Chapter 1 Introduction to Personality Psychology © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Defining personality What is your definition of personality? Write down your definition. No names! Fold sheet in half and hand-in. © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

What is something you did during break that demonstrates one of your personality traits?  What is the activity?  What is the personality trait? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Chapter 1 Outline  Define Personality  3 Levels of Analysis  Personality Science and Domains of Knowledge © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

 “Differences among individuals in a typical tendency to behave, think, or feel in some conceptually related ways, across a variety of relevant situations, and across some fairly long period of time.”  Your text provides a more convoluted definition within an evolutionary framework… (Ashton, 2013, p.27) © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood Defining personality

Let’s consider this definition within the context of sensation seeking (i.e., risk-taking) © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Swimming with stingray? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Differences among individuals in a typical tendency to behave, think, or feel in some conceptually related ways… I am up for that! Behavior? Thoughts? Feelings? Heck No! Behavior? Thoughts? Feelings? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Across a variety of relevant situations… © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Over some fairly long period of time… © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Over some fairly long period of time… © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

What’s this course really about?  Personality traits that you might be familiar with….  Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness  Big Five v. HEXACO (models are huge in personality!)  Personality traits you may not be familiar with….  Honesty-Humility, Type D Personality, Religiosity  Causes (biological, social) and applications of these traits (relationships, health)  You! You will learn about your own personality and how personality influences your life! © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

What’s this course really about?  Personality psychologists focus on personalities of individuals (i.e., individual differences)  Social psychologists consider the influence of the situation  Both agree that behavior is an interaction b/w personality and the situation! (more on this later)  I am a social psychologist, but I find personality fascinating! © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Let’s Talk about the Syllabus….and Chapter 2 Reflection Due Monday! 1. Complete the TIPI Self-Report Survey. 2. After completing your self-report TIPI, ask an observer to complete the TIPI survey to assess your personality (see download below). 3. Then, use the instructions to score your self and observer reports. 4. Paste your assignment reflection in the appropriate Angel drop-box. © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

 “Differences among individuals in a typical tendency to behave, think, or feel in some conceptually related ways, across a variety of relevant situations, and across some fairly long period of time.”  Your text provides a more convoluted definition within an evolutionary framework… (Ashton, 2013, p.27) © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood Defining personality

Personality Goals: 4 Research Questions  How many traits exist (universal traits)?  How are traits organized? (describe)  What are the origins of the traits? (explain)  What are the correlations and consequences of traits? (predict) © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

3 Levels of Analysis 1. Human Nature 2. Individual and Group Differences 3. Individual Uniqueness © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Human Nature  How we are “like all others”  Traits and mechanisms of personality that are typical of our species and possessed by nearly everyone  Ex: Freud’s universal theory of psychosexual development; Maslow’s universal theory of human needs/motives © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Terms that describe you… Terms that describe a close friend… © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood Similarities? Differences?

