Trait and Trait and Social-Cognitive Social-Cognitive Perspectives on Perspectives on

PersonalityPersonality

Chapter 11Chapter 11Module 26Module 26

Psychology APsychology A

Important Definitions:Important Definitions:

Personality:Personality: An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking, An individual’s characteristic pattern of thinking,

feeling, and actingfeeling, and acting Trait:Trait:

A characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to A characteristic pattern of behavior or a disposition to feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and feel and act, as assessed by self-report inventories and peer reportspeer reports

Social-cognitive perspective:Social-cognitive perspective: Perspective stating that understanding personality Perspective stating that understanding personality

involves considering the situation and thoughts involves considering the situation and thoughts before, during, and after an eventbefore, during, and after an event

The Trait Perspective:The Trait Perspective:Ancient Greek TraitsAncient Greek Traits

Ancient Greeks classified four personality Ancient Greeks classified four personality traitstraits Sanguine (cheerful)Sanguine (cheerful) Melancholic (depressed)Melancholic (depressed) Choleric (irritable)Choleric (irritable) Phlegmatic (unemotional)Phlegmatic (unemotional)

Felt these were caused by humor (body fluids)Felt these were caused by humor (body fluids)

Identifying TraitsIdentifying Traits

Gordon Allport (1897-1967) Gordon Allport (1897-1967) American psychologist and trait theorist American psychologist and trait theorist

who researched the idea that individual who researched the idea that individual personalities are uniquepersonalities are unique

Stressed importance of studying mentally Stressed importance of studying mentally healthy peoplehealthy people

Resisted the idea of finding “personality Resisted the idea of finding “personality law” that would apply to everyonelaw” that would apply to everyone

Raymond Cattell (1905-1998)Raymond Cattell (1905-1998)

English psychologist who researched English psychologist who researched whether some traits predicted otherswhether some traits predicted others

Proposed 16 key personality dimensions Proposed 16 key personality dimensions or factors to describe personalityor factors to describe personality

Each factor was measured on a Each factor was measured on a continuumcontinuum

Hans Eysenck (1916-1997)Hans Eysenck (1916-1997)

German psychologist who researched German psychologist who researched the genetically-influenced dimensions of the genetically-influenced dimensions of personalitypersonality

Two major dimensions:Two major dimensions: Introversion/ExtraversionIntroversion/Extraversion Emotionally Unstable/StableEmotionally Unstable/Stable

Eysencks’ Personality FactorsEysencks’ Personality Factors

The “Big Five” TraitsThe “Big Five” Traits

OpennessOpenness ExtraversionExtraversion Agreeableness Agreeableness Emotional StabilityEmotional Stability ConscientiousnessConscientiousness

The “Big Five” TraitsThe “Big Five” Traits

Testing for Traits:Testing for Traits:Personality InventoriesPersonality Inventories

Questionnaires on which people respond Questionnaires on which people respond to items designed to gauge a wide range to items designed to gauge a wide range of feelings and behaviorsof feelings and behaviors

Used to assess selected personality traitsUsed to assess selected personality traits Often true-false, agree-disagree, etc. Often true-false, agree-disagree, etc.

types of questionstypes of questions

Validity Validity ReliabilityReliability

The extent to which a test The extent to which a test measures or predicts what measures or predicts what it is suppose to testit is suppose to test

Personality inventories Personality inventories offer greater validity than offer greater validity than do projective testsdo projective tests (e.g. (e.g. Rorschach; used by Rorschach; used by proponents of the proponents of the humanistic perspective).humanistic perspective).

The extent to which a test The extent to which a test yields consistent results, yields consistent results, regardless of who gives the regardless of who gives the test or when or where it is test or when or where it is givengiven

Personality inventories are Personality inventories are more reliable than more reliable than projective tests.projective tests.

