Psychology 3051 Psychology 305A: Theories of Personality Lecture 1 1

2 International Service Learning Course: May-October, 2013 Psychology 417A: Psychology and Developing Societies June-August: 10 week placement in Africa. July: Mid-placement reflection sessions. ARCAAP funding available to psychology majors for % of travel costs. Application due in term 1. Application and information available on Go Global’s website after September 17. Instructor: Dr. Sunaina Assanand.

Psychology 3053 Scoring your questionnaire: RSE 1. Reverse score items 3, 5, 8, 9, and  1 4  2 3 = 3 2  4 1  5 2. Sum scores across 10 items. 3

4 1.What is personality? 2.What is personality psychology? 3.Why study personality? 4.What is a theory? 5.How is research used to test theories? Introductory Concepts and Research Methods 4

5 Learning Objectives A list of the knowledge or abilities that you should acquire from the information discussed in each class period. Use as a diagnostic tool to monitor your progress. Create essay questions from the learning objectives to assess your mastery. Construct learning objectives for the assigned readings. They may reflect chapter headings/subheadings, terminology/key concepts, theoretical assertions, and research findings.

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 1. define the term “personality.” 2. identify the goals and functions of personality psychology. 3. distinguish between a theory and a construct. 4. identify the criteria used to evaluate the quality of a theory. 6 6

5. generate examples of operationalizations. 6. describe the goals and procedures associated with experiments and correlational studies. 7. interpret the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient. 7 7

Psychology 3058 Question: What is personality? Answer: Personality is …. Class Exercise: What is personality? 8

Refers to the persistent and stable characteristics of an individual. The continuity of a person’s thoughts, ideas, feelings, and behaviour over time. Refers to the characteristics that sum up an individual. These characteristics are consistently observed in the individual at various times and in various situations. A sample of definitions generated by the class: A stable set of characteristics that are determined by biological, social, and cultural factors. 9

The sum of an individual’s characteristics. Personality underlies beliefs and attitudes, as well as our responses to our environment and events in our lives. Personality may be partially determined by biology and partially determined by environmental factors. The complex, cumulative mass of an individual’s life experiences that are expressed in how they react and interact with other individuals. The complexity and cumulative nature of these life experiences are both genetic and environmental and are expressed as such. 10

The cluster of different traits that makes an individual distinctive. It is the unique expression of the individual. The way an individual reacts to the events of his/her life—day-to-day life events. Personality is specific to each individual because it encompasses the multiple characteristics of the individual; no two people have the exact same characteristics. An individual’s own unique way of thinking and acting. The way you react to situations. Everyone has a different personality. 11

A set of parameters or guidelines that governs and initiates consistent behavioural responses to various situations and stimuli. Personalities can be quite distinct and vary with every person. There are numerous theories behind the constitution of these personalities as well as their natural tendencies. The unique cluster of characteristics that makes individuals differ from one another. This cluster of characteristics guides the individual’s behaviour and accounts for his/her decisions and motivations. Furthermore, personality is a generally stable quality, allowing for an individual to be recognized across the lifespan. 12

Carver and Scheier (p. 4): “Personality is a dynamic organization, inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create the person’s characteristic patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings.” 13 Noteworthy points about this definition: 1.“psychophysical” 2. “dynamic” 3.“organization” 4. “create” 5.“characteristic patterns” 6.“behavior, thoughts, and feelings” 13

What is personality psychology? “Every human being is like every other human being, like some other human beings, and like no other human being” (Kluckhohn & Murray, 1953). 14 This quote reflects the three levels of analysis in personality psychology: 1. Human universals (e.g., need to belong) 2. Group differences (e.g., sex differences) 3. Individual differences 14

Why study personality? The study of personality serves three functions: Descriptive function. 2. Explanatory function. 3. Predictive function, particularly important in applied (e.g., clinical, military, corporate) settings. 15

What is a theory? Theory: A proposed explanation or interpretation of the relations among constructs. 16 Construct: A conceptual or hypothetical variable that can’t be directly observed. Examples of variables that are constructs: Intelligence, self-esteem, depression, aggression. Examples of variables that are not constructs: Hair colour, eye colour, weight, height, blood pressure. 16

Is personality a construct? 17

18 Theories serve two functions. 1.Synthesizing function: Explain and organize observations. 2.Heuristic function: Generate predictions or hypotheses. 18

Operationalization: The translation of a conceptual variable or construct into a variable that can be observed and measured. 19 In order to test a theory, researchers must identify observable variables that reflect the conceptual variables or constructs of interest. How is research used to test theories? 19 Examples of operationalizations:

20 Construct: Physical health. Operationalization: Heart rate, blood pressure. Construct: Aggression. Operationalization: Frequency and intensity of shocks given to a confederate. Construct: Intelligence. Operationalization: Scores on an IQ test. 20 Construct: Personality. Operationalization: ?

Theories 21 Hypotheses Operationalizations Research Observations Interactive Relationship 21

22 Research methods: 1. Experimental studies  Designed to examine cause and effect relationships between variables. 22

23  In conducting an experiment, a researcher: (a) randomly assigns participants to groups that will receive different levels of the hypothesized “causal” or independent variable (IV). (b) administers a distinct treatment (i.e., level of the IV) to each group. (c) measures the hypothesized “effect” or dependent variable (DV) for each group.

24 Participants Group A Group B Random Assignment Treatment A Posttest A Simple Experiment Treatment B Posttest

25 2. Correlational studies  Designed to examine the extent to which 2 naturally- occurring variables covary.  Correlations are typically measured by the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r): Magnitude of r: strength of linear relationship between variables. Sign of r (+ vs. -): direction of linear relationship between variables.

26 1.What is personality? 2.What is personality psychology? 3.Why study personality? 4.What is a theory? 5.How is research used to test theories? Introductory Concepts and Research Methods 26