Psychology

Chapter 1

The Psychology of Personality:

An Overview

Chapter 1The Psychology of Personality:

An Overview

List of Slides

1-1: Common Features of Definitions of Personality (Brief)1-2: Common Features of Definitions of Personality (Detailed)1-3; The Scope of the Study of Personality (Brief)1-4: The Scope of the Study of Personality (Detailed)1-5: Six Theoretical Viewpoints (Figure)1-6: Research Methods in Personality Psychology (Brief)1-7: Methods of the Clinical Approach (Detailed)1-8: Evaluation of the Clinical Approach (Brief)1-9: Evaluation of the Clinical Approach (Detailed)1-10: The Correlational Approach (Brief)1-11: The Correlational Approach (Detailed)1-12: Scatter Plot Illustrating a Correlational Relationship (Figure)1-13: Types of Correaltional Relationships (Detailed)1-14: Scatter Plot Illustrating a Positive Correaltional Relationship (Figure)1-15: Scatter Plot Illustrating a Negative Correlational Relationship (Figure)1-16: Scatter Plot Illustrating an Uncorrelated Relationship (Figure)1-17: Interpreting Correlational Relationships (Detailed)


An Overview

List of Slides

1-18: Scatter Plots Illustrating the Strength of Various Correlational Relationships (Figure)

1-19: Scatter Plots Illustrating the Strength of Two Positive Correlational Relationships (Figure)

1-20: Scatter Plot Illustrating the Strength of an Uncorrelated Relationship (Figure)

1-21: Scatter Plots Illustrating the Strength of Two Negative Correlational Relationships (Figure)

1-22: Part 1: The Third-Variable Problem (Figure)

1-23: Part 2: The Third-Variable problem (Figure)

1-24: Evaluation of the Correlational Approach (Brief)

1-25: Evaluation of the Correlational Approach (Detailed)

1-26: Basic Principles of the Experimental Approach (Brief)

1-27: The Experimental Approach (Detailed)

1-28: Basic Principles of the Experimental Approach [Systematic Intervention] (Detailed)

1-29; Basic Principles of the Experimental Approach [Systematic Observation] (Detailed)

1-30: Basic Principles of the Experimental Approach [Experimental Control] (Detailed)


An Overview

List of Slides

1-31: Evaluation of the Experimental Approach (Brief)

1-32: Evaluation of the Experimental Approach (Detailed)

1-33; Ethical Concerns (Brief)

1-34: Ethical Concerns (Detailed)

1-35; Solutions to Ethical Concerns (Brief)

1-36: Solutions to Ethical Concerns (Detailed)

Common Features of Definitions of Personality

• Uniqueness of the Individual

• Consistency of Behavior

• Content and Processes of Personality

1.1

Common Features of Definitions of Personality

Feature Description

Uniqueness of the Individual

Provides an explanation for what makes each individual’s personality unique

Consistency of Behavior

Accounts for the consistency of an individual’s behavior over time and across situations

Content and Process of Personality

Describes the underlying operational elements that serve to create a unique and consistent expression of the individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior

1.2

The Scope of the Study of Personality

• Theory Development

• Personality Research

• Personality Development

• Personality Assessment

• Applications in Personality Psychology

1.3

The Scope of the Study of Personality

Area of Study

Brief Description

Theory Development

The formulation of theories to help explain and predict various aspects of personality

Personality Research

Testing hypotheses based on a particular theory through systematic research

Personality Development

The investigation of the nature of personality development over the lifespan

Personality Assessment

The development and utilization of assessment techniques designed to measure different aspects personality

Applications of Personality Psychology

The utilization of personality psychology to address concerns in a variety of areas to help individuals and organizations

1.4

Explaining the same overt behavior from six theoretical viewpoints

1.5

Research Methods in Personality Psychology

• The Clinical Approach

• The Correlational Approach

• The Experimental Approach

1.6

Methods of the Clinical Approach

Clinical Method

Description of Method

Case Study A comprehensive investigation of past and present factors contributing to the behavior of an individual or limited group of individuals

Individual Interview

Obtaining personal and vital information about an individual by systematically asking the person questions

Analysis of PersonalDocuments

The study of an individual’s personality through the systematic analysis of information found in such personal documents as letters, diaries, speeches, or recordings

1.7

Evaluation of the Clinical Approach

Characteristics Strengths• In-depth Understanding of the Individual

• Study Developmental and Adjustment Processes Over Time

• Investigation of Extreme and Rare Events

Characteristic Limitations• Limited Generalizability

• Personal Biases

1.8

Evaluation of the Clinical Approach Characteristic Strengths

• Represents a number of techniques to study an individual or small groups of individuals in great detail.

• Provides an in-depth understanding of the developmental changes in the thoughts and behaviors of the individual

• Can be use to illustrate or document the existence of rare or unusual phenomena

Characteristic Limitations

• The use of relatively small sample sizes makes generalizing the findings to other groups difficult

• Biases associated with the selective reporting of information by participants and selective interpretation of this information by researchers

1.9

The Correlational Approach

• Correlational Research

• The Scatter Plot

• Correlational Relationships ▪ Positive Relationship ▪ Negative Relationship ▪ Uncorrelated Relationship• The Correlational Coefficient

• The Third-Variable Problem

1.10

The Correlational Approach

Basic Logic: The collection of data in an attempt to establish of the nature of the relationship between two variables

Scatter Plot: The arrangement of data points representing the corresponding values on two variables to create a graph illustrating the nature of relationship between the two variables

1.11

This scatter plot illustrates the correlational relationship between shyness and loneliness scores for these individuals.