MMPIMMPI

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)Inventory (MMPI)

Most clinically-used personality testMost clinically-used personality test 500 total questions500 total questions Originally designed to assess abnormal Originally designed to assess abnormal

behaviorbehavior

MMPI Scoring ProfileMMPI Scoring Profile

MMPI-2MMPI-2

Revised and updated version of the MMPIRevised and updated version of the MMPI Assesses test takers on 10 clinical scales Assesses test takers on 10 clinical scales

and 15 content scalesand 15 content scales Sometimes the MMPI-2 is not used as it Sometimes the MMPI-2 is not used as it

was intended.was intended.

Evaluating the Trait PerspectiveEvaluating the Trait Perspective

Does not take into account how the Does not take into account how the situation influences a person’s behaviorsituation influences a person’s behavior

Doesn’t explain why the person behaves Doesn’t explain why the person behaves as they do--just how they behaveas they do--just how they behave

The Social-Cognitive PerspectiveThe Social-Cognitive Perspective

Albert Bandura (1925-present)Albert Bandura (1925-present) Developed the social-cognitive perspective, Developed the social-cognitive perspective,

which suggests that to understand personality, which suggests that to understand personality, one must consider the situation and the one must consider the situation and the person’s thoughts before, during, and after an person’s thoughts before, during, and after an eventevent

People learn by observing and modeling others People learn by observing and modeling others or through reinforcementor through reinforcement

The Social-Cognitive The Social-Cognitive Perspective: Perspective:

Interacting with Our Interacting with Our EnvironmentEnvironment

Reciprocal Determinism: Three Reciprocal Determinism: Three Factors Shape PersonalityFactors Shape Personality

The mutual influences among The mutual influences among personality and environmental factorspersonality and environmental factors

An interaction of three factors:An interaction of three factors: Thoughts or cognitionsThoughts or cognitions The environmentThe environment A person’s behaviorsA person’s behaviors

Reciprocal Determinism:Reciprocal Determinism:copy this down!copy this down!

The Social-Cognitive Perspective:The Social-Cognitive Perspective:Personal ControlPersonal Control

External Locus of External Locus of ControlControl The perception that The perception that

chance, or forces chance, or forces beyond a person’s beyond a person’s control, control one’s control, control one’s fatefate

Internal Locus of Internal Locus of ControlControl The perception that The perception that

we control our own we control our own fatefate

Learned HelplessnessLearned Helplessness The hopelessness and The hopelessness and

passive resignation an passive resignation an animal or human learns animal or human learns when unable to avoid when unable to avoid repeated bad eventsrepeated bad events

Martin Seligman studied Martin Seligman studied dogs that were unable to dogs that were unable to escape a painful escape a painful stimulus and eventually stimulus and eventually stopped trying to escape.stopped trying to escape.

Learned HelplessnessLearned Helplessness

OptimisticOptimistic Pessimistic Pessimistic Explanatory StyleExplanatory Style Explanatory StyleExplanatory Style When something When something

goes wrong the goes wrong the person explains the person explains the problem as:problem as: TemporaryTemporary Not their faultNot their fault Something limited Something limited

to this situationto this situation

When something When something goes wrong the goes wrong the person tends to:person tends to: Blame themselvesBlame themselves Catastrophize the Catastrophize the

eventevent See the problem as See the problem as

beyond their beyond their controlcontrol

Positive PsychologyPositive Psychology

A movement in psychology that focuses A movement in psychology that focuses on the on the study of optimal human study of optimal human functioning and the factors that allow functioning and the factors that allow individuals and communities to thriveindividuals and communities to thrive

Lead by Lead by Martin SeligmanMartin Seligman

Assessing Personality and BehaviorAssessing Personality and Behavior

Social-cognitive perspective would stress Social-cognitive perspective would stress putting people into simulated actual putting people into simulated actual conditions to determine how they would conditions to determine how they would behavebehave

Evaluating the Perspective:Evaluating the Perspective:

Social Cognitive View:Social Cognitive View:

Draws on learning and cognitive researchDraws on learning and cognitive research Fails to consider the influence of Fails to consider the influence of

emotions and motivation on behavioremotions and motivation on behavior