$
V 1,=,strongly,disagree,
V 3,=,Neutral,
V 5,=,Strongly,agree,
V Sometimes,a,researcher,will,choose,even,
numbers,to,avoid,the,‘neutral’,option,,
V To*what*extent*do*you*enjoy*being*the*life*of*he*
part?*,
" (Not,at,all),1,2,3,4,5,(Greatly)
V Balanced,response,format,
One,of,the,major,problems,with,Liket,scales,is,that,
4
they,are,very,easy,to,fake,,
Personality,Assessment,&,Theory,
Forced@$choice$formats$$
! Choosing,from,multiple*stimuli
! The,idea,here,is,to,make,social
desirability,responses,very,difficult
because,it’s,not,clear,as,to,what,the
actually,desirable,response,should,be.
! It,also,prevents,acquiescence,(e.g.
performance,ratings)
Forced/choice*(A)*(example):*
Choose,which,alternative,in,the,following,pair,
is,most,like,you,(mark,a,or,b):,
a) Conscientious,and,hardworking
b) Mentally,healthy,and,wellVadjusted
" The,point,of,the,question,is,that,either
response,is,good.,So,this,makes,it,difficult,to
fake,a,response,like,this.
" A,potential,problem,with,this,test,is,that,it
gives,you,categorical,information,rather,then
quantitative,information
2.Personal+Concerns
! Personal,goals,&,motives
! Defense,mechanisms,&,coping
strategies
! Values,&,beliefs
! Attachment,&,relationship,styles
! DomainVspecific,skills,&,Interests
! Can,be,more,difficult,to,assess
! CrossVover,with,other,areas,of
psychology
Disadvantages*
! Generally,problems,of,reliability,and,validity
e.g.,poorVrater,reliability;,poor
predictive/discriminant,validity
! However:,standardized,scoring,and
interpretation,has,improved,predictive,validity
but..
! Time,consuming,and,difficult,to,score.
3.Identify,as,life,stories
! Narrative,&,making,sense,of,one’s,life
! Central,to,identify,throughout,life
! Through,our,stories,we,define,ourselves,&,form
our,identify
! Humanistic,approach
! Qualitative,research
Assessing*McAdams*Identity*as*life*stories**
Interviews,
Interviews,have,been,a,widely,used,means,of,
gathering,personality,information.,,
Open@ended$questions$$
! Respondents,formulate,their,own,answers
• Unstructured,(freeVform)
• Structured,(specific,topics)
• SemiVstructured,(specified,topics,but
flexibility,e.g.,interviewer,can,ask,followVup
questions,for,clarification:,when,you,say,X,
what,do,you,mean?)
Assessing*McAdams*Personal*concerns*
Self0report+assessment++
Adult,attachment,assessment,,
! E.g.,experiences,in,close,relationships,–
R,scale
! I*rarely*worry*about*my*partner*leaving
me
Defense,mechanisms,selfVreport,scales,
! Defense,style,questionnaire
! I*work*more*things*out*in*my
daydreams*than*in*my*real*life
Example,from,McAdam’s,‘life,story’,structured,
interview,
(Section,A:,30,minutes),there,are,sections,AVG,
! High,point?
! Low,point?
! Turning,point?
! Positive,childhood,memory?
! Negative,childhood,memory?
! Vivid,adult,memory?
! Wisdom,event?
! Religious,or,spiritual,experience?
" Asking,someone,all,these,questions,and,going,from
sections,AVG,you,would,be,able,to,get,an
understanding,and,a,sense,of,that,persons,‘sense,of
identity’
Projective$testing$
! Aspects,of,personality,that,cannot,be
assessed,directly,via,selfVreflection,e.g.,
unconscious,processes,,
! Dream,analysis
! Research,inkblot,test
! Thematic,Apperception,test
,
! Inferences$made,from,content,of
responses
Interview*advantages:*
V Multiple,source,of,information,e.g.,nonVverbal,
signs,,voice,,facial,expression,,
V Possible,to,explore,personality,in,depth,
V Flexibility,
V Qualitative,information,(,a,sense,of,meaning),
V Interviewer,and,interviewee,can,both,readily,
ask,for,clarification,(sometime,people,might,
want,to,ask,what,does,something,mean?),
5