1. Psychology 305B: Theories of Personality
Lecture 20
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2. Papers are due on Tuesday, April 6, 2010.
Reminders
Papers are due on Tuesday, April 6, 2010.
Students are expected to submit their papers at the start of class. If you are unable to attend class on the day the paper is due, please have someone hand it in for you at the start of class. Papers left in mailboxes or submitted via will not be accepted.
In addition to submitting a hardcopy in class, you must also submit your paper electronically to TurnItIn.
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3. What is TurnItIn?
TurnItIn is a plagiarism detection system that scans and compares your paper to online content (e.g., other students’ papers, websites such as wikipedia).
It provides an “originality report” that documents the overlap between your paper and online content.
It indicates the source of plagiarized content (note that overlap is acceptable if it is properly cited—see APA guidelines).
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4. TurnItIn Instructions
Go to
To create your own account, click on “New User” in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
You will need the following information to create your account or add this course to your existing account:
Class ID:
Password: personality
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5. Additional Notes on TurnItIn
Step-by-step instructions are available in the “Student Quickstart Guide” at support/guides_manuals.html
You must submit your paper to TurnItIn by the due date of the paper. You will receive 0 on your paper if you do not submit it to TurnItIn by midnight on April 6, 2010.
Please contact Lauren if you have any questions or difficulties submitting your paper to TurnItIn.
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6. Questions That Will Be Answered In Today’s Lecture
Sex Differences in Personality, continued
5. What theories have been proposed to explain sex differences in personality?
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7. Cultural Differences in Personality
What are the major value dimensions on which cultures vary?
Does cultural variation on the dimension of individualism-collectivism influence the way in which the self is conceptualized?
Do trait theories adequately describe personality in non-Western cultures?
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8. What theories have been proposed to explain sex
differences in personality?
1. Social Theories
(a) Socialization Theory
Most widely held theory of sex differences in personality.
Assumes that the characteristics of boys and girls diverge because their caregivers and friends reinforce them for adopting sex-appropriate characteristics.
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9. (b) Social Learning Theory
Based on Bandura’s work.
Assumes that the characteristics of boys and girls diverge because they learn “how to behave” from different models within their environment.
Maintains that, even in the absence of direct reinforcement, children learn from same-sex models the classes of characteristics that are appropriate for their sex.
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10. (c) Social Role Theory
Assumes that the characteristics of boys and girls diverge because they learn that different sets of characteristics are required for the social roles (e.g., familial roles, occupational roles) that they will ultimately assume in society.
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11. 2. Hormonal Theories
Assume that personality differences between males and females are the result of sex differences in hormonal levels.
Studies suggest that some sex differences in personality emerge as a result of hormones encountered in utero:
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12. For example, female fetuses with congenital
For example, female fetuses with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) are exposed to excessive levels of testosterone due to hyperactivity of the adrenal gland. Research has shown that, as young girls, these females demonstrate a marked preference for “male” toys and, as adults, exhibit a strong preference for “masculine” occupations.
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13. Other studies suggest that some sex differences in
Other studies suggest that some sex differences in personality are due to circulating levels of hormones.
For example, research has shown that, among females, higher levels of testosterone circulating within the bloodstream are associated with higher levels of aggressiveness and dominance.
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14. 3. Evolutionary Theories
Assume that sex differences in personality are due to the different reproductive problems faced by males and females over the course of human evolutionary history.
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15. Given the limited reproductive capacity of females
Given the limited reproductive capacity of females and the great parental investment that is required of females, a preference would have evolved among females for males who possessed characteristics that enabled the acquisition of resources (e.g., dominant).
These males would have been preferentially selected for mating. As a result, the frequency of their characteristics would have increased within the population until they came to characterize most males.
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16. In contrast, given the unlimited reproductive capacity
In contrast, given the unlimited reproductive capacity of males and the small parental investment that is required of males, a preference would have evolved among males for females who possessed characteristics that were indicative of an ability to nurture offspring (e.g., empathetic).
These females would have been preferentially selected for mating. As a result, the frequency of their characteristics would have increased within the population until they came to characterize most females.
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17. What are the major value dimensions on which
cultures vary?
Culture: “information capable of affecting individuals’ behaviour that they acquire from other members of their species through teaching, imitation, and other forms of social transmission” (Richerson and Boyd, 2005).
Values: (a) are concepts or beliefs, (b) pertain to desirable end states or behaviors, (c) transcend specific situations, (d) guide selection or evaluation of behavior and events, and (e) are ordered by relative importance” (Schwartz and Bilsky, 1987).
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18. A number of studies have examined the major value
A number of studies have examined the major value dimensions on which cultures vary. Among the most influential of these is Hofstede’s (1980) study:
Examined values among IBM employees in 40 countries (e.g., Canada, China, Columbia, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, New Zealand, Poland, Uruguay, U.S., West Africa).
Identified 4 value dimensions on which these cultural groups varied: Power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and individualism.
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19. Countries High and Low on Hofstede’s (1980) Value Dimensions
Highest Scoring Countries
Lowest Scoring Countries
Power distance
Philippines, Mexico, Venezuela
Denmark, Israel, Austria
Uncertainty avoidance
Greece, Portugal, Belgium
Sweden, Denmark, Singapore
Masculinity
Japan, Austria, Venezuela
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden
Individualism
U.S., Australia, Great Britain
Pakistan, Columbia, Venezuela

