PSYC 305 || A+ Verified Solutions.
History of Personality Psychology correct answers -walter michelle- he believed that personality
changes between situations
-before this was not believed and people thought personality was entirely stable (innaccurate)
-Michelle says idea of personality is a myth- he is a "situationist"
-Data collected and it is shown that: personality is a real thing-- cant predict everything but the
situation does matter (there is an interaction between situation and personality)
-Michelles idea was disproven with collection of big 5 data
-not much theory behind big five data- it was data driven
-opened dictionary and looked for adjectives that could be grouped-- factor analysis
The Royal Tenenbaums and themes in personality correct answers -3 children, parents separeted,
education very important to their mother, father rough on margot and her play writing, favored
richie and his athletic ability, less attention given to margot and Chas the business entrepreneur
-Margot- poor relationship with father explains why she chooses to marry very caring man. Has a
personality that is depressed
-Chas: serious, high on concientiousness
-Richie: athletically inclined
group level of analysis correct answers grouping people based on a trait
The Royal Tenenbaums and themes in personality that are evident through the movie clip as
discussed in class correct answers -individual differences
-motives, goals and emotions
-personality change and contiunuum over time
-childhood influences adulthood
what is personality? correct answers -descriptive characteristics (traits) e.g. intelligent, hard
working. Uses mainly adjectives but sometimes nouns
-motives and goals. e.g. achievement motivated, relationship motivated
-values. e.g. honest, loyal, selfish
-emotional tendencies e.g. anxious, moody, optimistic
-memories/ life stories e.g. "their father only took their younger brother on outings"
Defining personality correct answers consistent and enduring patterns of thoughts feelings and
behaviours that influence a person's interactions with and adaptions to the environment
origin of the word personality correct answers greek/latin word 'persona' (originally meant
mask): character represented in a play
-in ancient greece, actors (all men) wore masks so they could play multiple roles, including
female parts
-facial expressions on the masks (happy, angry, sad) helped convey the essence of the character
-sex, age and social class was also depicted
how do we use personality in everyday life? correct answers -evaluation (its his personality that I
like)
-decription (hes compassionate but also assertive)
-continuity (Ive told her a million times not to take my clothes but she still does even though she
knows it makes me angry)
defining personality through three categories: correct answers -thoughts (beliefs, values,
expectations) ex. i think that relationships are more important than school, most people can be
trusted
,-feelings (emotions, passions) ex. i feel happy most of the time, i feel nervous when i first meet
someone
-behaviours (actions) ex. i go to alot of parties, im always late
who is dan mcadams? correct answers largely interested in life history and narratives
surrounding personality
Personality quote by Kluckhom and murray correct answers "every person is in certain respects:
like all other people, like some other people, like no other person."
Three levels of personality analysis: ... like all others= human nature level correct answers all
people are similar in some ways; we all need other people because we are a social species.
another example: Albert enjoys a good meal
Three levels of personality analysis: ... like some others= group level correct answers people
vary on common dimensions; some of us are more sociable than others
e.g. extroversion vs introversion, gender, culture, Albert is good at math
Three levels of personality analysis: ... like no others= individual level correct answers each
person is unique
e.g. Albert discovered relativity and developed quantum physics
application of theory: why do people act aggressively- universal correct answers all people will
respond aggressively if their life is being threatened and they cannot escape
-fight or flight response
application of theory: why do people act aggressively- individual differences correct answers in
the same situation, some people respond aggressively whereas others not
e.g. someone cuts you off on the road and what do you do?
application of theory: why do people act aggressively- unique case correct answers some acts of
aggression can only be understood from the particular individual's perspective
-on Sunday evening Decemeber 23, 1888, Vincent Van Gogh, then 35, cut off the lower half of
his left ear and took it to a brothel where he asked for a prostitute named Rachel and handed the
ear to her, asking her to keep it carefully
-need to look at potential mental disorder
stanley cup riots correct answers june 16th, 2011, rioting occurred throughout downtown
Vancouver after the canucks lost game 7 of the stanley cup
-break ins, destruction of property, drunk and disorderly
-hundreds of suspects identified
-thousands cheered them on
What caused the canuck riots? correct answers -situation- angry about the game, drunkeness,
desire to witness history
-personality- 155,000 people went dt, only 0.06% arrested (unique cases), if 10,000 people
contributed to the riots by cheering thats stil only 6%- maybe this is individual excitement
seeking
levels of analysis of personality: human nature and the canuck riots correct answers people were
caught up in the crowd; happens to everyone
levels of analysis of personality: individual differences correct answers some people are more
inclined toward anti-social or aggressive behaviour
levels of analysis of personality: unique case correct answers it was reported that the riots were
pre-planned
pre-scientific methodology: astrology correct answers personality assessment based on birth date
,pre-scientific methodology: physiognomy correct answers personality assessment based on shape
of body, particularly the face
pre-scientific methodology: phrenology correct answers personality assessment based on
morphology or shape of skull
e.g. if you use the aggressive part of your brain more it gets larger and can be identified as a
bump on the head. This is really psuedoscience
pre-scientific methodology: Hippocrates' four humours, yellow bile: correct answers courageous,
hopeful, playful, carefree
pre-scientific methodology: Hippocrates' four humours, black bile correct answers ambitious,
leader like, restless, easily angered
pre-scientific methodology: Hippocrates' four humours, phlegm correct answers despondent,
quite, analytical, serious
pre-scientific methodology: Hippocrates' four humours, blood correct answers calm, thoughtful,
patient, peaceful
contemporary approaches to studying personality correct answers self reports (surveys) (s-data)
observer reports (o-data)
test data (t-data)
life history data (l- data)
these are broad categories that capture many methods
contemporary approaches to studying personality: self report correct answers asking people
questions about their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
-can be unstructured or structured e.g. open ended is the Twenty Statements Test, strcutued e.g.
