 ESSENTIAL READING

Maltby, Day and Macaskill 2015 Personality, Individual Differences and

Intelligence. 2nd edition - Chapter 1
 


 
 
Implicit Personality Theories
Definition Theories of human behaviour we all construct to help
understand others and self
 Observation
 Used to explain behaviour
Problems with 1. Based on casual or non-casual observations
Implicit Theories  Not based on systematically selected
behaviours
 
2. Not scientific theories of personality
 
Nature of Personality
Lay Definitions Value judgements in terms of social attractiveness of
  individual and in social settings
 e.g. physical appearance (height etc)
  
 Personalities are judged in social contexts
o What about when individuals are alone?
 
 
Psychological Gordon Allport (1961)
definitions of ‘a dynamic organization, inside the person, of
personality psychophysical systems that create the person’s
characteristic patterns of behaviour,
thoughts and feelings’
 
Dynamic organization: process that's continually
adjusting, adapting
 
Psychological systems: minds and bodies in what we
refer as personality
 
Person's characteristic patterns of behaviour: sth
relatively stable being produced that's typical of the
individual
 
Behaviour, thoughts and feelings: personality is central
component influencing human experiences and activities
 
Psychological Mental concept that influences behaviour via mind-body
Construct interaction
 
Aims of studying o Explaining motivational basis of behaviour
personality  Humans drives
 Human nature
 
o Measuring behaviour
 Categorizing individual behaviour
 
3. Developmental theories
 
4. Heritability vs environment
 
Source of the term Latin term 'persona'
'personality'  'mask' (Kassin 2003)
 
Approaches studying personality
  Idiographic vs nomothetic approaches
 

 
Idiographic Focus on individual and describes personality variables
within individual
 'idios' private or personal
 Study individuals
 Each person has unique personality structure
  Produce unique understanding of individual's
personality
 
Qualitative Research
 Interviews, diaries
 
Application - Not ideal to use
 Freud used idiographic approach
o Developed theories based on an individual
Nomothetic 'Law'
 Based on assumption finite set of variables to describe
personality
 
Aims:
 Identify universal set of variables underpins basic
structure of human personality
o Identify personality variables or traits that occur
consistently from large groups of people
 Concentrates on similarities in human personality
 
Study large groups - establish average levels pf variable in
ages groups or in men & women
 Norms
 
Below or above average of a variable
e.g. outgoing person scores higher as extravert on personality
test
 Extraversion can be measured by asking qs about
sociability and assertiveness
 

 
Carver and Scheier Argues nomothetic approach still accept uniqueness of
(2000) individuals
 There is no finite number of personality variables
 There is underlying common structure of personality
 Uniqueness of individual comes from mix of variables
from finite set
 Combination of personality variables makes individual
unique
 
 
Describing Personality
Populatio Calculate a particular characteristic
n norms  Means scores on specific test
 e.g. anxiety in women ages 20-29 - can calculate anxiety score
above or below average of age group
 

 
 
Distinctions and assertions in personality research
Perceiving Relatively stable, enduring
Personality
Enduring Differences in social behaviours
 e.g. at a party or funeral, at home or with people
 Personality characteristics are thought to be
relatively consistent influence on behaviour in
different situations
 
Relatively stable Individuals do change over time but personality is relatively
stable overtime
 e.g. learning from mistakes
 Change takes time
 
Observations vs Unobservable: thoughts, memories and dreams
unobservable  Conscious and unconscious aspects of personality
 
 Drives and mechanisms determining or influencing
personality
 
Private Persona 'real' inner person
Public Persona How individual presents themselves to outside world
 
Effects of personality vs situational effects
Research ethics Lacks consent - situation dictates behaviour
 Personality shapes behaviour whatever the situation
 Different behaviours in different situations
 
Situation e.g. Uni graduation - dress code, rehearsal procedure, shake
hands etc.
 Student 'A' waves to audience
 Student 'B' keeps head down
 First student seems outgoing than second student in
social situations
 
 Interaction between effects of personality and
situation
 
 
Measurement issues
Measuring  Personality tests
personality  Have to identify factors relevant to
specific context
 
 
Occupational Use psychometric testing
testing  Demands made by a job match personality and
abilities
 Can test individuals and match against job
requirements
 
 
 
 
 
Strands of Personality Theorizing
 
Clinical Approach and its History
o Ancient Recorded human personality characteristics in 4th
Greeks Century
 
Philosophers
 Reflections on own behaviour and thought
processes
 Aristotle
 
o Franz (1734-1815) Viennese physician
Anton  
 Mesmer Based treatment on power of magnets
   Believed all living beings have magnetic fluid
Hypnosis flowing through them
 Blockage of flow = physical/mental illness
 Used magnets to unblock flow
 Baquet: tub of magnetised water
 
 People claimed it worked - hypnosis
 
3. Founding Father Freud - clinical strand of personality theory
 
Individual differences' emphasis on personality and its history
John Casper Physiognomy
Lavater  Predictions
(18th C)  Linking facial feats with character traits
 
Dr Gall - 1790s Craniology (later labelled phrenology)
 Different functions located in different structures w/in
brain
 Individuals character determined from shape of
cranium
 
British Phrenological Society
o Disbanded in 1967
o Lack of interest
 
Francis Galton Founder of individual differences
(19th C)  Measures - intelligence, aptitudes, attitudes
 Used statistical techniques; large population samples
 
   statistically based research on individual
differences in personality is helpful in
categorizing theories.
 
 early influence of medicine on the development
of psychology - focus
on the individual.
 case study methods as the basis for theory
development.
 encouraged concentration on the individual.
 
Capitalist Western societies also tend to encourage this
individualistic perspective.
 difficult for those who have grown up within a
Western culture to conceptualise societies
where there is not a preoccupation with the
individual and their psyche.
 his focus on the individual and individual needs
largely continues today in psychology.
 sociologists frequently criticise
psychologists for ignoring the social
context within which individuals function.
  This focus on individualism is prevalent
in the development of personality theory
 
 
 
 
 
Reading Critically and Evaluating theories

 
Description Simplify, identify, clarify important issues need to be
addressed
Explanation Help understanding 'why' of behaviour
Empirical Validity Generate predictions that can be empirically tested and
valid
Testable concepts Operationalisation of theories
 
Comprehensiveness Encompass and explain normal and abnormal behaviour
 Consensus
Parsimony Good theory = economical
 In terms of number of explanatory concepts
included
Heuristic Value Stimulates interest and research in an area
Applied Value Beneficial changes to environment
 
 
Cultural Context of personality theories
Hoffman, Lau and Compared types of personality identified in W.Culture with
Johnson (1986) Chinese Cultures
 
Western Cultures, Artistic is one who's creative, intense but
in Chinese there is no label to describe such an individual
 
Chinese also have personality types,
 a shi gú individual, which do not exist in Western
 cultures.
 A shi gú individual is described as being worldly,
socially skillful, devoted to their family and fairly
reserved.
 
Culture influences Can influence personality types
 
Western Cultures: ambitious individualist is values
Chinese Cultures: cooperative, team player type is more
valued