20. Canada’s Scores on Hofstede’s (1980) Value Dimensions
Maximum Score
Average Score
Canada’s Score
Power distance
104 55 39
Uncertainty avoidance
112 64 48
Masculinity 95 50 52
Individualism 91 43 80

21. Of the various value dimensions on which cultures
Of the various value dimensions on which cultures have been found to vary, the dimension that has been most studied is the dimension of individualism, or individualism-collectivism (IC).
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of research on the impact of IC on a variety of psychological constructs, most notably the self- concept.
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22. Does cultural variation on the dimension of IC
influence the way in which the self is conceptualized?
Self-concept: a cognitive schema (i.e., organized knowledge structure) that contains beliefs about the self and controls the processing of self-relevant information.
Theorists have come to believe that cultural variation on IC has a profound influence on the self-concept.
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23. Specifically, theorists have come to believe that the
Specifically, theorists have come to believe that the emphasis on independence and personal goals in individualistic cultures leads people to develop an “independent self-construal.”
In contrast, the emphasis on interdependence and collective goals in collectivistic cultures leads people to develop an “interdependent self- construal.”
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24. The Independent Self-Construal
MOTHER
FATHER
Out-Group
X X X
X X X X
STRANGER
X X X X SELF X X X X X
SIBLING X
X X
FRIEND
X X X
X X
CO-WORKER X
STRANGER
FRIEND
In-Group

25. The Interdependent Self-Construal
Out-Group
FATHER
MOTHER
X X
STRANGER
X X X X
X X SELF X X X
SIBLING X X
FRIEND X X
X X
X X X
CO-WORKER X
STRANGER
FRIEND
In-Group

26. Independent Versus Interdependent Self-Construals (Markus & Kitayama, 1991)
Independent Self-Construal
Interdependent Self-Construal
Definition of self
Free from social context.
Tied to social context.
Structure of self
Stable, bounded, unitary.
Variable, flexible, fluid.
Primary tasks
Uniqueness, self-expression, realization of internal attributes, promotion of personal goals.
Fitting in, self-restraint, assuming one’s “proper” place, promotion of others’ goals.
Role of others
Self-evaluation (i.e., social comparison).
Self-definition.
Basis of self-esteem
Ability to express oneself and one’s internal attributes.
Ability to restrain oneself and maintain harmony with others.

