INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY RESEARCH ...
INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY RESEARCH ................................................................................................ 6 DEFINITIONS OF PERSONALITY ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Similarities across theories .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Psychopathology ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6 CONCEPTUAL ISSUES IN PERSONALITY RESEARCH .................................................................................................................... 6 Nature vs. nurture ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Free-will vs. determinism ........................................................................................................................................................ 6 PERSONALITY RESEARCH AND SCIENCE ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Critical appraisal ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Qualitative vs. quantitative data ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Methods of assessment ............................................................................................................................................................. 7 Case studies ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Self-report questionnaires ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Physiological measures ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 PROBLEMS WITH PERSONALITY RESEARCH ................................................................................................................................ 7
POST-FREUDIAN THEORIES ................................................................................................................................... 8 HISTORY ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Freudian history .......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Current psychodynamic approaches .................................................................................................................................. 8 POST-FREUDIAN DEVELOPMENTS ................................................................................................................................................ 8 EGO PSYCHOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Hartmann’s ego psychology ................................................................................................................................................... 8 OBJECT RELATIONAL APPROACHES .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Fairbairn’s object relational approach ............................................................................................................................. 9 Fairbairn’s model of personality .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Fragmented ego and internal objects ................................................................................................................................ 9 MENTALISATION AND OBJECT RELATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 9 Inter-subjective origin of self ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Psychopathology in mentalisation .................................................................................................................................... 10 Borderline personality disorder in DSM 5 ..................................................................................................................... 10 Mentalisation based therapy ............................................................................................................................................... 10 ATTACHMENT THEORY AND PERSONALITY ................................................................................................. 11 ATTACHMENT THEORY ................................................................................................................................................................ 11 PSYCHOANALYTIC ROOTS ............................................................................................................................................................ 11 Attachment vs. object-relations .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Attachment and ethology ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 ATTACHMENT AND CONTEMPORARY PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY ........................................................................................ 11 Unconscious defences and personality ............................................................................................................................ 11 Hyper-activating strategies and personality ................................................................................................................................................. 12 Deactivating strategies and personality .......................................................................................................................................................... 12 ATTACHMENT AND MENTALISATION THEORY ........................................................................................................................ 12
Predictions of secure attachment ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Relationship between mentalisation and Freudian psychoanalysis .................................................................. 12 Attachment and neuroscience ............................................................................................................................................. 12
NEUROPSYCHOANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................................... 13 INTRODUCTION TO NEUROPSYCHOANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................... 13 Affective neuroscience ............................................................................................................................................................ 13 The seeking system .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 13
FREUDIAN DREAM THEORY AND NEUROSCIENCE ................................................................................................................... 13 Interpretation of dreams ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Biological frustration and dreams .................................................................................................................................... 13 Nightmares .................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Dreams and REM sleep ........................................................................................................................................................... 14 Azerisnky and Kleitman (1953) .......................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Hobson and McCarley (1977) .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Problems with REM dreams ................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
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Dreams and psychosis ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 The role of dopamine in dreams ......................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Drug dreams and Freudian theory ................................................................................................................................... 15 Shifts in theory ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN NEUROPSYCHOANALYSIS .......................................................................................................... 15 The conscious id ......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Criticisms of neuropsychoanalysis .................................................................................................................................... 15 TRAIT APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY .......................................................................................................... 16 TRAIT APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Gordon Allport ........................................................................................................................................................................... 16 What are traits? ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Lexical hypothesis ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Eysenck’s 3 factor account .................................................................................................................................................... 16 Summary ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 5 FACTOR MODEL AND THEORY ................................................................................................................................................. 17 The 5 traits .................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Cross cultural evidence ........................................................................................................................................................... 17 Universality of the model ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 5 factor theory ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Traits shape culture ................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Challenges to the 5 factor model ....................................................................................................................................... 18 PERSONALITY DISORDERS AND TRAITS .................................................................................................................................... 18 DSM-5 categorical model ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 DSM-5 dimensional model .................................................................................................................................................... 18 Maladaptive trains and personality disorders ............................................................................................................. 18 EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY AND PERSONALITY .................................................................................... 19 EVOLUTIONARY THEORY ............................................................................................................................................................. 19 Revision of evolution ............................................................................................................................................................... 19 Evolutionary approaches to personality ........................................................................................................................ 19 Human nature ............................................................................................................................................................................ 19 THE FUNCTION OF PERSONALITY .............................................................................................................................................. 19 Function of traits – Nettle (2006) ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Extraversion – benefits ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Extraversion – costs ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Neuroticism – benefits ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 20 Neuroticism – costs .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Openness – benefits ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Openness – costs ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 20 Conscientiousness – benefits ............................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Conscientiousness – costs ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Agreeableness – benefits ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Agreeableness – costs .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 21 DISEASE AVOIDANCE AND TRAITS – SCHALLER AND MURRAY (2008) ............................................................................. 21
