Personality

1. Personality

2. Three Minute Review SOCIAL INFLUENCE • Deindividuation • Bystander apathy • The murder of Kitty Genovese • why didn’t any of 38 neighbor witnesses help her?!!! • diffusion of responsibility • frequently demonstrated in field studies and lab experiments • even “Good Samaritans” fail • Persuasion • reciprocity • lowballing • door-in-the-face • foot-in-the-door • four walls technique (text) • How can Social Impact Theory account for many social influence phenomena?

3. PERSONALITY • Barnum effect • watch out for generalities, even if they are true SIGMUND FREUD • psychoanalysis • “talking cure” • catharsis • hysteria • e.g., glove anesthesia • id, ego and superego • pleasure principle vs. reality principle • psychosexual stages of development • oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital

4. Test Yourself • Elena and Robert have trouble getting along because she lives her life based on the pleasure principle and he lives his life based on his conscience.  Freud would say Elena is driven by her __________ and Robert is driven by his ______________. A.    superego, ego                                         B.     id, ego                       C.    id, superego D.    ego, superego E. ego, id

5. My Personality Assessment • You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.

6. The Barnum Effect “There’s a sucker born every minute.” -- P.T. Barnum, circus ringmaster • The Barnum Effect • sometimes called the Forer effect (Forer, 1949) • statements taken from a newsstand astrology book • on a scale of 0 (poor) to 5 (perfect), students rated assessment a 4.3 • replicated in 1970s and 1980s (average = 4.2) • Sample horoscope: • You will find it difficult to deal with personal issues today. Be direct and positive when dealing with others. Don't neglect the ones you care about most.

7. The Barnum Effect in action

8. Big Five Tests • The items on the personality test you took really came from a test of the Big Five and birth order on this web site: • http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/ • Try it yourself to get real personality test results (it might also be interesting to hang on to a copy and try it again in 10 years)

9. What is Personality? • People react differently in the same situation

10. What is Personality? • A person’s behavior is often consistent across situations

11. Hippocrates Four Humors • In the 5th C. B.C., Hippocrates theorized that the body contained four humors (fluids), each associated with a particular temperament • BLOOD • “sanguine” • cheerful • confident • optimistic • PHLEGM • “phlegmatic” • sluggish • apathetic • dull • YELLOW BILE • “choleric” • irritable • violent • BLACK BILE • “melancholic” • depressed • gloomy • pessimistic

12. Cattell’s Trait Theory • How can we decide what fundamental traits are? • dictionary identifies 18,000 personality descriptors (Allport, 1937) • Cattell narrowed this down to 170 and used factor analysis to group them • Cattell derived 16 source traits Remember this guy? (Fluid vs. Crystallized Intelligence) Raymond Cattell 1905-1998

13. How much do you like Dr. Pepper? r = .70 How much do you like Coke Classic? Factor Analysis CORRELATION CORRELATION MATRIX

14. Factor Analysis of Personality • What would you conclude from the following patterns? CORRELATION MATRIX

15. Differences in Traits Both are equally intelligent Clergy members are more cheerful Researchers are more radical

16. Eysenck’s Three Factors Extroversion (vs. Introversion) • Do you like mixing with people? (+) • Do you like plenty of bustle and excitement around you? (+) • Are you rather lively? (+) Neuroticism (Stable vs. Unstable) • Do you often feel fed up? (+) • Do you often feel lonely? (+) • Does your mood often go up and down? (+) Psychoticism • Do good manners and cleanliness matter to you? (-) • Does it worry you if you know there are mistakes in your work? (-) • Do you like taking risks for fun? (+)

17. Eysenck is similar to Hippocrates

18. OPENNESS CONSCIENTIOUSNESS Openness Imaginative Independent Curious Broad interests Non-openness Unimaginative Conforming Incurious Narrow interests Conscientiousness Careful Reliable Persevering Ambitious Undirectedness Careless Undependable Lax Aimless EXTROVERSION AGREEABLENESS Agreeableness Courteous Selfless Trusting Cooperative Antagonism Rude Selfish Suspicious Uncooperative Extroversion Sociable Fun-loving Talkative Spontaneous Introversion Reserved Sober Quiet Self-controlled NEUROTICISM Neuroticism Worrying Vulnerable Self-pitying Impatient Stability Calm Hardy Self-satisfied Patient The BIG Five Mnemonic: O C E A N

19. My Scores Over Time 2006 2002

20. Traits vs. Situations • Trait theories • personality > situation • Perhaps personality psychologists are making the fundamental attribution error • Children who cheat in one situation (e.g., class test) may not cheat in another (e.g., athletic competition) (Average correlation: +.30; Hartshorne & May, 1928) • Situation (state) theories • situation > personality • Interactionism • both personality and situation are important

21. 7 14 21 28 35 42 - Up “Give me a child until he is seven and I will show you the man.” -- Jesuit maxim • Documentary series (Michael Apted) • follows British children through interviews at ages 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 (1998) • people’s personalities are quite consistent