lickert rating scale 1-7
-provided by the subject
-responses to questionnaires
Ten item personality inventory (TIPI) correct answers personality assessment used adjectives
and you have to rate how this reflects you on a 7 point scale
self report data advantages and disadvantages correct answers advantages: allows study of
difficult to observe behaviours, thoughts and feelings
-easy to distribute to large groups
disadvantages: repondents might not be representative (do undergrads accurately represent
humanity?)
-responses might be biased or untruthful
observer report data correct answers observing behaviour of others
e.g. rating obama and harper on the big 5 (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness,
neurotic, open to experience)
who are the observers in observer reports? correct answers parents, friends, teachers- usually
collected by rating form or questionnaire
-trained observers- systematic observations of behaviour
-untrained, participant-observer- class ratings of Harper and Obama
observer report data advantages and disadvantages correct answers advantages: can capture
spontaneous behaviour, avoids bias of self-report; you can use multiple raters
-disadvantages: might capture rare behaviours- observers might not know criminality, observer
bias (often know target) and selective attention, time consuming
test data correct answers assessing an individuals abilities, cognitions, motivations, or behaviour
by observing their performance in a test situation
, -tests may be written, experimental, or physiological e.g. "actometer- activity register" used for
children aged 3 and 4, correlated highly with observer report of energetic vs. more laidback
children
kinds of test data correct answers -questionnaire tests e.g. IQ
-experimental tests- often in lab with a situation you design e.g. Megaree (1969) study of
dominance
Megaree (1969) study of dominance correct answers RQ: does trait of dominance (high vs low)
or gender predict leadership?
-paired high and low dominant men and women in box repair task
-same sex pairs: 75% of high dom became leader in male group, 70% high dom became leader in
female group
-co-ed pairs: high dom male, low dom female, male was leader 90% of the time, high dom
female low dom male, male was leader 80% of time!
why?
a closer look suggested that the females in the high dom female and low dom male group
actually picked the male to lead- so the high dom female made the decision
projective techniques and the thematic apperception test correct answers projective techniques:
perception of ambiguous stimuli reveals something about somones mental state or personality
e.g. Rorschach ink blots- what do yuo see> This is subjective.
Thematic apperception test- measures motives or needs (need for power, achievement etc.) Tell
story about whats happening in the photo and this will show what their needs are.
Life history L data and example correct answers -case studies- in depth look at individual
-intensive examination of single person or group
-ex) severity and frequency of temper tantrums reported by mom, O data and 30-40 y later they
did a follow up with the children.
MEN: significantly lower rank in military, erratic work life, unemployment, less satisfying
marriage
-WOMEN: "married down," higher divorce rates,
case study method and example correct answers info is obtained from life history e.g. interviews,
autobiographies
-other life records: life outcome data like school grades, criminal record, work records, FB pages
(take into consideration)
-ex) Ted Bundy- convicted of killing three women, was adopted and felt shame over never
knowing his parents, failed aspirations to be a lawyer, hostility toward women after being
rejected by his fiance, classic sociopathic personaltiy - gradniose, entitlement, lack of empathy,
torturing animals, destructive fires, bedwetting.
advantages to case study correct answers rich source of hypotheses (involve time course and
predictions)
-may be generalizable or individual specific
-allows study of rare behaviours (choose case study participant e.g. serial killer)
disadvantages of case study correct answers - observer bias
-difficult to generalize: is this unique to one person?
-difficult to reconstruct causes from complexity of past events (need experimentation)
judging personality correct answers some traits more easily judged by observers e.g.
extraversion, why? because extroverts ten to leave signs that are easily observed such as
talkative, taking the lead, sociable
