1 Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology September 9 Lecture 2.

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Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology

September 9

Lecture 2

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Scoring Your Questionnaire: BFT

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

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1. As noted in the course syllabus, tentative learning objectives will be posted on the course website the evening before each class period (by 9:00PM).

Finalized learning objectives will be included in the lectures slides posted after each class period.

Announcements

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2. The schedule for the Peer Mentor Program has been posted on the course website. Locations to be

announced. Mark your calendars!

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3. As noted in the course syllabus, Chapter 2 reviews content (research methods) taught in the prerequisites for this course and will not be discussed in class. Optional review sessions for this chapter will be held on:

September 15, 12:00-1:00PM, Kenny 2101September 15, 4:30-5:30PM, Kenny 2101

Students who are not able to attend these sessions may meet with me or the TA.

Exam 1 will include 2-3 multiple choice questions (2-3 points/50 points) from Chapter 2.

A little R&R ….(Review and Reflect)

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Let’s begin!

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Top 5 preferences among students (in rank order):

1. Personality and Psychopaths.2. Personality Disorders.3. Personality and Happiness.4. Personality Stability and Change.5. Sex Differences in Personality.

• Students’ desired course content:

The “Its My Course” Questionnaire: Results

• Other topics of interest to students:

Personality testing (i.e., assessment). Introversion/extraversion. Dreams. Freud. Personality development. Free will/determinism; nature vs. nurture. Heritability of personality characteristics. Birth order effects. Motivation. Personality growth. Personality and religion. Personality and “real world” applications.

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1. What is personality?

2. Why study personality?

Introductory Concepts and Personality Assessment

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3. What is a theory?

4. How is research used to test a theory?

5. How are personality variables measured?

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

1. define the term personality.

2. identify the goals of personality psychology.

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3. distinguish between a theory and a construct.

4. identify the functions of a theory.

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5. define the term operationalization.

6. generate examples of operationalizations.

7. discuss the interactive relationship between theory and research.

8. review personality measurement techniques.

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Question: What is personality?

Answer: Personality is ….

• Class Exercise:

What is personality?

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• Carver and Scheier (p. 4): “Personality is a dynamic organization, inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create the person’s characteristic patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings.”

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• Noteworthy points:1. “psychophysical”2. “dynamic”3. “organization”4. “create”5. “characteristic patterns”6. “behavior, thoughts, and feelings”

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Why study personality?

• Personality psychology has three goals:

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1. Descriptive goal.

2. Explanatory goal.

3. Predictive goal; particularly relevant to applied (e.g., clinical, military, corporate) settings.

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What is a theory?

• Theory: A proposed explanation or interpretation of the relations among constructs.

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• Construct: A conceptual or hypothetical variable that can’t be directly observed.

Examples of variables that are constructs: Aggressiveness, optimism, intelligence, self-esteem.

Examples of variables that are not constructs: Hair colour, eye colour, weight, height, blood pressure.

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Is personality a construct?

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• Theories serve two functions:

1. Synthesizing function: Organize and explain observations.

2. Heuristic function: Generate predictions (i.e., hypotheses).

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• Operationalization: The translation of a construct into a variable that can be observed and, therefore, measured.

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• In order to test a theory, researchers must identify observable variables that reflect the constructs of interest.

How is research used to test a theory?

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• Examples of operationalizations:

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Construct: Aggressiveness.Operationalization: Frequency and intensity of shocks given to a confederate.

Construct: Intelligence.Operationalization: Scores on an IQ test.

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Construct: Self-esteem.Operationalization: Scores on a self-report measure of global self-worth.

Construct: Personality.Operationalization: ?

Theories

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Hypotheses

Operationalizations

Research (i.e., experiments, correlational studies, case studies; see Chapter 2)

Observations

InteractiveRelationship

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How are personality variables measured?

• Personality variables are operationalized (i.e., translated into observable variables) using several techniques:

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observer ratings (e.g., interviews, behavioural observations, informant data).

implicit assessments (e.g., Rorschach Ink Blot Test, Picture Story Exercise).

self-reports (most common; e.g., questionnaires).

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Implicit Assessment: Rorschach Ink Blot Test

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Participants complete the statement “I am” 20 times.

Researchers count the number of statements that refer to a given personality characteristic.

Unstructured Self-Report: The Twenty-Statements Test

I am _______________I am _______________I am _______________I am _______________

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True/false items: I like loud and crowded parties ………… T/FI enjoy trying new foods …………………. T/F

Adjective checklists: adventurous

conservative

Structured Self-Report: True/False Items and Adjective Checklists

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Using the scale below, please indicate how much you disagree or agree with the following statements. Circle the appropriate number to the right of each statement.

1 2 3 4 5 Strongly Neutral Strongly disagree agree

1. I feel that I’m a person of worth, at least on an equal basis with others …………………………….. 1 22. I feel that I have a number of good qualities …….. 1 23. All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure …. 1 24. I am able to do things as well as most people …… 1 2

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Structured Self-Report: Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale

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

1. define the term personality.

2. identify the goals of personality psychology.

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3. distinguish between a theory and a construct.

4. identify the functions of a theory.

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5. define the term operationalization.

6. generate examples of operationalizations.

7. discuss the interactive relationship between theory and research.

8. review personality measurement techniques.