22. Is Consistency a Trait? Self monitoring (Snyder, 1974) • Gray, p. 544 • High self-monitors • people who modify their behavior based on the situation • Low self-monitors • people who behave in a consistent manner regardless of the situation

23. Effects of Age “For most of us, by age 30, the character has set in plaster and will never soften again.” -- William James, 1890 As people age between the teens and age 30, they become: • less neurotic • less extroverted • less open to experience • more conscientious • more agreeable • After age 30, people are more consistent

24. Where Do Traits Come From? • The usual nature/nurture debate • Genes • dog breeds have very different personalities • no “people breeders” but can genetics account for personality traits? • twin studies • Environment • effects of birth order

25. Twins Case study • two identical twins separated at 4 weeks of age • coincidentally, both named Jim by their adoptive families • met in adulthood • were the inspiration for the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart • both clerical workers • both enjoyed woodworking • both volunteered for police agencies • both liked vacationing in Florida • both had married and divorced women named Linda • both owned dogs named Toy • both drove Chevrolets • both liked math and hated spelling • both had migraines and shared identical pulse rates and blood pressure • both gained weight at same time • both had built benches around trees in yard

26. Twin Studies Identical twins are much more alike on Big Five than are fraternal twins

27. Birth Order • Firstborns • more conscientious, extroverted & neurotic • less agreeable and open to experience • assertive, dominant, responsible, achievement-oriented, anxious, jealous • Later-borns • more prone to rebellion, more liberal • more open to novelty, new ideas • Middle-borns • less connected to family than others (Frank Sulloway)

28. Temperaments • biologically-based tendencies to feel or act in certain ways • broader than traits

29. Baseline arousal for extroverts Baseline arousal for introverts Extroverts seek more external arousal Introverts seek less external arousal Extroverts vs. Introverts QUALITY OF PERFORMANCE Low Medium High LEVEL OF AROUSAL (Hans Eysenck, 1967)

30. Brain basis? Introverts (vs. Extroverts) • respond more strongly to stimuli • more sensitive to pain of electric shocks • salivate more when tasting lemon juice • show more arousal to a sudden noise • perform worse in noisy settings • are impaired by caffeine (vs. extroverts who are enhanced) • have more activation in frontal lobes (inhibition of impulses?) and amygdala (emotional responses)

31. Investment Strategies Nortel Enron Canadian stocks bonds Martha Stewart Inc. tech stocks global stocks Smart Strategy: Diversified Portfolio Dumb Strategy: Single Investment

32. Evolutionary Explanations for Trait Variability Why is there so much variability in traits and temperaments? • groups with high variability are more adaptable • Example: Sensation-seeking • different individuals, different niches • would you want an unconscientious extrovert as your accountant? • would a disagreeable, neurotic introvert succeed as a car salesman?

33. Theories of Personality • Psychodynamic theories (Freud and others) • personality arises from unconscious drives and early experiences • sex & aggression • id, ego, superego • defense mechanisms • early experiences • Behaviorist theories (Skinner and others) • personality arises from reinforcement history • Social-Cognitive theories (Bandura and others) • personality is determined by both the consequences of our behavior and our perception of them • Humanistic theories (Maslow, Rogers and others) • humans have a drive toward self-improvement that affects personality

34. Social-Cognitive Theories • personality is determined by both the consequences of our behavior and our perception of them

35. Locus of Control • internal locus of control • attribute outcomes to their own behavior • external locus of control • attribute outcomes to external factors • people with an internal (vs. external) LoC • get better grades • are more likely to succeed • are more likely to engage in healthy activities (exercising, eating well, wearing seatbelts, not smoking) • are more likely to deal with problems • are less likely to become depressed

36. Humanistic Theories • 1950s backlash against behaviorism and psychodynamic theories which were considered dehumanizing • Freudians see people as “conflict-ridden emotional cripples” • Skinnerians put too much emphasis on animal research and see people as “dumb animals or unthinking automatons” • Trait theorists see people as “no more than grab bags of descriptors to file in sterile pigeon holes” (quotes from Gleitman) • emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, especially their free will and their potential for personal growth • positive, optimistic view of human nature

37. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs • Once basic needs have been satisfied, people seek psychological needs and growth Abraham Maslow 1908 - 1970

38. Self-actualization • finding and fulfilling one’s potential • Maslow evaluated people who he considered to be the most fulfilled • A self-actualized person (partial list): • perceives reality accurately • is spontaneous and natural • has a sense of humor • is capable of childlike delight at the ordinary • needs privacy, but feels connected to others • has a few good friends • is autonomous and independent in thought and action • knows right from wrong • is absorbed in a cause (and perhaps a different one tomorrow) • has mystical experiences and seeks “peak experiences” “I’m quite fulfilled. I always wanted to be a chicken.” A musician must make music, the artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization. -- Abraham Maslow