Trait Theory 2 PS338 PDF

Trait Theory 2 PS338 Dr Jenny Groarke University ofGalway.ie The Trait Approach 1. Most research within the trait approach relies on correlational designs. o Traits should be able to predict behavior. 2. Focus is on individual differences o Strength:...

Trait Theory 2 PS338 Dr Jenny Groarke University ofGalway.ie The Trait Approach 1. Most research within the trait approach relies on correlational designs. o Traits should be able to predict behavior. 2. Focus is on individual differences o Strength: assesses and attempts to understand how people differ o Weakness: neglects aspects of personality common to all people and how each person is unique People Are Inconsistent Personality traits are not the only factors that control behavior. Ask yourself: o Do traits exist? o Is everybody basically the same, and behavior changes according to the situation? o Your answers may depend on your age. People differ in how consistent they are. Prediction and Consistency In pairs/small groups: Describe the results of your Big 5 personality test (high/low on …) Working together, choose behaviours that could be predicted from these traits Discuss: 1. How consistent are you in performing these behaviours? 2. What factors influence whether or not you behave consistently with this prediction based on your personality traits? DISCUSS 1. How consistent are you in performing these behaviours? 2. What factors influence whether or not you behave consistently with this prediction based on your personality traits? University ofGalway.ie The Person-Situation Debate Which is more important for determining what people do, the person or the situation? Mischel, Personality and Assessment (1968) Why is this important? The Person-Situation Debate: Three Issues 1. Does the personality of an individual transcend the immediate context and provide a consistent guide to actions, or is what a person does utterly dependent on the situation at the time? 2. Are common, ordinary intuitions about people fundamentally flawed or basically correct? 3. Why do psychologists continue to argue about the consistency of personality? Situationism = behaviour is driven by situation, and personality is not important Predictability: The Situationist Argument 1. There is an upper limit to how well one can predict what a person will do based on any measurement of that person’s personality, and this upper limit is low. Mischel looked at relationships of self, informant, and behavioral data to behavioral data. Correlations rarely exceeded.30. o Nisbett says.40. 2. Therefore, situations are more important than traits The Response to the Situationist Argument Unfair, selective literature review by Mischel Studies with But some found poor evidence of methodology consistency. The Response to the First Situationist Argument We can do better. The.40 limit may be due to poor methodology. Move out of the laboratory. Study individual consistency as a moderator variable. o Self-monitoring Focus on behavioral trends. This is difficult to do, aspiration for personality research The Response to the First Situationist Argument A correlation of.40 is not small. Comparison to an absolute standard: number of correct and incorrect predictions o BESD: r =.40 → 70 percent accuracy Comparison to a relative standard: how well do situations predict behavior? The Power of the Situation Situationism: Personality traits do not determine behavior, situations do. Determining how personality affects behavior: correlate personality and behavior The Power of the Situation Determining how situations affect behavior: total variance minus variance explained by personality Doesn’t make sense Could be due to other personality traits you didn’t measure Says nothing about important aspects of the situation ‘causing’ behaviour, or differential effects of situations on different people?  The Power of the Situation How the effects of situations on behavior should be determined: Social psychology experiments look at the effect of different conditions (ie., situations) on behaviour o Convert statistical significance tests to effect sizes. o Funder & Ozer, 1983: situational effect sizes =.36 to.42 Conclusion: Both personality and situations are The Power important of the Situation determinants of behavior. Situational Variable Behavioral Variable Effect Size r Incentive Attitude change Minus.36 Hurry Helping Minus.39 Number of bystanders Helping Minus.38 Isolation of victim Obedience.42 Proximity of authority figure Obedience.36 The Power of the Situation Absolute versus relative consistency Empirical examples o Funder & Colvin, 1991 o Leikas et al., 2012 Individual differences are maintained across situations, even when absolute behavior changes. Situations influence behavior, but people are still consistent. The Power of the Situation Everyday perceptions of personality traits are largely erroneous or fundamentally mistaken. Responses o The effects of personality on behavior are large enough to be perceived accurately. o The importance of traits is reflected in our language. Personality and Life Personality Trait Individual Outcomes Interpersonal Outcomes Institutional Outcomes Extraversion Happiness, Peer Occupational Gratitude, acceptance, satisfaction, “Personality is Longevity, success in community Psychological dating and involvement, health relationships, leadership important on more attractiveness, status than just theoretical Agreeableness Religious Peer Social involvement, acceptance, interests, job forgiveness, dating attainment, grounds” (p. 134). humor, heart health and longevity, satisfaction avoidance or criminal behavior Personality affects Conscientiousn psychological health Religious Family Job and predicts ess