PSYA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Naturalistic Observation, Demand Characteristics, Nomothetic

• School: UTSC
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYA02H3
• Professor: Ainsley Lawson

Document Summary

Personality is an individual"s characteristic style of: The study of personality is the study of both individual differences (idiographic approach) and common trends in the population (nomothetic approach) The study of personality has two main components. What are the characteristics of an individuals personality. Naturalistic observation: observe peoples behaviors in their day to day lives. Problem: being watches alters the person"s behavior - called demand characteristics. The pressure to behave a certain way. The actual observer"s observations can affect observation. Personality measurements instead usually take one of two forms: One of the simplest ways to assess personality is via personality inventories (personality tests/scales) People know their own behaviors better (some bias) Your internal thoughts are invisible and can"t measure. Subjective descriptions of one"s own behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Usually administered in an interview or written questionnaire. These inventories must be by someone who is trained. We have to be trained on how to interpret peoples answers and administer the questions.