PSY230H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Meta-Analysis, Longitudinal Study, Multiple Dispatch
Lecture 9: Stability of Personality
Thursday, October 20, 2016
12:11 PM
Relevance of Today's Lecture
o Scientific relevance
• Fundamental assumption of pers psych:
▪ Pers traits are stable
o Personal relevance
• Will you still be the same person 10 yrs later?
• How likely is it that people you care about will be the same, change, or improve?
o How conscientious will you be 10 yrs from now?
• [assume that we measure conscientiousness on a scale that is equivalent to height in cm]
• A lot less
▪ Z = -1
• Somewhat less
▪ Z = 05
• The same
▪ 0 cm
• Somewhat more
▪ Z = 0.5
• A lot taller
▪ Z= 1
Stability of Individual Differences
o Assesse w/ retest correlations
o Retest interval:
• The time interval between 2 assessments of pers
▪ E.g. one month, one year
• Stability:
▪ Retest correlations over longer time periods (yrs)
• True stability:
▪ Retest correlations over longer time periods adjusted for unreliability
Stability of Personality
o Meta-analysis
• Meta-analysis:
▪ Combines results of several original studies
• Original studies:
▪ Method
• Assessed pers traits repeatedly over longer time intervals (at least one yr apart)
• Data in the meta-analysis:
▪ 3,217 correlation coefficients from 152 longitudinal studies of pers
o Average retest correlations (6.5 yrs)
• Why are retest correlations not r=1.00?
▪ Measurement error
• Reduces correlations even if pers has not changed
▪ Variability
• Temporary changes due to transient situational influences
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Document Summary
[assume that we measure conscientiousness on a scale that is equivalent to height in cm: a lot less. Z = 05: the same, 0 cm. Stability of individual differences: assesse w/ retest correlations, retest interval, the time interval between 2 assessments of pers, e. g. one month, one year. Stability: retest correlations over longer time periods (yrs, true stability, retest correlations over longer time periods adjusted for unreliability. Long-term changes in pers traits: more than 2 repeated assessments are needed to separate measurement error and variability from change, stability and change of the bf: Self-perception vs actual pers: requires a multi-method approach. Self-ratings & informant ratings: 135 ss and their spouses rated pers twice, 6 yrs retest interval, a highly reliable bf measure, cross-rater correlations (self w/ informant) Some characteristics are less stable over time (life satisfaction, income: relevance, your pers may be stable, but your happiness is not.
