Persons and Situations Chapter 4 and 5 Lecture

Chapter 4: Persons and Situations ● Trait approach relies on correlation designs ● Trait approach also focuses on exclusively on individual dierences ● Trait approach seeks to measure the degree to which a person might be more or less dominant, sociable, or nervous than someone else ● The trait approach is prone to neglect aspects of psychology common to all people, as well as the ways in which each person is unique ● Interactionism: the principle that aspects of personality and of situations work together to determine behavior; neither has an eect by itself, nor is one more important than the other ○ The eect of a personality variable may depend on the situation ○ People tend to go or find themselves in dierent types of situations ○ The way people change situations because of what they do in them ● Chapter 4 Inquizitive Questions Person–Situation Debate ● states that behavior may either change or be consistent over time ● posits that, depending on the circumstances, either the trait or the environment could cause behavior Trait Approach ● predicts that people will behave in ways that match their traits ● posits that a person’s trait behavior is consistent in comparison to peers ● states that characteristics remain consistent across time provides evidence, usually via correlational data, that shows the relationship between traits and behavior Pos/Neg correlations Negative ● As a person’s self-esteem increases, they experience a decrease in depression. ● As a person gets older, their agility decreases. Positive ● As a person gets older, their knowledge of the world increases. ● As a person becomes more successful academically, their self-esteem increases. ● Which of the following suggestions would personality theorists make for redesigning research to properly assess the impact of traits on behavior? Suggestions: ● Conduct research in naturalistic (real-world) conditions. ● Exclude participants who self-identify as inconsistent. ● Focus research on trends in behavior. Not suggestions: ● Focus research on instances of behavior. ● Conduct research in labs to have more control. ● Which of the following are examples of interactionism in behavior? ● Joey and Geraldo are preparing to ask people to the prom in unique ways. Joey is worried about how his plan will work and be received. Geraldo is excited to surprise his girlfriend with his creative "promposal." They both decide to ask their dates shortly after prom tickets go on sale.; ● Adriana is a foodie and is always looking to try new foods. She makes a point to go to a dierent restaurant every chance she gets and hardly ever visits the same place twice.; ● Samuel's manager announces a new work policy at a meeting. Samuel is not agreeable and says he will not accept the policy. Other employees begin discussing other policies that should be rescinded.; NOT: ● Professor Imbue enters the classroom and the students all become quiet.; ● Jacinda has an analytical mind and looks for the reasons behind events. She therefore decides to major in journalism. Identify each scenario faced by Camila as illustrating either a situational or trait influence on her behavior. Labels can be used more than once: ● Camila is trying out for the high school play. She quietly waits her turn and studies the lines for her audition: situational ● Camila is shy around new people. She works up the courage to say “hello” to a new person in class: trait ● Camila is having dinner with her parents after her first week back to school. She talks about her coursework and how important it is to her: situational ● Camila arrives on her first day of high school and seeks out her friends from middle school. She chats with them every chance she gets: situational ● Camila likes to try new things. Even though she has never acted before, she decides to try out for the high school play: trait Which of the following are factors that might aect why individuals have dierent levels of consistency in their personality? ● Factor: mental health, maturity, age, psychological adjustment ● Not a factor: environment, pessimism, ● The argument that the highest correlation between personality and behavior or behavior and behavior is .30 to .40 led many psychologists to what conclusion? Personality traits are not valuable in predicting behavior. ● The second part of the Kluckhohn and Murray quote, “Every man is … (b) like some other men” refers to what personality approach? trait Chapter 5: Personality Judgment Chapter 5 Inquizitive Questions Identify the ways to increase self-knowledge. ● self observing ● introspection ● requesting feedback The aphorism “know thyself,” advised by Socrates, suggests what about self-knowledge? knowing yourself is important, but not always easy to do Professional personality assessment can be valuable, but personality assessment is not restricted to psychologists, as people assess personality regularly in everyday life. Match each aspect to the type of personality assessment it describes. PROFESSIONAL ASSESSMENT: has little value/impact if inaccurate. often comes in survey (e.g., self-report) form. EVERYDAY ASSESSMENT: may have value/impact even if inaccurate. is used by us to judge ourselves. is used to form impressions of others. BOTH PROFESSIONAL AND EVERYDAY ASSESSMENT: whether the assessment is right or wrong will impact the assessment's value. is evaluated for validity. In psychological research, what is something that aects the relationship between two variables? a moderator variable Match each scenario involving an art teacher to the factor it describes, according to Harris and Rosenthal's (1985) theory regarding the eects of high expectancy on others. INPUT: Ms. Lupo teaches about the major styles of art, discussing how each style influences the others present at the time. She uses visual aids to highlight the influences. OUTPUT: Ms. Lupo regularly says whenever her students hesitate, "After looking at the piece, you must have a view. Try to verbalize your interpretation of the art; the only poor interpretation of art is no interpretation." FEEDBACK: Ms. Lupo asks students for an interpretation of a painting. Dwayne says it is by an impressionist. She tells Dwayne that he's correct and discusses the value of Dwayne's response. CLIMATE: Lupo has information in the classroom and in her oce about art to encourage student involvement in art appreciation. Place each definition on the corresponding component of the Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM). reliance - information is provided by the target about the trait to be judged, information is excluded availability - information is able to be accessed by the judge, the information is node made known to the judge detection -information is identified by the judge , the judge’s attention is elsewhere utilization - information is used by the judge to assess the trait, the judge does not use the information to assess personality In Rosenthal’s four-factor theory of expectancy eects, feedback refers to the way teachers attempt to teach more material and more dicult material to their high-expectancy students. input Match each component of knowledge to its level of accuracy. HIGHER ACCURACY: ● averaged ratings of 2-3 acquaintances about a person's personality. ● Our knowledge of our emotions. ● Others' knowledge of our personality. LOWER ACCURACY: ● Others' knowledge of our emotions. ● Our knowledge of our own behavior. What concept does the Realistic Accuracy Model (RAM) try to explain? The process used to make accurate judgments. Which of the following are examples of expectancy eects? Example(s) First graders who were identified as “bloomers” were found to have a higher IQ at the end of the school year. A choral group accepts singers based on previously provided recommendations; those with high recommendations are critiqued less than those with low recommendations. Not Example(s) A school play holds auditions and students are chosen for certain roles based on their audition. A famous actor is told by a fan, “I usually love your work, but in this last movie you did not perform to your potential.” Which of the following are reasons why people make personality judgments about others? ● to understand them better. ● to predict their behavior. ● to help choose what behaviors to engage in around them. ● to decide whether to establish a friendship with them. What is one way someone could improve their accuracy in personality judgment? purposefully working to utilize behavioral cues in judgment Match each description to the criterion for or method of measuring the accuracy of personality judgments that it describes. Labels may apply to more than one answer. INTERJUDGE AGREEMENT: when dierent people come to the same conclusion about a person PREDICTIVE VALIDITY: when behavior is predicted accurately. AND when one's assessment of a person helps to predict their behavior CONVERGENT VALIDATION: when dierent types of measurement of a person reach the same conclusion about them Which of the following traits and/or characteristics are “good” for being judged? GOOD ● extraversion ● Agreeableness NOT GOOD: ● having beliefs and values ● emotional stability ● introversion Place the steps and consequences of assessing personality by making judgments in order from first to last. 1. making everyday judgements of personality 2. making accurate or inaccurate judgements 3. impacting reputation 4. gaining opportunities for interpersonal success