Personality Psychology amazonaws com
Personality Psychology – Foundations and Findings Chapter 1 – Who Am I? Understanding the Building Blocks of Personality What Is Personality Psychology - The scientific study of what makes us who we are - The study of individual differences - Studying the building blocks/raw materials that make us think and ask as we do - The elements of personality come together to create a whole person in a way that is not reducible to its parts - The Building Blocks of Personality o Traits – a person’s typical way of thinking, feeling, and acting in various situations at different types Can develop innately, through socialization, and from personal experiences Consistent across our lives o Genetics – how genes and environment affect personality and behaviour Every personality variable has both a genetic component and an environmental component; nature and nurture work together to make us who we are We inherit specific personality characteristics and potentialities that may be expressed depending on the environment o Neuroscience – how our brain and nervous system affect personality and behaviour through the study of bodily responses, brain structure, brain activity, and biochemical activity Research suggests – extroversion, neuroticism, and impulsivity are related to physiological and neurological differences; part of who we are is built into us by our neurology o Self and identity – our own sense of who we are (self-concept), our opinion about who we are (self-esteem), and the way we present ourselves to others or embrace what others think of us (social identity) o Intrapsychic foundations of personality – we can look within ourselves (intra) to our conscious and unconscious thoughts and feelings (psychic) that make up our personality (intrapsychic) Freud – physical disorders could have (often unconscious) psychological causes Early experiences leave an indelible unconscious imprint on our adult personalities Suggested that personality could be changed, originated psychotherapy o Regulation and motivation: Self-determination Theory – when people feel free to choose, are competent at what they do, and are connected to people around them, they will be motivated and self-directed for the task at hand Building block: how people adjust responses to the environment consciously and unconsciously o Cognitive foundations – how people perceive and think about information about themselves and the world Individual differences in locus of control, learned helplessness, learned hopelessness, and optimism-pessimism - Putting it All Together: Integration o Combining the building blocks of personality into a whole person o In personality, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts o Genetics and neurology interact with cognitions, attachments, and motivations to determine our sexual orientation
How Do Psychologists Study Personality? - The Scientific Method o Research is based on empiricism – using direct experience to draw conclusions about the world o Psychology research relies on the scientific method o Starts with identification of basic facts about the world and building a theory o Make predictions and test them using controlled methods (i.e. an experiment) o Report results through publishing or presenting them to seek independent verification from other researchers o Science progresses along a continuum from casual observation to controlled experimentation (figure 1.1) o Theories reach the status of a law with more research until an alternative theory can explain the evidence better - Observational Studies and Personality Questionnaires o Observational study – scientists observe what people do to understand a certain phenomenon o Based on observations, a hypothesis is generated to explain findings o Personality questionnaires – tests where people answer questions about themselves that identify certain aspects of their personality - Correlational and Experimental Designs o Correlation coefficient (r) – measures the relationship, or co-relation between two variables o Variables are positively correlated if they increase/decrease at the same time o Variables are negatively correlated if one increases as the other decreases o Correlations are high, medium, or low, but do not indicate if a relationship is statistically significant o Relation between variables can be because – the 1st variable causes the 2nd, the 2nd causes the 1st, or some 3rd variable causes both o Correlation ≠ causation o Correlational studies – variables are not manipulated, but measured to see how they are related Nearly as good as true experiments in identifying causes of outcomes when welldesigned and combined with other evidence - Research Methods Illustrated: True Experiment o Decide what variable to study under 2 conditions – experimental condition and control condition o Entire experimental procedure is exactly the same for participants with the exception of which condition they belong to o Random assignment is used to assign participants to conditions; every participant has an equal chance of experiencing each of the conditions o Experimental control: all aspects of the environment are the same except for the variable being studied o True experiments allow researchers to conclude that what they manipulated caused a difference in the outcome they measured - Types of Data and Personality Assessment o Self-report data – questionnaires, interviews o Observation data – from friends or untrained observers o Test data – how they behave in a controlled situation o Life data - Then and Now: The Ethics of Research With People
