Personality

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Personality
What Makes you YOU?
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Personality

• Refers to an individuals unique constellation of
  consistent traits
• Personality Traits
• Durable disposition to think, feel, behave in a
  particular way across situations

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Central Concepts of Personality

• Consistency
• Individuals tendency to think, feel, behave in
  a particular way across situations
• Distinctiveness
• Refers to consistent differences in individuals
  thoughts, feelings, behavior

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Humors to Temperament

• Humors
• Blood Cheerful
• Yellow Bile Fiery
• Black Bile Sad
• Phlegm Slow
• Two Themes
• Biological Basis
• Emotionally Based

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Temperament

• Characteristics, moods, activity level,
  emotional reactivity in children

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Temperament (Jerome Kagan)

• Inhibited
• Shy, fearful of unfamiliar
• Uninhibited
• Little negative reaction to unfamiliar or novel
  stimuli

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Temperament to Personality?
Negative
Positive
Inhibited
Uninhibited
TIME
?
?
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Factor Analysis
Assertive
Extraversion
Positive Emotions
Active/Energetic
Trustworthy
Agreeableness
Modest
Compliant (Not Stubborn)
Competent
Self-disciplined
Conscientiousness
Achievement Striving
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The Big Five (McCrae Costa, 1987, 1997, 1999)

• OPENNESS
• CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
• Extraversion
• AGREEABLENESS
• NEUROTICISM

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The Big Five

• Openness
• Creative, imaginative, abstract, curious, deep
  thinkers

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The Big Five

• Conscientiousness
• Thorough, dependable, reliable, hardworking,
  efficient

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The Big Five

• Extraversion
• Talkative, energetic, enthusiastic, assertive,
  outgoing, sociable

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The Big Five

• Agreeableness
• Helpful, selfless, sympathetic, kind, trusting,
  cooperative

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The Big Five

• Neuroticism
• Anxious, upset, worried, self-conscious, moody

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Criticism Of Big Trait Theories

• Static Snapshot of Personality
• Oversimplified Version of Complex Nature
• Identify Traits Not Source

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Temperament to Personality?
Negative
Positive
Inhibited
Uninhibited
TIME
EXTROVERTED
NEUROTICSIM
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Uninhibited
EXTROVERTED
LIVELY
ACTIVE
ASSERTIVE
SOCIABLE
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Inhibited
NEUROTICISM
UNSTABLE
MOODY
FEARFUL
TENSE
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Source of Traits?
Taken from Deyoung et al (2010). Testing
predictions from personality neuroscience Brain
structure and the Big Five. Psychological
Science, 21, 820-228.