PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY

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PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY

• What makes us be?

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Study of the mind

• As discussed at the beginning of the class,
  psychology is a study of the mind.

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Personality Psychology

• Our study of psychology and the world of the mind
  will start with ourselves and understanding what
  factors make us be
• Please take out your list of 5 prominent traits.
  

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Share the list Please answer the following
about your traits

• 1. Why do you have that trait?
• 2. Were you born with that trait?
• 3. Did that trait develop?
• 4. Why did that trait develop?
• 5. If you had different parents would you have
  that trait? Why or why not?

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Personality psychology

• 3 goals of personality psychology
• 1. help people understand what his / her
  psychological processes are
• 2. Help people to understand the individual
  differences between people.
• 3. Study the basics of human nature and how
  people are similar.

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THE MIND AT BIRTH

• Is the picture of the easel below a good
  representation of a persons mind at birth?

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Questions

• If we were all raised exactly the same, would we
  all act alike?
• What different things impact the way we act on a
  daily basis?
• Laurence Steinberg on the Nature vs Nurture
  Debate video from Answers.com Videos

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Brother and Sisters

• Who has a bro or sis that is extremely different
  than them yet alike in some ways?

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What is a trait?

• Trait Theories
• Tour of the Basics What is a Trait?
• What are the two types of traits?

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BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES ON PERSONALITY
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Genetic Trait

• We are born with genetic traits.
• Genetic traits
• How do genetic traits make us who we are?

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Genes

• The biochemical units of heredity
• Many genes together make up chromosomes

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Chromosomes

• Threadlike structures made up of DNA
• 46 pairs in each cell
• 23 received from each parent

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Genetic predisposition

• http//videos.howstuffworks.com/sciencentral/2921-
  treating-huntingtons-disease-video.htm

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NATURE VS. NURTURE
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Behavioral Trait

• Behavioral Traits Overview

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Twin Studies

• Used to determine the heritability of a given
  trait
• Data is collected from both identical and
  fraternal twins on the trait
• Compare the data between the two groups
• Important not to conclude that a specific
  behavior is inherited

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Twin Studies

• http//www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id5240527n -
  Twins

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Adoption Studies

• Compare adopted childrens traits with those of
  their biological parents and their adopted
  parents
• Trait similarities with biological parents
  attribute the trait to heredity
• Trait similarities with the adopted parents
  attribute the trait to the environment

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Peer Influences

• Peer influence in adolescence is very powerful.
• Many studies suggest a peer group is correlated
  with school performance, smoking, and other
  behaviors.

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Culture

• Shared attitudes, beliefs, norms and behaviors of
  a group
• Culture is communicated from one generation to
  the next

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Individualism

• Giving priority to ones goals over the goals of
  the group
• Defining ones identity in terms of personal
  attributes rather than the groups identification
• Tend to see people as separate and independent

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Collectivism

• Giving priority to the goals of ones group over
  ones personal goals
• Defining ones identity in terms of the groups
  identification rather than personal attributes
• See people as connected to others
• Individual needs are sacrificed for the good of
  the group.

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How to measure traits
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What is a personality test

• Tests exist so people may learn about the types
  of traits that they posses.
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator - Wikipedia, the free
  encyclopedia most popular personality test
• Kinds of Personality Trait Test

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Personality Tests

• Personality Tests
• Personality test based on Jung - Myers-Briggs
  typology
• The Big Five Personality Test
• Personality Test Center
• Personality Tests and Resources