Individual and Group Differences  How we are “like some others” and “different from others”  Individual differences refer to ways in which each person is like some other people  Group differences refer to ways in which the people of one group differ from people in another group © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Individual Uniqueness  How we are “like no others”  Every individual has personal and unique qualities not shared by any other person in the world  No 2 people have the exact same personality! © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Grand Theories vs. Contemporary Research  Grand Theories = THE PAST!  Contemporary Research = TODAY! © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Grand Theories of Personality  Attempt to provide universal account of the fundamental psychological processes and characteristics of our species  Statements about the universal core of human nature lie at the center of grand theories of personality,  Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory  Maslow’s hierarchy of needs  What could be some problems with grand theories of personality? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Contemporary Research in Personality  Addresses ways in which individuals and groups differ, not human universals  Personality psychologists specialize in a particular domain/perspective  Cultural impacts  Biological influences  Ex: Is extraversion correlated with dopamine levels? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Relationship to levels of analysis  Grand Theories of Personality → Human Nature Level  Contemporary Research in Personality → Individual/Group Differences  Hard to account for individual uniqueness -one way is twin studies © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Combining Grand and Contemporary Views  Grand theories of personality  Human nature level of analysis (universal theories)  Idiographic  Mostly comprised of theories, but not replicated findings  Contemporary research in personality  Individual and group differences level of analysis (“like all others” or “different from others”)  Nomothetic  Comprised of statistical studies on individual or group differences  Personality Science! © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Domains of Knowledge  Def’n: a specialty area of science and scholarship, where psychologists have focused on learning about specific and limited aspects of human nature  Criticism: personality psychologists do not “talk” across domains  (or to social psychologists!) © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Six Domains of Knowledge 1. Dispositional 2. Biological 3. Intrapsychic 4. Cognitive-Experiential 5. Social and Cultural 6. Adjustment © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Dispositional Domain  Deals with ways in which individuals differ from one another and, therefore, cuts across all other domains  Focus on number and nature of fundamental dispositions  5? 6? 16?  Goal of those working in this domain is to identify and measure the most important ways in which individuals differ from one another  How do psychology majors differ from engineering majors?  Also interested in the origin of individual differences and how these develop over time  Does our level of extraversion come from the brain, our parents, our environment? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Biological Domain  Behavioral genetics of personality  Twin studies, family studies.  Do twins raised apart show a high level of heredity for extraversion?  Psychophysiology of personality  What brain structures/neurotransmitters are associated with extraversion?  Evolutionary personality psychology  How (or when) did extraversion help our ancestors to survive? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Intrapsychic Domain  Deals with mental mechanisms of personality, many of which operate outside conscious awareness  repression, denial, projection, and motives for power, achievement, and affiliation (Freud, Jung) **Because our focus will be on personality science, we will not cover these historical theories in this course. © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Cognitive-Experiential Domain  Focuses on cognition and subjective experience, such as conscious thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires about oneself and others  Self and self-concept  Do people have varying levels of self-esteem?  Do men or women have higher self-esteem?  Goals we set and strive to meet  Do people seek different goals within their relationships?  Emotional experiences, in general and over time  Do some people experience disgust more often than others? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Social and Cultural Domain  Assumption that personality affects, and is affected by, cultural and social contexts  Do individualistic or collectivist individuals exhibit higher self-esteem?  How does sexual promiscuity vary across cultures? © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Adjustment Domain  Personality plays key role in how we cope, adapt, and adjust to events in daily life  Do people use different coping strategies?  Personality linked with important health outcomes and problems in coping and adjustment  Which coping strategies are associated with well- being?  Personality Disorders (DSM-V) © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

NAME THAT DOMAIN! © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood 1. Dispositional 2. Biological 3. Intrapsychic 4. Cognitive-Experiential 5. Social and Cultural 6. Adjustment People high in Neuroticism experience greater activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

NAME THAT DOMAIN! © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood 1. Dispositional 2. Biological 3. Intrapsychic 4. Cognitive-Experiential 5. Social and Cultural 6. Adjustment People who score high on Type A and Type D Personality measures tend to die earlier (than those who score lower).

NAME THAT DOMAIN! © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood 1. Dispositional 2. Biological 3. Intrapsychic 4. Cognitive-Experiential 5. Social and Cultural 6. Adjustment Individuals from collectivist cultures report high levels of implicit self-esteem, whereas individuals from individualist cultures report high levels of explicit self-esteem.

© 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood 1. Dispositional 2. Biological 3. Intrapsychic 4. Cognitive-Experiential 5. Social and Cultural 6. Adjustment  Which domain/s do you think are most important to personality psychologists?  Least important?  Is anything missing?

For More Information…  Association for Research in Personality Association for Research in Personality  Society for Personality and Social Psychology (APA Div. 8) Society for Personality and Social Psychology (APA Div. 8)  Social Psychology Network Social Psychology Network © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Summary of Chapter 1  We defined personality – stable over time and across situations  3 Levels of Analysis – We will focus on individual/group differences  Domains of Knowledge and Personality Science © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood

Coming up!  Chapter 2: Personality Assessment, Measurement, and Research Design  Assignments  Due Mon. 8/31 at 9:05 AM: Required Chapter 2 Reflection  Due Wed. 9/9 at 9:05 AM:  Required Chapter 3 Reflection  Student Background Survey © 2015 M. Guthrie Yarwood