Introduction to Personality

1. Introduction to Personality MAR 3503 March 22, 2012

2. How do we know who someone is? • The psychoanalytic approach • Freud pioneered this view of personality • Personality composed of: • Id: Unconscious psychic energy, strives to satisfy base needs (sex, food, aggression); operates on the pleasure principle • Ego: Conscious mind, mediates between id, superego, and reality; operates on reality principle • Superego: Both conscious and unconscious, represents internalized ideals; serves as one’s conscience • But… • Thus, the trait approach

3. Humors

4. Myers-Briggs Types

5. Myers-Briggs Types • DO YOU PREFER: • Extraversion versus introversion • Outer world of people versus inner world of experience • Sensing versus intuition • Observant of data versus imagining new possibilities • Thinking versus feeling • Logic versus empathy • Judging versus perceiving • Planning versus flexibility

6. Myers-Briggs • Does seem to reflect something about a person • But… • Measures preferences rather than actual traits • Dichotomous nature of types may not reflect actual standing—forces people to be one or the other • Can’t we be somewhere in the middle? Or judging sometimes and perceiving others? • Low test-retest reliability • Are the types the best way to divide up personality?

7. The Big Five • Openness • Conscientious • Extraversion • Agreeableness • Neuroticism

8. The Big Five

9. The Big Five

10. Openness • People high on openness tend to be… • Creative, imaginative, abstract, curious, deep thinkers, inventive, and value arts and aesthetic experiences • People low on openness tend to be… • Conventional, concrete, traditional, preferring the known to the unknown • High scorers tend to… • Engage in fantasy to create a more interesting world • Appreciate beauty in art & nature and are involved and absorbed in aesthetics • Have good access to and awareness of their feelings • Be eager to try new activities, travel to foreign lands, and have different experiences • Be open-minded to new and unusual ideas, and enjoy debating intellectual issues • Be ready to challenge authority, convention, and traditional values

11. Conscientiousness • People high on conscientiousness tend to be… • Thorough, dependable, reliable, hardworking, task focused, efficient, good planners • People low on conscientiousness tend to be… • Disorganized, late, careless, impulsive • High scorers tend to… • Believe they have the intelligence, drive, and self-control necessary for achieving success • Keep lists and make plans • Have a strong sense of moral obligation • Have a strong sense of direction • Have the ability to persist at difficult or unpleasant tasks until they are completed • Take their time when making decisions

12. Extraversion • People high on extraversion tend to be… • Talkative, energetic, enthusiastic, assertive, outgoing, sociable • People low on extraversion tend to be… • Reserved, quiet, shy • High scorers tend to… • Genuinely like other people and make friends quickly • Enjoy the excitement of crowds • Like to speak out, take charge, and direct the activities of others • Lead fast-paced, busy lives • Be easily bored without high levels of stimulation • Experience a range of positive feelings

13. Agreeableness • People high on agreeableness tend to be… • Helpful, selfless, sympathetic, kind, forgiving, trusting, considerate, cooperative • People low on agreeableness tend to be… • Fault finding, quarrelsome, critical, harsh, aloof • High scorers tend to… • Assume that most people are fair, honest and have good intentions • Be candid, frank, and sincere • Find that doing things for others is self-fulfillment rather than self-sacrifice • Be willing to make compromises • Not like to claim they are better than other people • Be tenderhearted and compassionate

14. Neuroticism • People high on neuroticism tend to be… • Anxious, easily ruffled or upset, worried, moody • People low on neuroticism tend to be… • Calm, relaxed, able to handle stress well, emotionally stable • High scorers tend to… • Feel as if something dangerous were about to happen • Feel resentful and bitter when they feel they are cheated • Lack energy and have difficulty initiating activities • Be easily embarrassed or ashamed • Be oriented toward shorter pleasures • Experience panic and helplessness under stress

15. The Big Five

16. The Big Five • …Are stable • Some changes post-college (OEN typically decrease, CA increase), but for the most part, your standing will stay the same • …Are heritable • Up to 50% or so for each dimension • …Are largely cross-cultural • …Are predictive of other personal attributes and activities • Morning doves versus night owls • Marital satisfaction

17. The Big Five

18. The Big Five • …Are stable • Some changes post-college (OEN typically decrease, CA increase), but for the most part, your standing will stay the same • …Are heritable • Up to 50% or so for each dimension • …Are largely cross-cultural • …Are predictive of other personal attributes and activities • Morning doves versus night owls • Marital satisfaction • …Are found in both self- and peer-reports

19. Secondary traits • The five factors are composed of smaller, more specific traits • We can use these traits to make more specific predictions about people’s behavior • What are some traits that are particularly useful to know in consumer contexts?

