1: Introduction to Personality Psychology
Personality Defined
Personality (pers.): the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are
organized and relative enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and adaptations to,
the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments.
Personality Is the Set of Psychological Traits…
Psychological traits: characteristics that describe ways in which people are unique or different form
or similar to each other; include all sorts of persons that are psychologically meaningful and are stable
and consistent aspects of personality ---> 4 questions (= core of research): 1) how many traits? 2)
organization of traits? 3) origins of traits? 4) correlations and consequences of traits? ---> describing,
explaining and predicting.
And Mechanisms…
Psychological mechanisms: similar to traits except that mechanisms refer more to the processes of
pers. ---> information-processing activity: input, decision rules, output ---> traits and mechanisms are
not always activated.
Within the Individual…
The important sources of pers. reside within the individual - that is, people carry the sources of their
pers. inside themselves - and hence are stable over time and consistent over situations.
That Are Organized and Relatively Enduring…
Organized: psychological traits and mechanisms for a given person are not simply a random
collections of elements ---> rather, they are linked in a coherent fashion.
Enduring: psychological traits and mechanisms are generally consistent over time and over
situations (can change (gradually) over time).
And That Influence…
Influential forces: pers. traits and mechanisms can have an effect on people’s lives ---> forces that
influence how we think, act and feel.
His or Her Interactions With…
Person-environment interaction: a person’s interactions with situations include perceptions,
selections, evocations and manipulations ---> are central to understanding the connections between
pers. and environments.
And Adaptations to…
Adaptation: inherited solutions to the survival and reproductive problems posed by the hostile forces
of nature.
The Environment
Environments can be physical, social and intrapsychic (within the individual) ---> which aspect of the
environment is important at any moment in time is frequently determined by the pers. of the person.
Three Levels of Personality Analysis
Kluckhohn & Murray (1948) ---> 3 levels of pers. analysis: 1) universals. 2) particulars. 3) uniqueness.
1
,Human Nature (1)
Human nature: the traits and mechanisms of pers. that are typical of our species and are possessed
by everyone or nearly everyone.
Individual and Group Differences (2)
Individual differences: every individual has personal and unique qualities that make him or her
different from others.
Group differences: people in one group may have certain pers. features in common, and these
common features make them different from other groups (ex: sex differences).
Individual Uniqueness (3)
People are unique ---> study individuals: 1) nomothetic: the study of general characters of people as
they are distributed in the population, typically involving statistical comparisons between individuals
or groups. 2) idiographic: the study of single individuals, with an effort to observe general principles
as they are manifest in a single life over time.
A Fissure in the Field
There is a fissure between the grand theories of pers. and contemporary research in pers.
Grand Theories of Personality
Most of the grand theories of pers. address the human nature level of analyses ---> they attempt to
provide a universal account of the fundamental psychological processes and characteristics of our
species.
Contemporary Research in Personality
Most of the empirical research in contemporary pers. addresses the ways in which individuals and
groups differ ---> the field of pers. has been criticized for containing too many independent areas of
investigation (every area has its strengths), with no sense of the entire realm of human pers. (ex:
elephant).
Six Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature
Researchers are studying different domains of knowledge: a specialty area of science and
scholarship, where psychologists have focused on learning about some specific and limited aspect of
human nature, often with preferred tools of investigation (methods for asking questions, known facts,
theoretical expl.) ---> 6 domains that provide: 1) theories. 2) empirical research.
Dispositional Domain
Dispositional domain: deals centrally with the ways in which individuals differ from one another
(connects with all the other domains); psychologists are primarily interested in the number and
nature of fundamental dispositions, taxonomies of traits, measurement issues, and questions of
stability over time and consistency over situations.
Biological Domain
Biological domain: the core assumption of biological approaches is that humans are, first and
foremost, collections of biological systems, and these systems provide the building blocks for behavior,
thought and emotion ---> 3 areas of research: 1) genetics. 2) psychophysiology. 3) evolution.
Intrapsychic Domain
Intrapsychic domain: deals with mental mechanisms of psychology, many of which operate outside
the realm of conscious awareness (ex: Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis ---> fundamental assumptions
about the instinctual system ---> sexual & aggressive forces, defense mechanisms).