27. North American proverb: “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
The distinctions between the self-construals promoted in individualistic cultures and collectivistic cultures are reflected in the following proverbs from North America and Japan, respectively:
North American proverb: “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.”
Japanese proverb: “The nail that stands out gets pounded down.”
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28. A number of studies have provided support for the
A number of studies have provided support for the theory that individualistic cultures and collectivistic cultures promote distinct self-construals.
Among these studies are those that have compared: (a) the self-descriptions of people from different cultures and (b) the degree of self-consistency among people from different cultures.
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29. (a) Self-descriptions:
Research has shown that individualists tend use abstract, global, and stable attributes (e.g., traits) to describe themselves, whereas collectivists tend to use social categories or affiliations (e.g., social roles) to describe themselves.
These differences are exemplified in the following passages (Markus & Kitayama, 1998):
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30. Instructions: Describe yourself briefly.
Response of a student from the U.S.:
I like to live life with a lot of positive energy. I feel like there is so much to do and see and experience. However, I also know the value of relaxation. I love the obscure. I play ultimate Frisbee, juggle, unicycle, and dabble on the recorder. I have a taste for the unique. I am very friendly and in most situations very self- confident. I’m almost always happy and when I am down, it is usually because of stress.
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31. Response of a student from Japan:
I cannot decide quickly what I should do, and am often swayed by other people’s opinions, and I cannot oppose the opinions of people who are supposed to be respected because of age or status. Even if I have displeasure, I compromise myself to the people around me without getting rid of the displeasure. When I cannot make a decision I often do it according to other people’s opinions. Also, I am concerned about how other people think about me and often decide on that consideration. I try to have a harmless life. I calm down be being the same as others.
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32. Studies that have compared the self-descriptions of
Studies that have compared the self-descriptions of people from different cultures have primarily employed the Twenty Statements Test (TST; Kuhn & McPartland, 1954).
The TST is an unstructured measure that requires participants to write 20 statements in response to the question “Who am I?”
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33. Administered the TST to Americans and Indians:
Dhawan et al. (1995)
Administered the TST to Americans and Indians:
(a) 65% of the statements generated by Americans referred to attributes, whereas 34% of the statements generated by Indians referred to attributes.
(b) 26% of the statements generated by Americans referred to social categories, whereas 42% of the statements generated by Indians referred to social categories.
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34. Administered the TST to Americans and Japanese:
Cousins, 1989
Administered the TST to Americans and Japanese:
(a) 58% of the statements generated by Americans referred to attributes, whereas 18% of the statements generated by Japanese referred to attributes.
(b) 9% of the statements generated by Americans referred to social categories, whereas 27% of the statements generated by Japanese referred to social categories.
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35. (b) Self-consistency:
Research has shown that the self-beliefs of individualists tend to be more consistent across social contexts than the self-beliefs of collectivists.
Moreover, research has shown that there is a greater correlation between consistency of self-beliefs and psychological adjustment among individualists than collectivists.
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36. Recruited participants from Canada and Japan.
Campbell et al. (1996)
Recruited participants from Canada and Japan.
Conducted 3 studies.
In each study, had participants complete measures of “self-concept clarity” (SCC) and self-esteem (SE). SCC refers to the “extent to which self-beliefs are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and [temporally] stable.”
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37. Campbell et al’s SCC Scale
1. My beliefs about myself often conflict with one another. *
2. On one day I might have one opinion of myself and on another day I might have a different opinion. *
3. I spend a lot of time wondering about what kind of person I really am. *
4. Sometimes I feel that I am not really the person that I appear to be. *
5. When I think about the kind of person I have been in the past, I’m not sure what I was really like. *
6. I seldom experience conflict between the different aspects of my personality.
7. Sometimes I think I know other people better than I know myself. *
My beliefs about myself seem to change very frequently. *
9. If I were asked to describe my personality, my description might end up being different from one day to another day. *
10. Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could tell someone what I’m really like. *
In general, I have a clear sense of who I am and what I am.
It is often hard for me to make up my mind about things because I don’t really know what I want. *
* Reverse-scored item.

38. Across the 3 studies, found that:
(a) the SCC scores obtained by the Canadians were higher than the SCC scores obtained by the Japanese.
(b) the correlations between SCC and SE were higher among the Canadians than the Japanese.
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39. SCC Scores for Canadian and Japanese Participants (Campbell et al
Study
Mean SCC Score Canadian Participants
Mean SCC Score Japanese Participants p 1
41.72
34.41
<.01 2
39.30
35.01 3
38.02
34.35

40. Correlations Between SCC and Self-Esteem for Canadian and Japanese Participants (Campbell et al., 1996)
Study
Correlation Between SCC and SE Canadian Participants
Correlation Between SCC and SE Japanese Participants p 1
.69
.37
<.001 2
.63
.46
<.07 3
.59
.08