Predictions ................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Method ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Findings ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Alternative explanations for why traits may have developed in certain patterns ....................................................................... 21
Criticisms of evolutionary psychology ............................................................................................................................. 22 HUMANISTIC AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ................................................................................................... 23 HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY ......................................................................................................................................................... 23 Carl Rogers .................................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Abraham Maslow ...................................................................................................................................................................... 23 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................................ 23 Concepts of wellbeing ............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Positive vs. humanistic psychology ................................................................................................................................... 24 Positive psychology and personality ................................................................................................................................ 24 Positive personality traits ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
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SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY ................................................................................................................................................ 24 Basic psychological needs ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 Diener, Ng, Harter and Arora (2010) ................................................................................................................................................................ 24 Dominguez, Gamix, Gil, Moreno, Zamora, Gallo and de Bragudo (2013) .......................................................................................... 25 Warneken and Tomasello (2014) ...................................................................................................................................................................... 25
PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY ...................................................................................................................... 26 PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY ................................................................................................................................................ 26 PEOPLE AS SCIENTISTS ................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Kelly’s beliefs regarding humans and science .............................................................................................................. 26 PERSONAL CONSTRUCTS ............................................................................................................................................................. 26 The fundamental postulate .................................................................................................................................................. 26 Modulation corollary ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Dichotomy corollary ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 27
Constructive alternativism ................................................................................................................................................... 27 Assessing personal constructs ............................................................................................................................................. 27 PERSONAL CONSTRUCTS AND THERAPY ................................................................................................................................... 27 Personal construct theory and PTSD ............................................................................................................................... 27 Constructionism model of trauma ..................................................................................................................................... 27 Study by Sewell (1996) ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) .............................................................................................................................. 28 Irrational thinking .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28
EVALUATION OF PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY .................................................................................................................. 28 INTEGRATION AND FUTURE DIRECTION ........................................................................................................ 29 PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................................... 29 Which perspective is correct? .............................................................................................................................................. 29 McAdams’ personality triad ................................................................................................................................................. 29 CRITICISMS OF PERSONALITY THEORIES .................................................................................................................................. 29 Information about Western cultures ............................................................................................................................... 30 Information about non-Western cultures ...................................................................................................................... 30 Cultural research ...................................................................................................................................................................... 30 PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT AND THEORY .................................................................................................... 31 PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 Reliability ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Validity .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 The importance of theory ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 TESTING OF MCADAMS’ TRIAD .................................................................................................................................................. 31 Dispositional traits ................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Characteristic adaptations ................................................................................................................................................... 32 Self-report surveys ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Projective tests ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Identity as life story ................................................................................................................................................................. 32 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH ............................................................................... 33 WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? ................................................................................................................................................. 33 Why bother with research .................................................................................................................................................... 33 Insufficient justification and dissonance ........................................................................................................................ 33 DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................... 33 THE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH ................................................................................................................................................ 34 Research process ....................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Experimental designs .............................................................................................................................................................. 34 Between-subjects experiments ........................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Within-subjects experiments ............................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Factorial designs ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34 Quasi-experimental designs ................................................................................................................................................................................. 34 Correlational designs ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
THE SOCIAL SELF .................................................................................................................................................... 35 THE SPOTLIGHT EFFECT .............................................................................................................................................................. 35
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Experiment assessing the spotlight effect ...................................................................................................................... 35 What we agonise over, others soon forget ..................................................................................................................... 35 SELF-CONCEPT .............................................................................................................................................................................. 35 How the social-self develops (BRICJS) ............................................................................................................................. 35 Study by Wood et al. regarding the impact of affirmations on self-esteem ..................................................................................... 36
Self-knowledge ........................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Study by Kruger and Denning regarding the ability to predict behaviour ....................................................................................... 36