20. Maximizers & Satisficers • Maximizers need to feel that each decision they make is the best decision they could make, that they choose the best option • Satisficers set standards and choose what is “good enough” to meet them, without concern that there may be a better choice • Can also vary by person and by decision • Maximizing appears to be related to increased levels of regret, depression, and lower levels of subjective well-being

21. Maximizers & Satisficers • Maximizers tend to make better objective decisions but worse subjective ones • Which is better? • Regret • Regret and maximizing go together • Maximizers tend to have higher levels of “buyer’s remorse” when a decision goes poorly or not as well as hoped. • They also have higher levels of anticipated regret

22. Tightwads & Spendthrifts • How much pain do you feel at the thought of spending money on something? • Tightwads feel lots of pain when they spend money, and end up spending less than they might like • Spendthrifts don’t feel enough pain when they spend money, and spend more than they would like • Unconflicted people spend about as much as they would like

23. Tightwads & Spendthrifts • Some moderators • Men are more likely to be tightwads than women • Older people are more likely to be tightwads than younger people • The more educated one is, the more likely one is to be a tightwad • How to use this in a marketing context? • For spendthrifts, emphasize attributes of the products and how much they’ll enjoy owning them • For tightwads, focus on reducing price and making payment less painful

24. Materialism • Material Values Scale (MVS) • How important buying and owning material goods is to achieving goals • How good are possessions in gauging a person’s success in life? • How central are your possessions to your self-views? • Do possessions lead to happiness and satisfaction? • Socially desirable responding?

25. Materialism • People who are high in materialism… • Tend to be less inclined to donate organs or give money to charity • Are less inclined to save money and more open to borrowing money • Tend to be less happy • How might materialism interact with being a tightwad or a spendthrift?

26. How useful is personality? • Walter Mischel • What matters more—the person or the situation? • Inconsistency in behavior more the rule than consistency • People behave very differently in different situations • Tim Wilson • Two parts to personality: • Adaptive unconscious: below our mental awareness, this system evaluates, looks for patterns; fixed, stable, hard to change; created by genes and how you’re raised • Constructed self: our conscious choices about how to think and behave

27. Thin slices • Short exposure can be just as good as extended exposure • “Thin slices” research has shown that people exposed to a teacher’s lecture for 3 10-second clips are remarkably correlated with ratings of that teacher by students in the class for the whole semester. Even 2-second clips yielded similar ratings • Other traits can be divined in similar manners—from still photographs, even outlines

28. Brand personality Sincerity Excitement Competence Sophistication Ruggedness Down-to-earth Honest Wholesome Cheerful Down-to-earth Family-oriented Small-town Honest Sincere Real Wholesome Original Cheerful Sentimental Friendly

29. Brand personality Sincerity Excitement Competence Sophistication Ruggedness Daring Spirited Imaginative Up-to-date Daring Trendy Exciting Spirited Cool Young Imaginative Unique Up-to-date Independent Contemporary

30. Brand personality Sincerity Excitement Competence Sophistication Ruggedness Reliable Intelligent Successful Reliable Hardworking Secure Intelligent Technical Corporate Successful Leader Confident

31. Brand personality Sincerity Excitement Competence Sophistication Ruggedness Upper class Charming Upper class Glamorous Good looking Charming Feminine Smooth

32. Brand personality Sincerity Excitement Competence Sophistication Ruggedness Outdoorsy Tough Outdoorsy Masculine Western Tough Rugged

33. Summary • Personality can be measured many ways • The trait approach is the most common these days • The Big Five capture the bulk of a person’s traits • Secondary traits can give a more specific look at who a person is • Even brands are seen as having personality • Next time: What does your stuff say about you?