PSYCH 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Psych
Document Summary
The idea of situationism states that behavior is affected more by the situations, rather than the personality traits of people. This has sparked the idea that there are three major factors to consider in the person/situation debate. How central the trait is to a person. Overtime, the aggregation of behaviors tend to be closer to personality. Some traits tend to be more stable over different contexts. Different social contexts and situations can constrain behavior. Regardless of personality, people tend to act similarly when faced with a police officer. There are two types of primary situations: Strong situations tend to mask personality (elevators, funerals) Weak situations tend to reveal personalities (bars, house) Interactionists believe that behavior is affected by both the situation and the personality. Personality traits are relatively stable over time. Research has shown that personality tends to stay relatively stable over time. It is particularly stable after adulthood begins.