SELF-ESTEEM ................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 SELF-SERVING BIAS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 37 PERSON PERCEPTION ............................................................................................................................................ 38 FORMING IMPRESSIONS ............................................................................................................................................................... 38 Implicit personality theories ................................................................................................................................................ 38 CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL TRAITS .......................................................................................................................................... 38 BIASES IN FORMING IMPRESSIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 38 Primacy/recency effect .......................................................................................................................................................... 38 Bad is stronger than good ..................................................................................................................................................... 39 Physical appearance ................................................................................................................................................................ 39 COGNITIVE SCHEMAS ................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Schemas about groups ............................................................................................................................................................ 39 Stereotypes and in-group favouritism ............................................................................................................................................................. 39
ATTRIBUTIONS ........................................................................................................................................................ 41 MAKING ATTRIBUTIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 41 ATTRIBUTION THEORIES ............................................................................................................................................................. 41 Naïve scientist – Heider (1958) .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Correspondent interference – Jones and Davis (1965) ............................................................................................. 41 Covariation – Kelly (1967) .................................................................................................................................................... 41 BIASES IN ATTRIBUTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 The fundamental attribution error .................................................................................................................................. 42 Why does this occur? ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 42
Action-observer effect ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 COGNITIVE ERRORS AND BIASES IN JUDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... 43 SOCIAL INFERENCE ....................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Theory driven ............................................................................................................................................................................. 43 Heuristics ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Other shortcomings ................................................................................................................................................................. 44 EMOTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 45 MOTIVATION AND EMOTION ...................................................................................................................................................... 45 What are emotions? ................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Components of emotions ....................................................................................................................................................... 45 APPROACHES TO EMOTION ......................................................................................................................................................... 46 Darwin ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 James-Lange theory of emotion .......................................................................................................................................... 46 Cannon-Bard ............................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Facial feedback .......................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory of emotion .............................................................................................. 47 DISGUST ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 WHAT IS DISGUST? ....................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Rozin’s 9 domains of disgust elicitors .............................................................................................................................. 48 DISGUST AND DISEASE AVOIDANCE ........................................................................................................................................... 48 The source effect ....................................................................................................................................................................... 49 RESEARCH ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Challenges to the disease avoidance account of disgust .......................................................................................... 49 GROUP INFLUENCE ................................................................................................................................................. 51 GROUPS .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 51
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THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS ......................................................................................................................................................... 51 Social facilitation ...................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Zajonc’s model of social facilitation .................................................................................................................................................................. 51 Why does arousal increase? ................................................................................................................................................................................. 51 Markus (1978) ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 52 Working toward a group goal .............................................................................................................................................................................. 52
Social loafing .............................................................................................................................................................................. 52 HELPING AND BYSTANDERS ....................................................................................................................................................... 52 The bystander effect ................................................................................................................................................................ 52 When do we help? ..................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Darley and Latané ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53
Situational influences on helping ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Improve the chances of being helped ............................................................................................................................................................... 53
DEINDIVIDUATION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Why do groups have this power? ....................................................................................................................................... 53 Self-awareness ........................................................................................................................................................................... 54 GROUPTHINK ................................................................................................................................................................................. 54 Group decision making ........................................................................................................................................................... 54 Groupthink ................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Symptoms of groupthink ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Preventing groupthink ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 54
POWER AND STATUS ............................................................................................................................................. 55 SOCIAL HIERARCHIES ................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Natural status strivers ............................................................................................................................................................ 55 Egalitarian societies ................................................................................................................................................................ 55 Social hierarchy and surpluses ........................................................................................................................................... 55 Advantages of hierarchies .................................................................................................................................................... 55 POWER ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 French and Raven (1959)’s 5 bases of social power .................................................................................................. 56 Leadership and power ............................................................................................................................................................ 56 APPROACH/INHIBITION .............................................................................................................................................................. 56 SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND SELFISHNESS ........................................................................................................................... 56 Altruism and social class ....................................................................................................................................................... 57
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Introduction to personality research Definitions of personality -
There are many theories of personality, and they all agree that personality is behaviour and thinking that can be observed through actions.
Similarities across theories -
Most theories address two factors; human nature and individuality. o Human nature focuses on nomothetic and general factors, whilst individuality focuses on idiographic and specific factors of personality. Many theories also try and understand the whole person, rather than separate parts. This is done through synthesising different areas of psychology, such as motivation.
