PSYC 2600 Chapter 1: Personality chapter 1.docx
31 Mar 2012
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Document Summary
Personality: the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the environment ( including the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments) Psychological traits: characteristics that describe ways in which people are unique or different from or similar to each other. Saying someone is shy mentions one way they differ from others. But in similarity, saying people who are shy are similar to each other, in that they are anxious in social situations. Someone who is described as talkative can be talkative most of the time, but can certainly have quiet days and such. Over time, those with the trait of talkativeness tend to emit verbal behavior with greater frequency than those who are low in talkativeness. In this sense, traits describe the average tendencies of a person. Average tendencies: tendency to display a certain psychological trait with regularity.
