CHAPTER 18

THEORY AND RESEARCH IN CONTEMPORARY

PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY

Heuristic Value of the Grand Theories in Five Important Areas

• Five important areas in contemporary personality theory and research:

– Focus on the special impact of biological factors on human personality development and functioning

– The necessity of incorporating a multicultural perspective into personality theory and research and psychotherapy

– The use of a trait taxonomy to increase our understanding of the role of traits within personality

– The role of positive psychology in promoting the study of human strengths and virtues in personality development and functioning

– The emergence of the study of personality differences as they relate differentially to Internet usage

Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality

• Behavioral genetics: scientific discipline that seeks to document the relative influences of heredity and environment on behavioral differences observed among individuals

• Quantitative genetics: study of the individual variations in traits through procedures that allow for the assessment of the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors

• Molecular genetics: field of biology which studies the structure and functions of genes at a molecular level

– Seeks to understand how genes at the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) level encode for sequences of amino acids that form thousands of proteins important for human functioning

– Findings in this discipline may directly impact theorizing and research in personality psychology

Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality (cont'd.)

• Human Genome Project: international scientific effort to map all of the genes in the human body

– Goal is to understand genetic basis of physical diseases and mental disorders so that scientists can work more effectively to reduce and eliminate them

– May provide greater insights into human evolution and behavior

Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality (cont'd.)

• Evolutionary theory: position that seeks to understand the development of human behavioral tendencies by focusing primarily on our animal heritage

– Broad-based temperaments: traits that we share with other primates

• Emotionality: high physiological arousal and generalized negative affect

• Fearfulness: tendency to be wary, run away, or cower; accompanying physiological arousal

• Activity: total energy output, as expressed in vigor or tempo

• Nurturance: tendency to help others; includes altruism

Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality (cont'd.)

– Broad-based temperaments (cont'd.)

• Sociability: preference for being with others rather than remaining alone

• Impulsivity: tendency to act on the spur of the moment without pause or reflection

• Aggressiveness: attacking or threatening

• Dominance: seeking and maintaining superior status over others

Area 1: A Focus on Biological Contributions to Personality (cont'd.)

– Evolutionary psychologists endorse an interactional temperament model: environment and temperament traits mutually influence each other

– Differential parental investment hypothesis: the conjecture that males and females will employ different mating strategies because of their differential investments in parenting

Area 2: The Need for a Multicultural Perspective on Personality

• Gender differences shaped by cultural socialization processes:

– Freudian view

– Chodorow's view

– Gilligan's view

– Looking to the future: androgyny-idea that males and females can possess both masculine and feminine characteristics

• Sensitivity to gender differences in therapy

– Early criticisms by feminists of traditional personality theories have changed the ways in which therapists see and treat their male and female clients

Area 2: The Need for a Multicultural Perspective on Personality (cont'd.)

• Racial/ethnic differences:

– Minority groups: stigmatized groups of people who face negative stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination by members of the larger society because of their physical or cultural characteristics

– Multiculturalism: efforts by racial/ethnic groups to gain recognition and respect for their distinctive cultural identities from the larger society

– Majority group: most dominant and powerful group in a society; members typically enjoy more privilege and advantages than members of minority groups

Area 2: The Need for a Multicultural Perspective on Personality (cont'd.)

• While many professional therapists are sensitive to the racial/ethnic identity of their clients, the ones who are insensitive often do considerable harm

• Therapists should taking into account their clients’ cultural norms when counseling

– Native American culture: listening is highly valued

– Asian culture: primary identity is collectivistic

– African American culture: strong identification with those who suffer from racism

– Hispanic culture: comfortable communicating at close proximities to others

– Puerto Rican culture (women): avoid eye contact

– Irish culture: lack of outward affection or praise for children

Area 2: The Need for a Multicultural Perspective on Personality (cont'd.)