Psychopathology -
Psychopathology is the study of abnormal psychology and forms the foundation of personality research. Although psychopathology is not about normal functioning, it still contributes to the understanding of normal mental functioning and what is required to obtain mental health.
Conceptual issues in personality research Nature vs. nurture -
This is a longstanding debate that is still had today. Nature refers to what we are prior to environmental influences. Nurture refers to what we are after environmental influences. Researchers aim to investigate whether psychopathology is a product of nature, nurture or both.
Free-will vs. determinism -
Notions of free will suggest that individuals are able to make choices with no causal condition. Contrastingly, determinism suggests that everything is caused by prior conditions and often denies moral responsibility. It is often said that free will is what differentiates humans from animals.
Personality research and science Critical appraisal -
As humans are prone to error, critical appraisal is used to evaluate the decisions we make. Logical criticism assesses whether there are contradictions or hidden assumptions. Empirical criticism assesses whether there is sufficient evidence to support the theory at hand.
Qualitative vs. quantitative data -
Investigators aim to explore whether personality differences are caused by the amount of something within the body (quantitative), or by the type of something in the body (qualitative). 6
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There is no specific method or idea that is preferred; rather, this is selected by the research question under investigation.
Methods of assessment Case studies - Early personality studies were based on case studies, but many wonder if case studies are generalisable due to their focus on rare cases. - A downside to case studies is their tendency to adopt researcher bias, where researchers may write about a particular case in a certain way in order to align with their theories. Self-report questionnaires - Self-report questionnaires may be objective tests or projective tests. - Objective tests, such as those using the Likert scale, often only have one correct answer. - Projective tests, such as the Rorschach inkblot tests, often use ambiguous stimuli and have no desirable response. Physiological measures - Physiological measures assess biological items to try and understand personality. - Examples of these measures include brain research and genetic testing.
Problems with personality research -
Defining personality is very difficult and many theories are inconsistent. Sometimes, conflicting theories may both be supported by empirical evidence. Ethnocentrism is present in much personality research, whilst egocentrism impacts on the generalisable nature of theories.
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POST-FREUDIAN THEORIES ................................................................................................................................... 8 HISTORY ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Freudian history .......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Current psychodynamic approaches .................................................................................................................................. 8 POST-FREUDIAN DEVELOPMENTS ................................................................................................................................................ 8 EGO PSYCHOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Hartmann’s ego psychology ................................................................................................................................................... 8 OBJECT RELATIONAL APPROACHES .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Fairbairn’s object relational approach ............................................................................................................................. 9 Fairbairn’s model of personality .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9
Fragmented ego and internal objects ................................................................................................................................ 9 MENTALISATION AND OBJECT RELATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 9 Inter-subjective origin of self ............................................................................................................................................... 10 Psychopathology in mentalisation .................................................................................................................................... 10 Borderline personality disorder in DSM 5 ..................................................................................................................... 10 Mentalisation based therapy ............................................................................................................................................... 10 ATTACHMENT THEORY AND PERSONALITY ................................................................................................. 11 ATTACHMENT THEORY ................................................................................................................................................................ 11 PSYCHOANALYTIC ROOTS ............................................................................................................................................................ 11 Attachment vs. object-relations .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Attachment and ethology ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 ATTACHMENT AND CONTEMPORARY PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY ........................................................................................ 11 Unconscious defences and personality ............................................................................................................................ 11 Hyper-activating strategies and personality ................................................................................................................................................. 12 Deactivating strategies and personality .......................................................................................................................................................... 12 ATTACHMENT AND MENTALISATION THEORY ........................................................................................................................ 12
Predictions of secure attachment ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Relationship between mentalisation and Freudian psychoanalysis .................................................................. 12 Attachment and neuroscience ............................................................................................................................................. 12
NEUROPSYCHOANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................................... 13 INTRODUCTION TO NEUROPSYCHOANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................... 13 Affective neuroscience ............................................................................................................................................................ 13 The seeking system .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 13
FREUDIAN DREAM THEORY AND NEUROSCIENCE ................................................................................................................... 13 Interpretation of dreams ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Biological frustration and dreams .................................................................................................................................... 13 Nightmares .................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Dreams and REM sleep ........................................................................................................................................................... 14 Azerisnky and Kleitman (1953) .......................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Hobson and McCarley (1977) .............................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Problems with REM dreams ................................................................................................................................................................................. 14
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Dreams and psychosis ............................................................................................................................................................. 14 The role of dopamine in dreams ......................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Drug dreams and Freudian theory ................................................................................................................................... 15 Shifts in theory ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN NEUROPSYCHOANALYSIS .......................................................................................................... 15 The conscious id ......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Criticisms of neuropsychoanalysis .................................................................................................................................... 15 TRAIT APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY .......................................................................................................... 16 TRAIT APPROACHES TO PERSONALITY ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Gordon Allport ........................................................................................................................................................................... 16 What are traits? ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16 Lexical hypothesis ..................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Eysenck’s 3 factor account .................................................................................................................................................... 