Notes for Psychology-March 7th The Trait Approach to Personality: This is the idea that there are several

characteristics or enduring behavioral patterns that form the basis of one's personality. f one !no"s "hat !ind of traits they e#hibit$ then stuff can happen. People can be described by their typical behavior. This approach has also created the big model. %ive factor model-the &'ig (& and such. )penness: nventive and *urious vs. *autious and *onservative *onscientiousness: +fficient and )rgani,ed vs. +asygoing and *areless +#traversion: )utgoing and +nergetic vs. -hy and .eserved Agreeableness: %riendly and *ompassionate vs. *ompetitive and )utspo!en Neuroticism: -ensitive and Nervous vs. -ecure and *onfident/ also Positive vs. Negative Affect These all lead to the acronym$ )*+AN. Across cultures$ ho"ever$ these varying character traits carry entirely different value. %or e#ample$ inventiveness and curiosity may not be as pri,ed as others. There are also biological perspectives on the brain$ for e#ample$ due to the fact that Phineas 0age seemed to be a !ind of study. Personality and the 'rain 'rain damage alters personality$ and this has been proven. n addition$ the brain si,e and responses correlate "ith personality. 'ehavioral 0enetics -T"in studies reveal substantial genetic influence on personality. s everyone "ho possesses a similar genetic ma!eup behaviorally similar1 The Personological Perspective relies upon the individual's life story in order to e#plain the behavioral norms of an individual.

2enry Murray first initiated the study of personology$ "hich is defined as the study of a "hole person. This is also a study of their driving motives that influence their behavior and personality$ though they may be largely unconscious. 3an McAdams had a similar understanding$ though he put an entirely ne" spin on the school of thought. n his &life story approach$& he "anted to formulate a grasp on ho" one's life story forms the very basis of their identity. 4ife story approach e#ample 56ing7 +valuating the 4ife -tory Approach: *ontributions formulate a rich record of an individual's e#perience. *riticisms of the 4ife -tory Approach are that they are difficult and time-consuming. n addition$ it is in consensus that the findings of such studies "ould be difficult to generali,e. Personality--tability vs. *hange Traits are stable by definition. 8et-some positive traits...never mind. 9alter Mischel identifies a social cognitive perspective on behavior !no"n as &situationalism.& This asserts that behavior and personality are hardly fi#ed$ and that they alter according to conte#t. The *AP- Model of Personality asserts that it's not "hat personality is but$ rather$ ho" it "or!s. This tends to analy,e the interconnections among cognitions 5goals$ beliefs$ e#pectations7$ and emotions affect our behavior. -ocial *ognitive Perspectives This places stress on the interpretations of a situation$ and the respective goals$ e#pectations$ and beliefs of the individual. n addition$ something to ta!e into account is ho" the individual perceives their o"n personal control of the situation. %or e#ample... nternal 4ocus of *ontrol: control my o"n life:behavior. +#ternal 4ocus of *ontrol: My life:behavior is controlled by environmental factors outside of myself and beyond my control. Personality Assessment: mportance of ;alid Assessments. As "ith other fields in psychology$ there are many invalid$ pseudoscientific &tests& that evaluate one's personality. Truly valid assessments include...

Myers 'riggs Type ndicator This measures four dimensions of personality$ specifically: -+#traversion- ntroversion 5act first$ thin! later or thin! first$ then act17 --ensing- ntuiting 5practical or imaginative17 -Thin!ing-%eeling 5analytical or emotional17 -<udgment-Perception 5plan everything or go "ith the flo"17 =sed to ma!e personnel decisions. 2o"ever$ this is not empirically supported. 'arnum effect. N+) P -. Neuroticism +#traversion )penness Personality nventory-.evised Assesses the &'ig ( factors.& This ( factor approach has gained validity primarily because it has a viable approach attached to it. t has$ in addition$ seemed to garner reliable and accurate results. Minnesota Multiphasic Personality nventory This "as an assessment created specifically to evaluate psychological disorders. This "as approached by adding as many different items as possible and then determining "hich ones "ere fully reliable. This has also been discovered to be a fitting evaluation to determine those at ris! of enacting criminal behavior. This is$ unli!e the N+) P -.$ is formatted in a binary model 5true or false7 and is an empirical test construction. -elf-.eport Tests 'e"are social desirability. This can appear in the "ay people describe themselves and their behavior. A "ay around this is to evade the >uestion of "hat is being measured$ test the items not related to the purpose of the test$ and to construct a built-in validity scale: MMP is an e#ample.