2
, Cognitive-Experential Domain
Cognitive-experential domain: focuses on cognition and subjective experience, such as conscious
thoughts, feelings, beliefs and desires about oneself and others; includes our feelings of self, identity,
self-esteem, our goals and plans, and our emotions.
Social and Cultural Domain
Social and cultural domain: pers. affects, and is affected by, the social and cultural context in which
it is found ---> different cultures and different social spheres bring out different facets of our pers. in
manifest behavior.
Adjustment Domain
Adjustment domain: pers. plays a key role in how we cope, adapt, and adjust to the ebb and flow of
events in our day-to-day lives.
The Role of Personality Theory
Good theory: fulfills 3 purposes: 1) provides a guide for researchers. 2) organizes known findings. 3)
makes predictions ---> interplay between theories and research ---> distinguish between theories
and beliefs!!!
Standards for Evaluating Personality Theories
5 scientific standards for evaluating pers. theories:
1) comprehensiveness: does the theory do a good job of explaining all of the facts and observations
within its domain?
2) heuristic value: does the theory provide a guide to important new discovaries that were not know
before?
3) testability: does the theory render precise enough predictions that per. psychologists can test
them empirically?
4) parsimony: does the theory contain few premises and assumptions (parsimony) or many
premises and assumptions (lack of parsimony)?
5) compatibility and integration across domains and levels.
Is There a Grand Ultimate and True Theory of Personality?
Although the field of pers. psychology currently lacks a grand theory, we (the authors) believe that
work in the 6 domains will ultimately provide the foundations on which such a unified pers. theory
will we built.
2: Personality Assessment, Measurement, and Research Design
Sources of Personality Data
Self-Report Data (S-Data)
Self-report data (S-data): info a person verbally reveals about themselves ---> can be obtained
through: 1) interviews. 2) periodic reports. 3) questionnaires ---> reason for self-report: potential
wealth of info (limitation: respondents must be willing and able to answer the questions) ---> forms of
self-report: 1) unstructured, open-ended (Twenty Statements Test). 2) structured, forced-choice
questions ---> a) trait-descriptive adjectives (Adjective Checklist). b) statements (NEO Personality
Inventory & California Psychological Inventory) ---> true/false or Likert rating scale: a common
rating scale that provides numbers that are attached to descriptive phrases.
3
Personality Defined
Personality (pers.): the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are
organized and relative enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and adaptations to,
the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments.
Personality Is the Set of Psychological Traits…
Psychological traits: characteristics that describe ways in which people are unique or different form
or similar to each other; include all sorts of persons that are psychologically meaningful and are stable
and consistent aspects of personality ---> 4 questions (= core of research): 1) how many traits? 2)
organization of traits? 3) origins of traits? 4) correlations and consequences of traits? ---> describing,
explaining and predicting.
And Mechanisms…
Psychological mechanisms: similar to traits except that mechanisms refer more to the processes of
pers. ---> information-processing activity: input, decision rules, output ---> traits and mechanisms are
not always activated.
Within the Individual…
The important sources of pers. reside within the individual - that is, people carry the sources of their
pers. inside themselves - and hence are stable over time and consistent over situations.
That Are Organized and Relatively Enduring…
Organized: psychological traits and mechanisms for a given person are not simply a random
collections of elements ---> rather, they are linked in a coherent fashion.
Enduring: psychological traits and mechanisms are generally consistent over time and over
situations (can change (gradually) over time).
And That Influence…
Influential forces: pers. traits and mechanisms can have an effect on people’s lives ---> forces that
influence how we think, act and feel.
His or Her Interactions With…
Person-environment interaction: a person’s interactions with situations include perceptions,
selections, evocations and manipulations ---> are central to understanding the connections between
pers. and environments.
And Adaptations to…
Adaptation: inherited solutions to the survival and reproductive problems posed by the hostile forces
of nature.
The Environment
Environments can be physical, social and intrapsychic (within the individual) ---> which aspect of the
environment is important at any moment in time is frequently determined by the pers. of the person.
Three Levels of Personality Analysis
Kluckhohn & Murray (1948) ---> 3 levels of pers. analysis: 1) universals. 2) particulars. 3) uniqueness.
1
,Human Nature (1)
Human nature: the traits and mechanisms of pers. that are typical of our species and are possessed
by everyone or nearly everyone.
Individual and Group Differences (2)
Individual differences: every individual has personal and unique qualities that make him or her
different from others.