16 Summary ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 5 FACTOR MODEL AND THEORY ................................................................................................................................................. 17 The 5 traits .................................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Cross cultural evidence ........................................................................................................................................................... 17 Universality of the model ....................................................................................................................................................... 17 5 factor theory ........................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Traits shape culture ................................................................................................................................................................. 17 Challenges to the 5 factor model ....................................................................................................................................... 18 PERSONALITY DISORDERS AND TRAITS .................................................................................................................................... 18 DSM-5 categorical model ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 DSM-5 dimensional model .................................................................................................................................................... 18 Maladaptive trains and personality disorders ............................................................................................................. 18 EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY AND PERSONALITY .................................................................................... 19 EVOLUTIONARY THEORY ............................................................................................................................................................. 19 Revision of evolution ............................................................................................................................................................... 19 Evolutionary approaches to personality ........................................................................................................................ 19 Human nature ............................................................................................................................................................................ 19 THE FUNCTION OF PERSONALITY .............................................................................................................................................. 19 Function of traits – Nettle (2006) ..................................................................................................................................... 19 Extraversion – benefits ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Extraversion – costs ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Neuroticism – benefits ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 20 Neuroticism – costs .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Openness – benefits ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20 Openness – costs ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 20 Conscientiousness – benefits ............................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Conscientiousness – costs ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Agreeableness – benefits ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Agreeableness – costs .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 21 DISEASE AVOIDANCE AND TRAITS – SCHALLER AND MURRAY (2008) ............................................................................. 21
Predictions ................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Method ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Findings ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 21 Alternative explanations for why traits may have developed in certain patterns ....................................................................... 21
Criticisms of evolutionary psychology ............................................................................................................................. 22 HUMANISTIC AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ................................................................................................... 23 HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY ......................................................................................................................................................... 23 Carl Rogers .................................................................................................................................................................................. 23 Abraham Maslow ...................................................................................................................................................................... 23 POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................................ 23 Concepts of wellbeing ............................................................................................................................................................. 24 Positive vs. humanistic psychology ................................................................................................................................... 24 Positive psychology and personality ................................................................................................................................ 24 Positive personality traits ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
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SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY ................................................................................................................................................ 24 Basic psychological needs ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 Diener, Ng, Harter and Arora (2010) ................................................................................................................................................................ 24 Dominguez, Gamix, Gil, Moreno, Zamora, Gallo and de Bragudo (2013) .......................................................................................... 25 Warneken and Tomasello (2014) ...................................................................................................................................................................... 25
PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY ...................................................................................................................... 26 PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY ................................................................................................................................................ 26 PEOPLE AS SCIENTISTS ................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Kelly’s beliefs regarding humans and science .............................................................................................................. 26 PERSONAL CONSTRUCTS ............................................................................................................................................................. 26 The fundamental postulate .................................................................................................................................................. 26 Modulation corollary ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Dichotomy corollary ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 27
Constructive alternativism ................................................................................................................................................... 27 Assessing personal constructs ............................................................................................................................................. 27 PERSONAL CONSTRUCTS AND THERAPY ................................................................................................................................... 27 Personal construct theory and PTSD ............................................................................................................................... 27 Constructionism model of trauma ..................................................................................................................................... 27 Study by Sewell (1996) ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) .............................................................................................................................. 28 Irrational thinking .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28
EVALUATION OF PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY .................................................................................................................. 28 INTEGRATION AND FUTURE DIRECTION ........................................................................................................ 29 PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................................... 29 Which perspective is correct? .............................................................................................................................................. 29 McAdams’ personality triad ................................................................................................................................................. 29 CRITICISMS OF PERSONALITY THEORIES .................................................................................................................................. 29 Information about Western cultures ............................................................................................................................... 30 Information about non-Western cultures ...................................................................................................................... 30 Cultural research ...................................................................................................................................................................... 30 PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT AND THEORY .................................................................................................... 31 PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................................................................ 31 Reliability ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Validity .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 The importance of theory ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 TESTING OF MCADAMS’ TRIAD .................................................................................................................................................. 31 Dispositional traits ................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Characteristic adaptations ................................................................................................................................................... 32 Self-report surveys ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Projective tests ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
