Personality and Situational Interaction Quiz

Theoretical and Measurement Issues in Trait Psychology

• Trait psychology is also known as differential psychology.
• Focuses on meaningful differences between individuals in terms of traits, rather than just general personality.
• Trait psychologists believe that personality is a combination of a few basic or primary traits.
• Personality is a set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual, that organize and influence interactions and adaptations to the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments.

Personality Means

• To calculate a score for each of the five factors, find the mean of the indicated items.
• Items with an asterisk (*) must be reverse coded before calculating the mean.
• Reverse coding is as follows: 1 = 7, 2 = 6, 3 = 5, 5 = 3, 6 = 2, and 7 = 1.
• Example scores are provided for different factors (Surgency, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Openness/Intellect)

Theoretical Issues

• Meaningful differences between individuals
• Consistency over time
• Consistency across situations

Meaningful Differences Between Individuals

• There are meaningful differences between individuals
• Trait psychology is also called differential psychology.
• People differ in amounts of traits, and differences can be accurately measured
• Every personality, no matter how complex or unusual is the product of a particular combination of a few basic and primary traits.

Consistency Over Time

• Research shows consistency over time for broad traits.
• How a trait is manifested in behavior might change over time.
• How can there be consistency in a trait if it's known to change with age (e.g., impulsivity)?
• Focus on the rank order differences between people

Caspi, Elder, and Bem, 1987

• Caspi, Elder, and Bem (1987) found that childhood personality traits influence adult outcomes and remain stable over time.
• Traits like aggression, sociability, and shyness tend to persist into adulthood.
• However, life events and social roles can shape and modify traits.
• The study found that early personality traits predict long-term outcomes, such as relationship stability and career success.
• Correlation of -.45 between throwing temper tantrums in childhood and being able to hold a job later.

Rank Order

• Rank order: One's relative position within the group remains constant.
• Example provided: At Age 20 and Age 60 and how the relative position remains consistent

Consistency Across Situations

• Trait psychologists traditionally assumed cross-situation consistency.
• If situations mainly control how people behave, then the existence or relevance of traits is questionable.
• Situationism: If behavior varies across situations, then situational differences and not personality traits determine behavior.

Hartshorne & May's Cross-situational Study

• Study conducted in 1928
• Observed honest and dishonest behavior in children’s academic and play situations, such as cheating at summer camp games.
• May not support a strong relationship between trait and behaviour.
• Criticized for measuring behavior on one occasion.

Person-Situation Interaction

• Two possible explanations for behavior: (1) Behavior is a function of personality traits; (2) Behavior is a function of situational forces
• A way to integrate the factors is: Behaviour = f(PXS).
• Behaviour is influenced by both person's personality and situation.
• Strong situation: situations in which most people react similarly (e.g., feelings of grief).
• Certain situations may provoke behavior that is out of character.

Aggregation

• The process of averaging several single observations
• Single behaviour or occasion may be influenced by extenuating circumstances that aren't related to personality.
• Traits are one influence on behavior, and average behaviour level is important.
• Relevant researchers are Seymour Epstein and Fleeson

The Goldilocks Zone of Personality Measurement

• Dr. Sampo Paunonen (1952–2015) – leading researcher studied complexities of trait theory and measurement.
• Traits can predict human behaviour.
• Facets are better predictors of specific behavior than broad traits.

Measurement Issues

• Trait approach relies on self-report surveys to measure personality as dimensions.
• Trait psychologists address circumstances affecting accuracy, reliability, validity, and utility of self-report measures.
• Important measurement issues for trait research: (1)Carelessness, (2)Faking on questionnaires, (3)Barnum statements.

Personality and Prediction

• Employment success may be determined, in part, by whether a person's personality traits mesh with job requirements.
• Personality traits can predict the likelihood of success in different jobs.
• It makes sense to select people for jobs based on personality.
• Limitations of using personality tests to select employees include: Lawsuits and various concerns.
• Legal issues in personality testing in employment settings: (1)right to privacy, (2)discrimination, (3)disparate impact, (4)race or gender norming.

Personnel Selection: Choosing the Right Person for Job

• Personality tests are used to screen out unsuitable individuals, for example, for police officers.
• Relevant tests include the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI II), California Personality Inventory (CPI), 16 Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire, and RCMP Six Factor Personality Questionnaire.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

• MBTI is a widely used personality assessment device.
• It assesses eight fundamental preferences which reduce to four scores:
  • Extraverted/Introverted
  • Sensing/Intuition
  • Thinking/ Feeling
  • Judging/Perceiving

Selection in Business Settings: The Hogan Personality Inventory

• Based on the Big Five model.
• People want acceptance, status, control of resources, and predictability.
• Contains seven primary scales and six occupational scales.
• High measurement reliability.

Summary and Evaluation

• Hallmark of trait perspective is the emphasis on differences in person.
• Trait psychologists assume that people will be relatively constant over time and across most situations in behaviors.
• Traits are likely to influence behaviour when the situation is weak and ambiguous, and doesn't push for conformity.
• Personality traits refer to the average tendencies in behaviour.
• Interest in measurement and prediction has led trait psychologists to apply skills to select job applicants and other situations.