PSYC 333 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Walter Mischel, Social Rejection, Observational Error
Document Summary
Correlation between traits and relevant observed behavior low. Cognitive-affective system theory of personality individual differences in conditional probability across situations. People were concerned about this randomness in behavior. Eliminate the randomness (be more precise in quantifying the behavior) We need to understand the psychological ingredients of the concerned people in order to understand these fluctuations. If"s are particular situations and then"s are situations and behavior done by individuals. Need to understand the psychological meaning of the situation for the individual in order to predict the individual"s behavior. Cognitive and affective units mediate the situation-to-behavior response. Variability in behavior across situations is not a random error that needs to be eliminated. Variability is important information: gives us clues about underlying personality system. Mischel did research in camp in new hampshire (over 6 week period) One approach to resolve the error is to better specify the situation and characterize the situation in terms of their descriptive nature.