1.12

Types of Correlational Relationships

Type Description

PositiveRelationship

As the value of one variable gets larger, the corresponding value of the second variable also increases

Negative Relationship

As the value of one variable gets larger, the corresponding value of the second variable shows a decrease

UncorrelatedRelationship

As the value of one variable changes, there is no corresponding pattern of systematic change in the second variable

1.13

This scatter plot illustrates a positive correlational relationship between loneliness and shyness scores for these individuals.

1.14

This scatter plot illustrates a negative correlational relationship between self-esteem and shyness for these individuals.

1.15

This scatter plot illustrates an uncorrelated relationship between sincerity and introversion scores for these individuals.

1.16

Interpreting Correlational Relationships

Concept Interpretation

CorrelationCofficient

The numerical value indicating the strength of association between the two variables

Index of theCorrelationCofficient (r)

The range of values for this index can vary from a value of r = +1.00 to r = 0.00 to r = -1.00

Strength of Association

The closer r is to +1.00 or -1.00, the stronger the association; the closer r is to 0.00, the weaker the association

Third-VariableProblem

The interpretation of a corrleational relationship may be influenced by another (i.e., third) variable not being considered

1.17

The greater the degree of spread in the points in a scatter plot, the weaker the strength of the correlational relationship.

1.18

Scatter plots illustrating the strength of two proposed positive correlational relationships

1.19

This scatter plot illustrates the strength of an uncorrelated relationship.

1.20

Scatter plots illustrating the strength of two proposed negative correlational relationships

1.21

Proposed correlational relationship between shyness and test anxiety without considering a third variable

Part 1: Third-Variable Problem

1.22

A proposed relationship between shyness, test anxiety, and the third variable of self-consciousness

Part 2: The Third-Variable Problem

1.23

Evaluation of the Correlational Approach

Characteristics Strengths• Identification of Relationships

• Ethical and Procedural Considerations


• The Third-Variable Problem

• Undetermined Causal Relationships

1.24

Evaluation of the Correlational Approach

Characteristic Strengths

• Potential for exploring and indentifying the nature of relationships between different variables

• Potential for investigating questions with sensitive ethical and procedural concerns


• Potential problems with the interpretation of correlational relationships due to the presence of a third variable

• Correlational relationships do not make possible statements of causal relationships between two variables

1.25

Basic Principles of the Experimental Approach

• Systematic Intervention ▪ Independent Variable

• Systematic Observation ▪ Dependent Variable

• Experimental Control ▪ Random Assignment ▪ Standardization of Procedures ▪ Control Group

1.26

The Experimental Approach

Basic Logic: To establish the causal relationship between two variables by systematically making changes in one variable to determine what effect these changes have on a second while controlling for the influence of outside factors on the second variable

1.27


Basic Principle Description

SystematicIntervention

Varying the level of exposure of one variable to determine its effect on a second variable

• Independent Variable

A factor that when varied is believed to cause changes in a second variable

1.28



SystematicObservation

The measurement of changes in a second variable caused the influence of the independent variable

• Dependent Variable

The variable being affected by the changes in the independent variable

• Group Mean The average score for the dependent variable for a particular group

1.29



ExperimentalControl

Attempts to eliminate the outside influence of other variable on the dependent variable

• Random Assignment

Each participant has an equal chance of being assigned to any level of the independent variable

• Stanradard- ization of Procedures

The treatment of individuals at all levels of the independent variable in a similar manner

• Control Group

A comparison group of individuals not exposed to the independent variable

• Meta-Analysis Comparing findings across similar studies

1.30

Evaluation of the Experimental Approach

Characteristic Strengths• Controlled Observations• Causal Explanations

Characteristic Limitations• Group Means vs. the Individual-lost info• Limited Generalizability• Experimenter Bias

1.31

Evaluation of the Experimental Approach

Characteristic Strengths

• Exercise control over the environmental conditions

• Causal explanation possible due to controlling for the influence of outside variables


• Emphasis on “average response” over the response of the individuals

• Limited generalizability of findings from controlled environments to the real world

• Potential for experimenter bias by intentionally or unintentionally attempting to influence the research results

1.32

Ethical Concerns

• Inducing Stress

• Deception

• Justifying Research Procedures

1.33

Ethical Concerns

EthicalConcern Description

InducingStress

The research procedures causing physical and/or psychological distress to participants

Deception Deliberately misleading participants regarding the actual purpose of the research

Justificationof ResearchProcedures

Researchers exaggerating the importance of their research to justify the use of stress-inducing procedures

1.34

Solutions to Ethical Concerns

• Informed Consent

• Debriefing

• Ethical Guidelines ▪ Professional Organizations ▪ Ethics Review BoardsIRB Institutional review boards

1.35

Solutions to Ethical ConcernsSolution Description

InformedConsent

Participants can decide to participate in research based on a reasonable explanation of the procedures

Debriefing Participants are giving a complete explanation of the research after their participation

Ethical Guidelines

The establishment of standards for the treatment of research participants

▪ Professional Organizations

American Psychological Association has rules for how its members treat participants

▪ Ethics Review Boards

Individuals not affiliated with the research project evaluate its prodecures

1.36