beliefs, good health habits satisfaction, dating performance, occupational important life and longevity, avoidance of drug abuse satisfaction success, political conservatism, outcomes. avoidance of criminal behavior Over time, how a Neuroticism Unhappiness, poor coping Poor family relations Occupational dissatisfaction, person acts will add criminal behavior Openness Forgiveness, Artistic up. inspiration, substance interests, political abuse liberalism Persons and Situations “Personality traits become especially important when the goal is to describe how people act in general, across time, and across situations” (p. 136). Interactionism The effect of a personality variable may depend on the situation, or vice versa. Certain types of people go to or find themselves in different types of situations. People change the situations that they are in. Persons, Situations, and Values Situationism’s view of human nature People are free to do whatever they want. Everybody is equal, and differences are a function of the situation. “If the situation can really be all powerful, then nothing we do is ever really our fault” (p. 138). Personality’s view of human nature Behavior is partly determined by personality. Every individual is unique. People can develop consistent identities and styles that allow them to be themselves across situations. Reflect Do you think its better to behave consistently across situations or to adapt your behaviour to fit the situation you are in and the people you are with? Why might some people do that/or not? How is social media like a situation? How might social media affect online/offline behaviour, and how might this ‘interact’ with personality to influence behaviour? Resolution of the Person-Situation Debate “People maintain their personalities even as they adapt their behavior to particular situations” People can flexibly adapt to situations AND have a generally consistent personal style. Conclusion: People are psychologically different, and these differences matter. Trait Theory 2 PS338 Dr Jenny Groarke University ofGalway.ie Personality Stability Rank-order consistency Evidence for stability: r =.60–.90 for 10-year span Childhood personality predicts adult behavior and life outcomes. Personality disorders are stable. Personality Stability Causes of stability Temperament is partially determined by genetics. o Heterotypic continuity o Basic aspects: positive emotionality, negative emotionality, effortful control Physical and environmental factors Birth order o Based on idea that parents treat the first child differently from other children, which has mixed research support  Personality Stability Causes of stability Early experience: adverse and positive experiences Person-environment transactions o Types: active, reactive, evocative Personality Stability Causes of stability Cumulative continuity and maturity o Cumulative continuity principle o One’s environment becomes more stable with age. o Psychological maturity: behavioral consistency for traits that help one fulfill adult roles Personality Development Development and stability can go together. Cross-sectional studies: mean-level changes on the Big Five Mean Scores on Big Five Personality Traits Between Ages 10 and 60 Personality Development Cohort effects: may contribute to age differences in cross-sectional studies Longitudinal studies Similar findings to cross-sectional studies People become more socially dominant, agreeable, conscientious, emotionally stable Honesty/humility, self-esteem (up to age 50), and ego development increase Risk-taking decreases Consistent with the maturity principle o There may be a limit. Personality Development Findings refer to mean levels of traits. Not everyone changes in the same way. Personality continues to change, even in old age. Personality Development Causes of development Physical development and changes in strength Increases in intelligence and linguistic abilities Hormone-level changes Changes in social roles and responsibilities o Erikson’s theory of development Personality Development The social clock places pressure on people to accomplish certain things by certain ages. o Women who followed either the feminine or masculine social clock reported higher contentment and satisfaction than women who followed neither. Personality Development Narrative identity Three aspects: actor, agent, author How a person views his or her life, and how its trajectory fits into goals and dreams Themes differ Related to personality: agency and conscientiousness; redemption and healthier habits Personality Development Goals across the life span Socioemotional selectivity theory - Carstensen When younger: preparation for the future When older (age 70+): focus on things that are emotionally meaningful, regulate emotional experience Related to changes in social roles and breadth of perspective about time Personality Change Desire for change is typical and usually in the socially desirable direction. Reason for wanting change: make life better Four potential methods of change: psychotherapy, general interventions, targeted interventions, and life experiences Personality Change Psychotherapy (e.g., work of Carl Rogers) Can produce long-term behavior change (Smith et al., 1980) neuroticism decreased and extraversion increased (Roberts et al., 2017) Might have a downside Often combined with psychiatric drugs Personality Change General interventions: usually aimed at important outcomes Evidence of success for intensive programs for high-risk preschool students Targeted interventions: address certain personality traits Openness to experience Tolerance for stress and defensiveness Neuroticism Narcissism Self-control Personality Change Targeted interventions Sociogenomic trait intervention model o Step 1: Identify what the person wants to change o Step 2: Do things outside of comfort zone until they become habits and automatic. Identify important goals and behaviors that would lead goal achievement. Personality Change Behaviors and life experiences Positive: exercise, starting college or a job, beginning a serious relationship Negative: trying drugs, onset of chronic disease Becoming unemployed Negative life events Travel Military training Personality Change Obstacles to change Not seeing a reason for change Takes effort Blaming negative experiences and failures on external forces rather than their own personality People like consistency and predictability. Personality Change Overcoming obstacles to change Has the pandemic changed our personality? 