PSYC 2740 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Nomothetic, Human Nature, Personality Disorder

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PSYC 2470: Personality Psychology
Chapter 1: Introduction to Personality Psychology
Trait-descriptive adjectives: used to describe characteristics of people (20,000)
oThoughtful: inner qualities of the mind
oCharming/humorous: effects a person has on others
oDomineering: relational, signify a position or stance towards others
oAmbitious: intensity and desire to meet goals
oCreative: both quality of mind and nature of products we produce
oDeceitful: strategies people use to accomplish a goal
Personality Defined
Allport and Murray wrote the first textbook on personality
Personality: set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that are organized and
relatively enduring and that influence interactions with, and adaptations to, the intrapsychic, physical and
social environments
Personality is the Set of Psychological Traits
Psychological traits: characteristics that describe how people are different from one another
oSomeone who is shy is different than someone outgoing
oAlso define how people are similar
Shy people are similar that they are anxious in social settings
Traits describe the average tendencies of a person
oHigh talkative person on average starts more conversations than a low talkative person
Psychological traits are used for 3 reasons
oDescribe and help understand the dimensions of difference among people
oHelp explain behaviour
oHelp predict future behaviour
And Mechanisms
Psychological mechanisms: traits but mechanism refers more to the processes of personality
(information processing activity)
Three ingredients
1. Inputs (make people more sensitive to certain kinds of information from the environment)
2. Decision rules (more likely to think about specific options)
3. Outputs (guide behaviour toward specific actions)
Not all activated at the same time
Within the Individual
Within the individual: personality is something people carry from one situation to the next
oSomewhat stable over time
That are Organized and Relatively Enduring
Organized: psychological traits and mechanisms for a given person are not simply random
oThey are linked to one another in a coherent fashion
Enduring: over time and in adulthood and are somewhat consistent over situations
oAnger is a state more than a trait, but anger prone or hot headed is a trait
Some situations are overpowering and suppress the expression of psychological traits
And that Influence
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