Identity as life story ................................................................................................................................................................. 32 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH ............................................................................... 33 WHAT IS SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY? ................................................................................................................................................. 33 Why bother with research .................................................................................................................................................... 33 Insufficient justification and dissonance ........................................................................................................................ 33 DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................... 33 THE EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH ................................................................................................................................................ 34 Research process ....................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Experimental designs .............................................................................................................................................................. 34 Between-subjects experiments ........................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Within-subjects experiments ............................................................................................................................................................................... 34 Factorial designs ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34 Quasi-experimental designs ................................................................................................................................................................................. 34 Correlational designs ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
THE SOCIAL SELF .................................................................................................................................................... 35 THE SPOTLIGHT EFFECT .............................................................................................................................................................. 35
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Experiment assessing the spotlight effect ...................................................................................................................... 35 What we agonise over, others soon forget ..................................................................................................................... 35 SELF-CONCEPT .............................................................................................................................................................................. 35 How the social-self develops (BRICJS) ............................................................................................................................. 35 Study by Wood et al. regarding the impact of affirmations on self-esteem ..................................................................................... 36
Self-knowledge ........................................................................................................................................................................... 36 Study by Kruger and Denning regarding the ability to predict behaviour ....................................................................................... 36
SELF-ESTEEM ................................................................................................................................................................................ 36 SELF-SERVING BIAS ...................................................................................................................................................................... 37 PERSON PERCEPTION ............................................................................................................................................ 38 FORMING IMPRESSIONS ............................................................................................................................................................... 38 Implicit personality theories ................................................................................................................................................ 38 CENTRAL AND PERIPHERAL TRAITS .......................................................................................................................................... 38 BIASES IN FORMING IMPRESSIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 38 Primacy/recency effect .......................................................................................................................................................... 38 Bad is stronger than good ..................................................................................................................................................... 39 Physical appearance ................................................................................................................................................................ 39 COGNITIVE SCHEMAS ................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Schemas about groups ............................................................................................................................................................ 39 Stereotypes and in-group favouritism ............................................................................................................................................................. 39
ATTRIBUTIONS ........................................................................................................................................................ 41 MAKING ATTRIBUTIONS .............................................................................................................................................................. 41 ATTRIBUTION THEORIES ............................................................................................................................................................. 41 Naïve scientist – Heider (1958) .......................................................................................................................................... 41 Correspondent interference – Jones and Davis (1965) ............................................................................................. 41 Covariation – Kelly (1967) .................................................................................................................................................... 41 BIASES IN ATTRIBUTION ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 The fundamental attribution error .................................................................................................................................. 42 Why does this occur? ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 42
Action-observer effect ............................................................................................................................................................. 42 COGNITIVE ERRORS AND BIASES IN JUDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... 43 SOCIAL INFERENCE ....................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Theory driven ............................................................................................................................................................................. 43 Heuristics ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Other shortcomings ................................................................................................................................................................. 44 EMOTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 45 MOTIVATION AND EMOTION ...................................................................................................................................................... 45 What are emotions? ................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Components of emotions ....................................................................................................................................................... 45 APPROACHES TO EMOTION ......................................................................................................................................................... 46 Darwin ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 James-Lange theory of emotion .......................................................................................................................................... 46 Cannon-Bard ............................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Facial feedback .......................................................................................................................................................................... 