Group differences: people in one group may have certain pers. features in common, and these
common features make them different from other groups (ex: sex differences).
Individual Uniqueness (3)
People are unique ---> study individuals: 1) nomothetic: the study of general characters of people as
they are distributed in the population, typically involving statistical comparisons between individuals
or groups. 2) idiographic: the study of single individuals, with an effort to observe general principles
as they are manifest in a single life over time.
A Fissure in the Field
There is a fissure between the grand theories of pers. and contemporary research in pers.
Grand Theories of Personality
Most of the grand theories of pers. address the human nature level of analyses ---> they attempt to
provide a universal account of the fundamental psychological processes and characteristics of our
species.
Contemporary Research in Personality
Most of the empirical research in contemporary pers. addresses the ways in which individuals and
groups differ ---> the field of pers. has been criticized for containing too many independent areas of
investigation (every area has its strengths), with no sense of the entire realm of human pers. (ex:
elephant).
Six Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature
Researchers are studying different domains of knowledge: a specialty area of science and
scholarship, where psychologists have focused on learning about some specific and limited aspect of
human nature, often with preferred tools of investigation (methods for asking questions, known facts,
theoretical expl.) ---> 6 domains that provide: 1) theories. 2) empirical research.
Dispositional Domain
Dispositional domain: deals centrally with the ways in which individuals differ from one another
(connects with all the other domains); psychologists are primarily interested in the number and
nature of fundamental dispositions, taxonomies of traits, measurement issues, and questions of
stability over time and consistency over situations.
Biological Domain
Biological domain: the core assumption of biological approaches is that humans are, first and
foremost, collections of biological systems, and these systems provide the building blocks for behavior,
thought and emotion ---> 3 areas of research: 1) genetics. 2) psychophysiology. 3) evolution.
Intrapsychic Domain
Intrapsychic domain: deals with mental mechanisms of psychology, many of which operate outside
the realm of conscious awareness (ex: Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis ---> fundamental assumptions
about the instinctual system ---> sexual & aggressive forces, defense mechanisms).
2
, Cognitive-Experential Domain
Cognitive-experential domain: focuses on cognition and subjective experience, such as conscious
thoughts, feelings, beliefs and desires about oneself and others; includes our feelings of self, identity,
self-esteem, our goals and plans, and our emotions.
Social and Cultural Domain
Social and cultural domain: pers. affects, and is affected by, the social and cultural context in which
it is found ---> different cultures and different social spheres bring out different facets of our pers. in
manifest behavior.
Adjustment Domain
Adjustment domain: pers. plays a key role in how we cope, adapt, and adjust to the ebb and flow of
events in our day-to-day lives.
The Role of Personality Theory
Good theory: fulfills 3 purposes: 1) provides a guide for researchers. 2) organizes known findings. 3)
makes predictions ---> interplay between theories and research ---> distinguish between theories
and beliefs!!!
Standards for Evaluating Personality Theories
5 scientific standards for evaluating pers. theories:
1) comprehensiveness: does the theory do a good job of explaining all of the facts and observations
within its domain?
2) heuristic value: does the theory provide a guide to important new discovaries that were not know
before?
3) testability: does the theory render precise enough predictions that per. psychologists can test
them empirically?
4) parsimony: does the theory contain few premises and assumptions (parsimony) or many
premises and assumptions (lack of parsimony)?
5) compatibility and integration across domains and levels.
Is There a Grand Ultimate and True Theory of Personality?
Although the field of pers. psychology currently lacks a grand theory, we (the authors) believe that
work in the 6 domains will ultimately provide the foundations on which such a unified pers. theory
will we built.
2: Personality Assessment, Measurement, and Research Design
Sources of Personality Data
Self-Report Data (S-Data)
Self-report data (S-data): info a person verbally reveals about themselves ---> can be obtained
through: 1) interviews. 2) periodic reports. 3) questionnaires ---> reason for self-report: potential
wealth of info (limitation: respondents must be willing and able to answer the questions) ---> forms of
self-report: 1) unstructured, open-ended (Twenty Statements Test). 2) structured, forced-choice
questions ---> a) trait-descriptive adjectives (Adjective Checklist). b) statements (NEO Personality
Inventory & California Psychological Inventory) ---> true/false or Likert rating scale: a common
rating scale that provides numbers that are attached to descriptive phrases.
3
