Psychology Chapter 1: Personality Overview

Chapter 1: Learning Objectives

• Define personality as the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within an individual, organized and relatively enduring.
• Identify and describe the three levels of personality analysis:
  • Like all others (human nature)
  • Like some others (individual and group differences)
  • Like no others (individual uniqueness)
• Describe the fissure (gap) in personality psychology between the human nature level of analysis and the analysis of individual and group differences.
• Describe the six domains of knowledge about human nature: dispositional, biological, intrapsychic, cognitive-experiential, social and cultural, and adjustment.
• Summarize the role of personality theory, including its function as a guide for researchers, organizing known findings, and making predictions.
• Name and define standards for evaluating personality theories (e.g., comprehensiveness, heuristic value, testability, parsimony, and compatibility).
• Discuss the notion of a grand, ultimate theory of personality, which aims to unify all six domains of knowledge about human nature.

Personality Defined

• Personality influences interactions with and adaptations to the environment (intrapsychic, physical, and social).
• Courage is an example of a psychological trait activated under specific circumstances.

Psychological Traits

• Traits describe how people differ.
• Researchers study:
  • How many traits there are.
  • How the traits are organized.
  • The origins of the traits.
  • The correlations and consequences of traits.
• Psychological mechanisms are like traits, focusing more on processes within personality (e.g., inputs, decision rules, outputs).

Psychological Mechanisms

• Psychological mechanisms are processes in personality.
• Key ingredients include inputs, decision rules and outputs.
• Personality traits and mechanisms typical of a species are possessed by nearly every person.

Within the Individual

• Personality is consistent over time.
• Personality mechanisms are interconnected in a coherent way.
• Personality, although enduring, is influenced by environments and significant others.

The Individual's Interactions

• Interactions with situations involve perceptions, selection, evocations, and manipulations.
• Environments provide challenges to individuals, impacting personality.
• Intrapsychic, physical and social environments are significant for personality.

Three Levels of Personality Analysis

• Murray (1948) proposed three levels:
  • Human nature: Commonalities among individuals.
  • Individual and group differences: Variations within and between groups.
  • Individual uniqueness: Distinctive qualities of each person.

Human Nature

• This refers to characteristics we share as a species.
• Traits and mechanisms are common to most people

Individual and Group Differences

• This refers to variations among individuals and groups.
• Examples include extraversion, sensation-seeking, and self-esteem, as well as differences between cultures or age groups.

Individual Uniqueness

• This describes the distinct qualities of each person.
• Individuals can be studied nomothetically (general laws) or ideographically (specific cases).

Class Exercise

• Students work in groups to think of an example of human nature, individual and group differences, and individual uniqueness, using the need for safety.

A Fissure in the Field

• The gap between grand theories (universal accounts of human nature) and contemporary research (individual and group differences).

Grand Theories of Personality

• These theories offer universal accounts of our fundamental psychological processes and characteristics.
• Examples include psychoanalytic theory.

Contemporary Research in Personality

• Contemporary research focuses on the differences between individuals.
• Personality psychologists often specialize in a particular domain.

Six Domains of Knowledge about Human Nature

• Domains are specific areas of psychological study.
• This allows a deep focus of a particular aspect of human nature.
• There is a need to integrate findings from various domains to get a complete picture.

Dispositional Domain

• Analyzes individual differences.
• Study of dispositional factors that account for individual differences.
• Investigating the nature of these differences.

Biological Domain

• Core assumption holds that biological systems provide fundamental building blocks for behaviour, thought, and emotion.
• Psychological differences can be determined by genetic components.
• Aspects like behavioral genetics, psychophysiology, and evolutionary personality psychology are included.

Intrapsychic Domain

• Mental mechanisms such as repression, denial and projection, unconscious motives for power, achievement and affiliation, and drive the actions of a person.
• Classical and modern psychoanalysis.

Cognitive-Experiential Domain

• Focuses on subjective experiences (thoughts, feelings, beliefs about self and others).
• Research into cognitive processes (thoughts, memories and self-concept), and their significance.

Social and Cultural Domain

• Personality is influenced by culture and social contexts.
• Research into personality variations across cultures or social groups.

Adjustment Domain

• How personality impacts adaptation to daily events.
• Health outcomes, and coping and adjustment issues.

The Role of Personality Theory

• A good theory provides direction for research.
• A good theory allows for organization of collected data.
• A good theory helps make predictions.

Standards for Evaluating Personality Theories

• Comprehensiveness, heuristic value, testability, parsimony, and compatibility.

Is There a Grand, Ultimate Theory?

• A unified theory of all six domains is not currently available.

Summary and Evaluation

• Personality research is informed by theory.
• Theories guide research, organize findings, and make predictions.
• Scientific theories should be distinguished from beliefs.

Coming Up Next Week

• Topics for the next week: self-report data, observer-report data, test data, and life outcome data.