Personality Psychology Overview

A person's characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. It's about individual differences, not shared human tendencies.

A limitation of personality theories is that they can't account for all the unique ways people are different. No theory is perfect!

A branch of psychology focused on measuring and assessing personalities using tools like questionnaires.

A method of assessing personality where individuals answer questions about themselves. It's common, but has limitations like biases.

A tendency for people to agree with everything on a questionnaire, regardless of the content.

A statistical measure of the strength and direction of a relationship between two variables.

A measure of internal consistency, indicating how well different items on a questionnaire measure the same thing.

A type of validity that assesses how well a scale predicts a real-world outcome or behavior.

A type of validity that assesses how well a scale measures a particular construct based on face value.

A scale is reliable if it consistently produces similar results over time and with different assessors.

A scale is valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure.

One of the five major personality dimensions, often referred to as 'outgoingness'. It's about being sociable, assertive, and energetic.

One of the five major personality dimensions, often referred to as 'agreeableness'. It's about being cooperative, trusting, and empathetic.

The Big Five dimensions are a widely accepted model of personality, but they don't capture all the ways people are different. It's a good starting point, but not everything.

The Big Five personality traits are like continuums, meaning people can fall anywhere on a scale for each trait. You can have a lot of one trait and less of another.

Experiences that are unique to each person – things that set siblings apart. For example, different friends, hobbies, or events.

Experiences that are shared between people, particularly within families, like socioeconomic status, parenting styles, or family dynamics.

The three main influences that shape personality are: genetic predispositions, shared environment, and nonshared environment.

The percentage of variation in a trait within a group of people that is attributable to genetics.

A process by which environmental factors can influence gene expression, leading to changes in traits. It's like a switch that turns genes on or off.

The frontal lobes play a role in self-control, planning, and regulating emotions. Damage to this area can lead to impulsive behavior.

The ventral striatum is a brain reward center. It is associated with impulsivity, particularly when people are seeking immediate pleasure.

A neurotransmitter associated with mood, sleep, and appetite. Higher levels of serotonin are linked to higher conscientiousness and self-control.

People who prefer to stay up late and are more active in the evening are often found to be more open to new experiences.

People who value structure, organization and are reliable, and are often more punctual.

A personality trait associated with a tendency to experience negative emotions like anxiety, sadness, and anger.

A personality trait characterized by a love of variety, curiosity, and a willingness to try new things.

It's the pattern of the brain activity and how it works, that ultimately leads to personality.

Personality is something that is consistently there, but also changes and evolves over time.

Different people have different levels of personality and the way that they are expressed, this can lead to differences in behavior.