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APA and many governments have agreed to standards of ethical conduct for research with human subjects that protect human participants and prevent studies like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study from being conducted Belmont Report – research with humans must adhere to 3 principles: Respect for persons: allowing people to choose for themselves whether they wish to participate, allowing them to give consent after they learn of the procedures and possible risks of the study Beneficence: researchers should do no harm to participants; use best methods and materials, trained personnel, maximize possible benefits Justice: benefits and burdens of research participants must be shared equitably among potential research populations – treat all participants fairly and equally If the research leads to a therapeutic treatment, it must be available to all Participants should receive a benefit or reward for being in the study Belmont Report – common rule: institutions that conduct research must establish and maintain an institutional review board to review all research to ensure that it upholds the above standards
Chapter Summary - Personality psychology studies both similarities and differences among people and how they became that way - The building blocks of personality work together to make us who we are - When it is impossible, impractical, or unethical to manipulate a particular variable, researchers use methods like correlational designs - Researchers have to present their proposed study to an IRB for approval
How Do Psychologists Study Personality? - The Scientific Method o Research is based on empiricism – using direct experience to draw conclusions about the world o Psychology research relies on the scientific method o Starts with identification of basic facts about the world and building a theory o Make predictions and test them using controlled methods (i.e. an experiment) o Report results through publishing or presenting them to seek independent verification from other researchers o Science progresses along a continuum from casual observation to controlled experimentation (figure 1.1) o Theories reach the status of a law with more research until an alternative theory can explain the evidence better - Observational Studies and Personality Questionnaires o Observational study – scientists observe what people do to understand a certain phenomenon o Based on observations, a hypothesis is generated to explain findings o Personality questionnaires – tests where people answer questions about themselves that identify certain aspects of their personality - Correlational and Experimental Designs o Correlation coefficient (r) – measures the relationship, or co-relation between two variables o Variables are positively correlated if they increase/decrease at the same time o Variables are negatively correlated if one increases as the other decreases o Correlations are high, medium, or low, but do not indicate if a relationship is statistically significant o Relation between variables can be because – the 1st variable causes the 2nd, the 2nd causes the 1st, or some 3rd variable causes both o Correlation ≠ causation o Correlational studies – variables are not manipulated, but measured to see how they are related Nearly as good as true experiments in identifying causes of outcomes when welldesigned and combined with other evidence - Research Methods Illustrated: True Experiment o Decide what variable to study under 2 conditions – experimental condition and control condition o Entire experimental procedure is exactly the same for participants with the exception of which condition they belong to o Random assignment is used to assign participants to conditions; every participant has an equal chance of experiencing each of the conditions o Experimental control: all aspects of the environment are the same except for the variable being studied o True experiments allow researchers to conclude that what they manipulated caused a difference in the outcome they measured - Types of Data and Personality Assessment o Self-report data – questionnaires, interviews o Observation data – from friends or untrained observers o Test data – how they behave in a controlled situation o Life data - Then and Now: The Ethics of Research With People
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APA and many governments have agreed to standards of ethical conduct for research with human subjects that protect human participants and prevent studies like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study from being conducted Belmont Report – research with humans must adhere to 3 principles: Respect for persons: allowing people to choose for themselves whether they wish to participate, allowing them to give consent after they learn of the procedures and possible risks of the study Beneficence: researchers should do no harm to participants; use best methods and materials, trained personnel, maximize possible benefits Justice: benefits and burdens of research participants must be shared equitably among potential research populations – treat all participants fairly and equally If the research leads to a therapeutic treatment, it must be available to all Participants should receive a benefit or reward for being in the study Belmont Report – common rule: institutions that conduct research must establish and maintain an institutional review board to review all research to ensure that it upholds the above standards
Chapter Summary - Personality psychology studies both similarities and differences among people and how they became that way - The building blocks of personality work together to make us who we are - When it is impossible, impractical, or unethical to manipulate a particular variable, researchers use methods like correlational designs - Researchers have to present their proposed study to an IRB for approval
