30 Questions
What is the purpose of infrequency scales in questionnaires?
To detect participants who answer items in a way that few people ever do
What type of responding involves attempting to appear better adjusted than one actually is?
Faking good
According to NOFTLE & ROBINS, what was the focus of their research?
The relationship between personality and academic achievement
At what level do changes or constancies affect different groups differently?
Group level
What is the term for attempting to appear worse off or less adjusted than one actually is?
Faking bad
What can be concluded about predictions made from personality traits?
They are moderately predictive, but with some variability
What does the Debasement Index measure?
The tendency to deprecate or devalue oneself by presenting more troublesome emotional and personal difficulties.
What is a key predictor of SAT scores and GPA?
Conscientiousness and openness
What is the primary issue with the Myer Briggs type?
It puts people in boxes that don't tell us much.
What type of stability is characterized by an individual maintaining their rank order relative to others, but changing in their absolute level?
Rank order stability
What is a response set that involves agreeing with items regardless of content?
Acquiescence
What is social desirability in the context of personality psychology?
A tendency to answer items in a way that makes one appear socially attractive or likable
During which stage of life do temperament variables show moderate levels of stability?
Infancy
How do researchers address the issue of social desirability in surveys?
By designing surveys that are susceptible to social desirability and then statistically removing it
What is the name of the index that measures an individual's tendency to present themselves in a socially attractive and morally virtuous light?
Desirability Index
At what stage of life do individuals tend to develop habits and produce behaviors that are comfortable for them?
Adulthood
What is an 'enduring' change in personality psychology?
A change that is resistant to change over time
What is the main issue with measuring individual differences in personality psychology?
It is hard to know how much of a trait someone has
What is internal change in the context of personality psychology?
A change that occurs due to internal factors
Why is it important to address social desirability in personality psychology research?
Because it can lead to more accurate results
What is the goal of measuring individual differences in personality psychology?
To determine how much of a trait someone has
What is a forced-choice format in the context of personality psychology research?
A type of question that requires participants to choose between two or more options
What happens to sensation seeking behavior across the lifespan?
It increases from childhood to adolescence, and then falls continuously after the 20s
What is the trend for femininity across the lifespan?
It drops from early 40s to 50s, and then remains stable
What happens to autonomy, leadership, dominance, and ambition across the lifespan?
They increase over time
What is the term for predictable changes in manifestations or outcomes of personality factors over time?
Coherence over time
What is a trend observed across cohorts?
An increase in self-sufficiency
What happens to flexibility and impulsivity across the lifespan?
They decrease over time
What is a sex difference observed in self-esteem from adolescence to adulthood?
Males increase, females decrease
What happens to competence across the lifespan?
Women's self-perceived competence increases, men's remains stable
Study Notes
Measurement Issues in Personality Psychology
- Social desirability: the tendency to answer questions in a way that appears socially attractive or likable
- Internal changes: changes that occur within a person, not due to external environmental factors
- Enduring changes: changes that are long-lasting over time, not temporary
Careless Responding and Faking on Questionnaires
- Infrequency scales: items that few people would answer in a certain way, used to detect careless responding
- Duplicate items: spaced far apart in the survey to detect careless responding
- Faking good: attempting to appear better adjusted than one actually is
- Faking bad: attempting to appear worse off than one actually is
- Disclosure index: measures whether a client is inclined to be frank and self-revealing or reticent and secretive
- Desirability index: measures the degree to which the results appear socially attractive, morally virtuous, or emotionally well-reserved
- Debasement index: measures the tendency to deprecate or devalue oneself by presenting more troublesome emotional and personal difficulties
Response Sets
- Acquiescence: the tendency to agree with items, regardless of content
- Extreme responding: the tendency to give endpoint responses
Personality Development and Stability
- Three key forms of stability:
- Rank order stability: maintaining an individual's position within a group over time
- Mean level stability: constancy of level in a population over time
- Personal coherence: maintaining rank order relative to others, but changing manifestations of the trait over time
- Infancy: moderate levels of stability in temperament variables during the first year of life
- Childhood: moderate levels of stability in activity level and aggression
- Adulthood: moderate to high levels of stability in the big 5 personality traits, with rank order stability found across multiple measures
Personality Change
- Changes in self-esteem from adolescence to adulthood: females decrease, males increase
- Autonomy, leadership, dominance, and ambition increase over time
- Flexibility and impulsivity decrease over lifespan
- Sensation seeking increases from childhood to adolescence, then falls continuously after 20s
- Femininity: drops from early 40s to 50s, with pressure to look a certain way decreasing with age
- Competence: self-perceived women increase, men stable
- Independence and traditional roles: general increase over time
- Changes in time across cohorts:
- Increase in narcissism in Western culture
- Self-sufficiency: more access to info and opportunities
- Education
- Assertiveness
Coherence Over Time
- Predictable changes in manifestations or outcomes of personality factors over time, even if underlying characteristics remain stable
This quiz covers common issues in personality psychology, including social desirability, internal changes, and enduring changes. It also explores methods to detect careless responding and faking on questionnaires.
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