1. Summary and Future Directions
Chapter 20
Summary and Future Directions

2. Introduction
Personality psychologists seek to understand the whole of personality
However, understanding the whole may be impossible
Instead, the difficult task of understanding the whole person is best approached by ____________
________________________________________________
“Personality is a topic that’s just too large to hold in the mind at once” (Carver, 1996, p. 330)

3. Current Status of the Field
Personality psychologists doing research today focus on specific components or domains of knowledge about personality
Starting about 50 years ago, personality psychologists began turning away from grand theories of personality (e.g., Freud’s psychoanalysis)
Mini-theories focus on specific parts of personality
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

4. Domains of Knowledge: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going
Dispositional Domain
Biological Domain
Intrapsychic Domain
Cognitive-Experiential Domain
Social and Cultural Domain
Adjustment Domain

5. Dispositional Domain
Concerns aspects of personality that are stable and make people different from each other
Trait psychologists will continue to focus _____________
_____________________________________________________
Remember: _______________________________________________
Trait psychologists will continue to lead the way in developing new methods for measuring personality characteristics and new statistics for evaluating personality research
Possible statistical approaches to examine causal relationships in the absence of experimental procedures

6. Dispositional Domain
Search will continue for traits not yet identified by lexical and statistical strategies of identifying individual differences
Possible sixth factor – _________________________obtained from extensive cross-cultural research

7. Biological Domain
Core assumption of domain is that humans are biological systems
Concerns factors within the body that influence or are related to personality
Biological domain refers to the physical elements and biological systems in the body that influence or are influenced by our behaviors, thoughts, and feelings
_________________________________________________________ _________________________________ (e.g., biological theory of extraversion) ____________________________________________
_________________________________(e.g., heart disease being the long-term consequence of the hostile Type A personality style)

8. Biological Domain
More emphasis on genetic influences on personality, as well as work by genetic researchers identifying environmental influences on personality
Most of the major personality traits are now known to show some moderate amount of heritability (0.30 to 0.50)
Remember: ________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Personality research will continue on genetic influences at the molecular level
Molecular genetic studies are able to directly identify DNA markers of genetic differences among individuals

9. Intrapsychic Domain
Concerns factors within the mind that influence behavior, thoughts, and feelings—many of these influences are argued to operate at the unconscious level
Theories often start with fundamental assumptions about the motivational system (power, achievement, and intimacy) – i.e., motives influence behavior
____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________
A hot topic in this domain is learning how much cognitive activity occurs outside awareness and the extent to which these unconscious thoughts influence behavior

10. Cognitive-Experiential Domain
Focuses on mental process: __________________________
______________________________________________________
Psychologists are likely to continue to focus attention on self-concept and identity
_______________________: taking in sensory information; process information through an elaborate cognitive system, which selects and modifies it from the vast array of information available

11. Cognitive-Experiential Domain
Psychologists will continue to investigate the notion that ____________________________________, how this works, and what it tells us about personality
Relationship between thoughts (perceptions) and emotions
Goal concepts and emotions will continue to be important within personality psychology
Goals have cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components
___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
Goal concepts may help inform the relationship between individuals and broader social systems

12. Social and Cultural Domain
Personality does not reside merely in the heads, nervous systems, and genes of people
Rather, personality affects, and is affected by, _________________
______________________________
Humans are not passive recipients of their environments
Recall: ___________________________________________________
Gender differences will continue to be a compelling interest of personality psychologists
How much do gender differences have to do with biology and cultural environment?

13. Social and Cultural Domain
There are clear cultural differences (although there are also many similarities)
Recall: ___________________________________
An important goal of personality psychology will be to understand how culture shapes personality and how specific cultures are different from, or similar to, each other

14. Adjustment Domain
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________
Personality is linked with important health outcomes, health-related behaviors, and even how long we live
Shift toward looking at the role of positive emotions (field of positive psychology)
Some important problems in coping and adjustment can be traced to personality disorders

15. Integration: Personality in the New Millennium
Domains of knowledge are complementary, not conflicting
The different domains seek answers to different questions
Real action in personality research will be at boundaries of domains
______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________