1 Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology September 9 Lecture 2

2 Scoring Your Questionnaire: BFT In order to score your questionnaire, you must compute 5 scores. Score 1: Sum items 1, 6, 11, 16, 21 Score 2: Sum items 2, 7, 12, 17, 22 Score 3: Sum items 3, 8, 13, 18, 23 Score 4: Sum items 4, 9, 14, 19, 24 Score 5: Sum items 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 2

3 1.As noted in the course syllabus, tentative learning objectives will be posted on the course website the evening before each class period (by 9:00PM). Finalized learning objectives will be included in the lectures slides posted after each class period. Announcements

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5 2. The schedule for the Peer Mentor Program has been posted on the course website. Locations to be announced. Mark your calendars!

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7 3. As noted in the course syllabus, Chapter 2 reviews content (research methods) taught in the prerequisites for this course and will not be discussed in class. Optional review sessions for this chapter will be held on: September 15, 12:00-1:00PM, Kenny 2101 September 15, 4:30-5:30PM, Kenny 2101 Students who are not able to attend these sessions may meet with me or the TA. Exam 1 will include 2-3 multiple choice questions (2-3 points/50 points) from Chapter 2.

A little R&R …. (Review and Reflect) 8

Let’s begin! 9

10 Top 5 preferences among students (in rank order): 1.Personality and Psychopaths. 2.Personality Disorders. 3.Personality and Happiness. 4.Personality Stability and Change. 5.Sex Differences in Personality. Students’ desired course content: The “Its My Course” Questionnaire: Results

Other topics of interest to students: Personality testing (i.e., assessment). Introversion/extraversion. Dreams. Freud. Personality development. Free will/determinism; nature vs. nurture. Heritability of personality characteristics. Birth order effects. Motivation. Personality growth. Personality and religion. Personality and “real world” applications. 11

1.What is personality? 2.Why study personality? Introductory Concepts and Personality Assessment 12 3.What is a theory? 4.How is research used to test a theory? 5.How are personality variables measured?

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 1. define the term personality. 2. identify the goals of personality psychology distinguish between a theory and a construct. 4. identify the functions of a theory.

14 5. define the term operationalization. 6. generate examples of operationalizations. 7. discuss the interactive relationship between theory and research. 8. review personality measurement techniques.

Psychology Question: What is personality? Answer: Personality is …. Class Exercise: What is personality? 15

Carver and Scheier (p. 4): “Personality is a dynamic organization, inside the person, of psychophysical systems that create the person’s characteristic patterns of behavior, thoughts, and feelings.” 16 Noteworthy points: 1.“psychophysical” 2. “dynamic” 3.“organization” 4. “create” 5.“characteristic patterns” 6.“behavior, thoughts, and feelings” 16

Why study personality? Personality psychology has three goals: Descriptive goal. 2. Explanatory goal. 3. Predictive goal; particularly relevant to applied (e.g., clinical, military, corporate) settings. 17

What is a theory? Theory: A proposed explanation or interpretation of the relations among constructs. 18 Construct: A conceptual or hypothetical variable that can’t be directly observed. Examples of variables that are constructs: Aggressiveness, optimism, intelligence, self-esteem. Examples of variables that are not constructs: Hair colour, eye colour, weight, height, blood pressure. 18

Is personality a construct? 19

20 Theories serve two functions: 1.Synthesizing function: Organize and explain observations. 2.Heuristic function: Generate predictions (i.e., hypotheses). 20

Operationalization: The translation of a construct into a variable that can be observed and, therefore, measured. 21 In order to test a theory, researchers must identify observable variables that reflect the constructs of interest. How is research used to test a theory? 21 Examples of operationalizations:

22 Construct: Aggressiveness. Operationalization: Frequency and intensity of shocks given to a confederate. Construct: Intelligence. Operationalization: Scores on an IQ test. 22 Construct: Self-esteem. Operationalization: Scores on a self-report measure of global self-worth. Construct: Personality. Operationalization: ?

Theories 23 Hypotheses Operationalizations Research (i.e., experiments, correlational studies, case studies; see Chapter 2) Observations Interactive Relationship 23

How are personality variables measured? Personality variables are operationalized (i.e., translated into observable variables) using several techniques: 24 observer ratings (e.g., interviews, behavioural observations, informant data). implicit assessments (e.g., Rorschach Ink Blot Test, Picture Story Exercise). self-reports (most common; e.g., questionnaires).

25 Implicit Assessment: Rorschach Ink Blot Test 25

Psychology Participants complete the statement “I am” 20 times. Researchers count the number of statements that refer to a given personality characteristic. Unstructured Self-Report: The Twenty-Statements Test I am _______________ I am _______________ 26

Psychology True/false items: I like loud and crowded parties ………… T/F I enjoy trying new foods …………………. T/F Adjective checklists: adventurous conservative Structured Self-Report: True/False Items and Adjective Checklists 27

28 Using the scale below, please indicate how much you disagree or agree with the following statements. Circle the appropriate number to the right of each statement StronglyNeutralStrongly disagree agree 1. I feel that I’m a person of worth, at least on an equal basis with others …………………………… I feel that I have a number of good qualities …… All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure … I am able to do things as well as most people ……12 28 Structured Self-Report: Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 1. define the term personality. 2. identify the goals of personality psychology distinguish between a theory and a construct. 4. identify the functions of a theory.

30 5. define the term operationalization. 6. generate examples of operationalizations. 7. discuss the interactive relationship between theory and research. 8. review personality measurement techniques.