41. Do trait theories adequately describe personality in
non-Western cultures?
In light of research suggesting that the self-beliefs of people from collectivistic cultures are relatively variable across social contexts, some theorists (e.g., Shweder, 1991) have argued that the study of personality in collectivistic cultures is misguided.
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42. Consistent with this view, Hsu (1985) stated “… the
Consistent with this view, Hsu (1985) stated “… the concept of personality is an expression of the Western ideal of individualism.”
Similarly, Cross and Markus (1999) claimed that personality psychology is “an ‘indigenous psychology’ of Western Europeans and North Americans rather than a universal psychology of human behavior.”
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43. Indeed, Hirschfeld (1995) has noted that “in many …
Indeed, Hirschfeld (1995) has noted that “in many … cultures there is a marked absence of discourse that explains human behavior in terms of transsituationally stable motivational … properties captured by explanations of trait and disposition.”
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44. Pakikiramdam (Filipino; sensitive, empathetic)
In contrast, other theorists have argued that the concept of personality is universally relevant. In support of their argument, they note that all cultural groups possess terms to describe individuals’ enduring characteristics:
Pakikiramdam (Filipino; sensitive, empathetic)
Ren qin (Chinese; relationship-oriented)
Simpatico (Mexican; avoiding of conflict)
Mitratapurne (Hindi; friendly)
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45. Although a number of theories of personality have
Although a number of theories of personality have been proposed, researchers who have studied personality across cultures have largely focused on trait theories.
In particular, researchers have examined two trait theories across cultures: Eysenck’s Theory of Personality and the Five Factor Model of Personality.
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46. (a) Eysenck’s Theory of Personality
Eysenck’s (1967, 1970) theory of personality was developed on the basis of research conducted in Great Britain. Moreover, Eysenck developed his measure of personality—the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ)—in Great Britain.
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47. A number of studies have used the EPQ to test
A number of studies have used the EPQ to test Eysenck’s theory in countries outside of Great Britain.
For example, Barrett et al. (1998) administered Eysenck’s measure to participants in 34 countries (e.g., Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Uganda, U.S.). Consistent with Eysenck’s theory, they found that each of the 3 dimensions could be reproduced in all of the countries surveyed.
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48. Similarly, Lynn and Martin (1997) administered a
Similarly, Lynn and Martin (1997) administered a modified version of Eysenck’s measure to participants in 37 countries (e.g., Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, Finland, Iran, Japan, Nigeria, Russia, Uganda, Yugoslavia) and found that each of the 3 dimensions could be reproduced in all of the countries surveyed.
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49. Countries High and Low on Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Emotional Instability (Lynn & Martin, 1997)
Personality Dimension
Highest Scoring Countries
Lowest Scoring Countries
Psychoticism
Czechoslovakia, India, Yugoslavia
Spain, Portugal, Norway
Extraversion
Israel, United States, Puerto Rico
Russia, Iran, China
Emotional Instability
Greece, Russia, Egypt
Norway, Nigeria, Israel

50. Canada’s Scores on Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Emotional Instability (Lynn & Martin, 1997)
Personality Dimension
Maximum Possible Score
Average Score for Males
Average Score for Females
Canada’s Score for Males
Canada’s Score for Females
Psychoticism 30
5.3
4.1
4.7
3.8
Extraversion
18.9
18.1
18.3
17.8
Emotional Instability
13.0
15.7
11.5
14.0

51. Consistent with the results obtained for Canada, Lynn
Consistent with the results obtained for Canada, Lynn and Martin (1997) found that:
(a) in 36 of the 37 countries surveyed, men obtained higher means than women on psychoticism.
(b) in 30 of the 37 countries surveyed, men obtained higher means than women on extraversion.
(c) in all of the countries surveyed, men obtained lower means than women on emotional instability.
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52. van Hemert et al. (2002), however, administered
van Hemert et al. (2002), however, administered Eysenck’s measure to participants in 24 countries (e.g., Bangladesh, Chile, China, Germany, Iran, Ireland, Nigeria, Russia) and found that only 2 of the dimensions—extraversion and emotional instability— could be reproduced in all of the countries surveyed.
Thus, at this point, only 2 of Eysenck’s dimensions may be of universal importance in describing personality—extraversion and emotional instability.
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53. (b) The Five Factor Model of Personality
The five factor model emerged from several independent lines of research conducted in North America. Moreover, the most commonly used measure of the “Big 5”—the NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992)—was developed in the United States.
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54. A number of studies have used the NEO-PI-R to
A number of studies have used the NEO-PI-R to test the Five Factor Model in other countries.
For example, McCrae et al. (2005) administered the NEO-PI-R to participants in 51 countries (e.g., Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Iceland, Indonesia, Kuwait, Nigeria, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey). Consistent with the FFM, they found that each of the 5 dimensions could be reproduced in all of the countries surveyed.
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55. On the basis of their findings, McCrae et al. (2005)
On the basis of their findings, McCrae et al. (2005) developed the following diagram to depict the “personality profiles” of different nations.
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56. High N, Low C
High E, A, and O

57. Note that the largest difference that McCrae et al
Note that the largest difference that McCrae et al. (2005) found was in E:
E.g., Mean scores on E:
Americans: 52.3 Belgians: 52.2 Canadians: 52.5 English: 53.7 French Swiss: 51.0 Irish: 55.6 Portuguese: 51.3
Chinese: 46.6 Ethiopians: 47.0 Filipinos: 48.9 Indians: 48.5 Moroccans: 44.8 Nigerians: 44.4 Ugandans: 46.5
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58. Questions That Were Answered In Today’s Lecture
Sex Differences in Personality, continued
5. What theories have been proposed to explain sex differences in personality?
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59. Cultural Differences in Personality
What are the major value dimensions on which cultures vary?
Does cultural variation on the dimension of individualism-collectivism influence the way in which the self is conceptualized?
Do trait theories adequately describe personality in non-Western cultures?
Psychology 305