• Religious differences

– Mature religious orientation: use of religion as an end in itself

• Greater positive moods or feelings, higher self-efficacy, higher self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, and greater longevity

– Immature religious orientation: use of religion as a means to an end

• Less psychologically healthy; more authoritarian, neurotic, rigid, and prejudiced

• Sensitivity to religious differences in therapy

– Therapists typically fail to meet the needs of their religious clients

– Those who become familiar with the religious background of their clients may incorporate the clients’ beliefs into the therapeutic process in a way that promotes personal growth

Area 3: The Use of the Big Five Super-Traits to Increase Our Understanding of Personality

• Use of a trait taxonomy (classification system) to increase our understanding of the role of traits within personality

– Big Five Factors: major, broad dimensions of personality, which have been derived largely from analyses of the language people use to describe themselves and others

• Surgency (extraversion)

• Agreeableness

• Conscientiousness

• Neuroticism

• Openness to experience (intellect)

Area 3: The Use of the Big Five Super-Traits to Increase Our Understanding of Personality

• Criticisms of the Big Five Factors:

– Factor analyses has not been based on a comprehensive list of personality traits

– Researchers do not agree on the factor labels

– Original measures were too lengthy

– There are more than five factors

– Need to clarify the meaning of the five factors

Area 4: The Role of Positive Psychology in Promoting Strengths and Virtues in Personality

• Positive psychology: science of positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive institutions that attempt to improve the quality of life for everyone

• Seeks to promote human strengths and virtues:

– Courage, humility, gratitude, loyalty, altruism, compassion, hope, social responsibility, politeness, forgiveness, and self-control

• Psychology should articulate a vision of the good life that is empirically grounded, while being understandable and attractive

Area 4: The Role of Positive Psychology in Promoting Strengths and Virtues in Personality

(cont'd.)

• Strength of forgiveness

– Letting go of anger, hostility, and resentment, as well as thoughts of revenge, against a wrongdoer

– Forgiveness generally has a beneficial impact on people’s behaviors and performances

– Lack of forgiveness has negative consequences for the mental health of individuals

• Strength of self-control

– People’s ability to alter their own cognitive processes, feelings, and behavior to achieve healthier functioning

– Frees individuals from being driven by external stimuli and automatic, impulsive, or instinctual processes

Area 5: Increasing Understanding of Personality Differences Through Analyses of Internet Use

• The number of Internet users has exploded to approximately 1.1 billion people worldwide

• Although the majority of Americans use the Internet as a learning tool and for social networking, there is a dark side:

– Internet addiction: preoccupation with the Internet; persistent and indiscriminant use of Internet to escape from problems

– Potentially destructive behaviors are quickly reinforced and even encouraged online

• Examples: suicide, bomb-making, anorexia, gambling, binge drinking, and self-cutting

Area 5: Increasing Understanding of Personality Differences Through Analyses of Internet Use

(cont'd.)

• How do different personality characteristics use the Internet?

– Internals versus externals

• Externals engage in more cyber loafing: non-work related use of company-provided e-mail, mobile cell phones, and the Internet while working

– Introverts versus extraverts

• For introverts, the Internet is a safe environment to overcome their shyness

• Surprisingly, introverts may become more addicted to Internet use than extroverts, and with many negative consequences

Area 5: Increasing Understanding of Personality Differences Through Analyses of Internet Use

(cont'd.)

• How do different personality characteristics use the Internet? (cont’d.)

– Nonneurotics versus neurotics

• Neurotics are more likely to use the Internet to resort to plagiarism than nonneurotics

• Neurotic men use the Internet more for leisure and entertainment

• Neurotic women use the Internet more for social networking

– May disclose very revealing personal information and photos

Future of Personality Psychology

• Personality psychology is currently a thriving discipline

• Much of its foundation rests on, and will continue to rest on, the wisdom embedded in many of the current grand theories of personality

• Personality psychology will continue to borrow knowledge, principles, and procedures from other disciplines (cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, and biological psychology)

• Personality psychologists will continue to enjoy a much-needed infusion of energy and enthusiasm, and to expand their range of ideas, issues, and phenomena

Future of Personality Psychology (cont'd.)

• There are many challenges for personality psychologists in their quest for a fuller understanding of personality development and functioning

– Example: self-reports are limited because people are imperfectly trustworthy when it comes to describing themselves

• It is important to use several actual life-outcome techniques to gather data

– Examples: health records, job performance evaluations, criminal records, peer reports, life story techniques, diaries, and direct behavioral observations

– These methods will help personality psychologists know what people actually do, think, or feel in various situations in their lives

Future of Personality Psychology (cont'd.)

• An exciting development in the last decade or so is the use of the Internet as a research instrument

– Provides easy access to and the collection of data from large groups of people nationally and internationally from a variety of ages and diverse cultural backgrounds

• The future of personality psychology in the 21st century is promising