46 Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory of emotion .............................................................................................. 47 DISGUST ..................................................................................................................................................................... 48 WHAT IS DISGUST? ....................................................................................................................................................................... 48 Rozin’s 9 domains of disgust elicitors .............................................................................................................................. 48 DISGUST AND DISEASE AVOIDANCE ........................................................................................................................................... 48 The source effect ....................................................................................................................................................................... 49 RESEARCH ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 49 Challenges to the disease avoidance account of disgust .......................................................................................... 49 GROUP INFLUENCE ................................................................................................................................................. 51 GROUPS .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 51
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THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS ......................................................................................................................................................... 51 Social facilitation ...................................................................................................................................................................... 51 Zajonc’s model of social facilitation .................................................................................................................................................................. 51 Why does arousal increase? ................................................................................................................................................................................. 51 Markus (1978) ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 52 Working toward a group goal .............................................................................................................................................................................. 52
Social loafing .............................................................................................................................................................................. 52 HELPING AND BYSTANDERS ....................................................................................................................................................... 52 The bystander effect ................................................................................................................................................................ 52 When do we help? ..................................................................................................................................................................... 52 Darley and Latané ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53
Situational influences on helping ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Improve the chances of being helped ............................................................................................................................................................... 53
DEINDIVIDUATION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Why do groups have this power? ....................................................................................................................................... 53 Self-awareness ........................................................................................................................................................................... 54 GROUPTHINK ................................................................................................................................................................................. 54 Group decision making ........................................................................................................................................................... 54 Groupthink ................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Symptoms of groupthink ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 54 Preventing groupthink ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 54
POWER AND STATUS ............................................................................................................................................. 55 SOCIAL HIERARCHIES ................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Natural status strivers ............................................................................................................................................................ 55 Egalitarian societies ................................................................................................................................................................ 55 Social hierarchy and surpluses ........................................................................................................................................... 55 Advantages of hierarchies .................................................................................................................................................... 55 POWER ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 55 French and Raven (1959)’s 5 bases of social power .................................................................................................. 56 Leadership and power ............................................................................................................................................................ 56 APPROACH/INHIBITION .............................................................................................................................................................. 56 SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS AND SELFISHNESS ........................................................................................................................... 56 Altruism and social class ....................................................................................................................................................... 57
5
Introduction to personality research Definitions of personality -
There are many theories of personality, and they all agree that personality is behaviour and thinking that can be observed through actions.
Similarities across theories -
Most theories address two factors; human nature and individuality. o Human nature focuses on nomothetic and general factors, whilst individuality focuses on idiographic and specific factors of personality. Many theories also try and understand the whole person, rather than separate parts. This is done through synthesising different areas of psychology, such as motivation.
Psychopathology -
Psychopathology is the study of abnormal psychology and forms the foundation of personality research. Although psychopathology is not about normal functioning, it still contributes to the understanding of normal mental functioning and what is required to obtain mental health.
Conceptual issues in personality research Nature vs. nurture -
This is a longstanding debate that is still had today. Nature refers to what we are prior to environmental influences. Nurture refers to what we are after environmental influences. Researchers aim to investigate whether psychopathology is a product of nature, nurture or both.
Free-will vs. determinism -
Notions of free will suggest that individuals are able to make choices with no causal condition. Contrastingly, determinism suggests that everything is caused by prior conditions and often denies moral responsibility. It is often said that free will is what differentiates humans from animals.
Personality research and science Critical appraisal -
As humans are prone to error, critical appraisal is used to evaluate the decisions we make. Logical criticism assesses whether there are contradictions or hidden assumptions. Empirical criticism assesses whether there is sufficient evidence to support the theory at hand.
Qualitative vs. quantitative data -
Investigators aim to explore whether personality differences are caused by the amount of something within the body (quantitative), or by the type of something in the body (qualitative). 6
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There is no specific method or idea that is preferred; rather, this is selected by the research question under investigation.
Methods of assessment Case studies - Early personality studies were based on case studies, but many wonder if case studies are generalisable due to their focus on rare cases. - A downside to case studies is their tendency to adopt researcher bias, where researchers may write about a particular case in a certain way in order to align with their theories. Self-report questionnaires - Self-report questionnaires may be objective tests or projective tests. - Objective tests, such as those using the Likert scale, often only have one correct answer. - Projective tests, such as the Rorschach inkblot tests, often use ambiguous stimuli and have no desirable response. Physiological measures - Physiological measures assess biological items to try and understand personality. - Examples of these measures include brain research and genetic testing.
Problems with personality research -
Defining personality is very difficult and many theories are inconsistent. Sometimes, conflicting theories may both be supported by empirical evidence. Ethnocentrism is present in much personality research, whilst egocentrism impacts on the generalisable nature of theories.
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