PSYC 2740 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Nomothetic, Testability
Document Summary
Personality is 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 intrapsychic, physical, and social environments. Psychological traits are characteristics that describe ways in which people are different from each other. Traits describe the average tendencies of a person. (i. e. on average, a high-talkative person starts more conversations than a low-talkative person) Psychological mechanisms are like traits, except that the term mechanisms refer more to the process of personality. For example, most psychological mechanisms involve an information-processing activity. Input: is an environmental context (i. e. being invited to a house party on the weekend. ) Decision making: will i go or not go. Output: is the outcome or result of your decision. Within the individual: means that personality is something a person carries with him or herself over time and from one situation to the next.