3 timepoints: pre-pandemic, early 2020 and late 2021-22. N = 7109 Neuroticism declined from pre-pandemic to early 2020 In 2021-22, Neuroticism was not significantly different from pre-COVID + Declines in E, O, A and C Equivalent to a decade of normative personality change Sutin et al., 2022 Principles of Personality Continuity and Change “Personality is characterized by stability over the life span, and also by significant change”  Traits can change up until about 30 years of age – fixed by that point McCrae and 20-30 years – males and females become less emotional, thrill-seeking; more Costa on cooperative and disciplined (i.e., maturity). stability of Gender, race, health status – no influence on stability traits (1994) Stability apparent across the five major traits Mean-level change VS Rank order stability Is Personality Change Good or Bad? Answer: Yes, it is both. Instability and inconsistency can cause problems. Most change is adaptive but slow. Who do you want to be, and what can you do today to make this happen?  SOCRATIVE review quiz https://b.socrative.com/ login/student/ GROARKE9410 University ofGalway.ie Clicker Question 1 The person-situation debate a) was based on a disagreement about whether the personality coefficient had an upper limit of about.30. b) was a waste of time. c) was based on the finding that people are somewhat inconsistent across time. d) was resolved with the finding that personality is more important than the situation for determining behavior. Clicker Question 1: Answer The person-situation debate a) was based on a disagreement about whether the personality coefficient had an upper limit of about.30. b) was a waste of time. c) was based on the finding that people are somewhat inconsistent across time. (correct answer) d) was resolved with the finding that personality is more important than the situation for determining behavior. Clicker Question 2 What is true of the trait approach to understanding personality? a) It is based mostly on correlational research. b) It is based on case studies. c) It focuses on how people are similar to each other. d) It proposes that traits are the only things that influence behavior. Clicker Question 2: Answer What is true of the trait approach to understanding personality? a) It is based mostly on correlational research. (correct answer) b) It is based on case studies. c) It focuses on how people are similar to each other. d) It proposes that traits are the only things that influence behavior. Clicker Question 3 The trait approach proposes that a) personality matters because it affects and predicts important life outcomes. b) personality is important because it has small effects on behavior that add up over time. c) personality is better for explaining how people behave in general than are situations. d) all of the above. Clicker Question 3: Answer The trait approach proposes that a) personality matters because it affects and predicts important life outcomes. b) personality is important because it has small effects on behavior that add up over time. c) personality is better for explaining how people behave in general than are situations. d) all of the above. (correct answer) Clicker Question 1 Research has shown that a) it is possible to intentionally change personality, such as make someone more self-controlled. b) personality does not change after about age 50. c) longitudinal studies reveal different patterns of development from what have been found in cross-sectional studies. d) one principle is sufficient to explain personality change. Clicker Question 1: Answer Research has shown that a) it is possible to intentionally change personality, such as make someone more self-controlled. (correct answer) b) personality does not change after about age 50. c) longitudinal studies reveal different patterns of development from what have been found in cross-sectional studies. d) one principle is sufficient to explain personality change. Clicker Question 2 Personality stability a) is only affected by genetics. b) increases as people get older. c) is so low that adult behavior cannot be predicted by childhood personality. d) is certainly not affected by birth order. Clicker Question 2: Answer Personality stability a) is only affected by genetics. b) increases as people get older. (correct answer) c) is so low that adult behavior cannot be predicted by childhood personality. d) is certainly not affected by birth order. Clicker Question 3 Which statement about personality development is true? a) Personality changes very little after age 30. b) Rank-order stability tends to be high. c) The mean levels of traits change over time. d) Both b and c are correct. Clicker Question 3: Answer Which statement about personality development is true? a) Personality changes very little after age 30. b) Rank-order stability tends to be high. c) The mean levels of traits change over time. d) Both b and c are correct. (correct answer)