PSYB30H3 Chapter 1: PSYB30 Notes
Document Summary
Trait-descriptive adjectives: adjectives that can be used to describe characteristics of people. Personality is the set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individuals that are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the intrapsychic, physical, and social environment. Psychological traits are characteristics in which people are different from each other. Traits describe the average tendencies of a person. A talkative person can have quiet moments but over time they tend to emit verbal behavior with greater frequency than those who are low on talkativeness. Relatively enduring dispositions that exert a consistent influence on behaviors in a variety of situations. Traits help describe people and help understand the dimensions of difference among people. Traits help to explain behavior; the way people act may be partly a function of their personality traits. Thus, personality is useful in describing, explaining and predicting difference among individuals.
