Chapter 4

The idea that people are psychologically different and that it is important and interesting to note these differences is made evident by what?

words arising to describe individual differences

The idea that persons and situations constantly work together to produce behavior is called what?

Interactionism

Identify the following arguments as supporting either the personality or situationist side of the person-situation debate.

Personality Studying people who report consistency in behavior will show support for this side of the argument Well-known claims against this side of the argument are based on biased literature reviews Personality provides a consistent guide for predicting behavior. Situationist The fact that behavior to behavior and trait to behavior correlations are .40 at the highest shows that this approach is better. In the early 1970s, as a result of breakthroughs in this side of the debate, a number of psychologists concluded that true personality does not exist. An upper limit exists to predicting someone's behavior from their personality measure.

Mischel's original argument was that the correlations between personality and behavior, or between behavior in one situation and behavior in another situation, seldom exceeded what?

.30

Proponents of the personality side of the person-situation debate state that a .40 correlation is a useful one and could predict 20 percent better than chance (total predictability = 70 percent). This claim could be applied to a real-world situation to show the value in understanding the influence of personality.As an example of how to use this .40 correlation to predict behavior, consider a benefactor who is offering a scholarship and who has donated enough money for 20 scholarships. She pledges to replenish the money to the fund for each student who gets a good GPA with the scholarship money. However, the benefactor only wants to give the scholarship to hardworking students. By giving students a trait assessment on the trait of conscientiousness, and giving scholarships to high-conscientiousness students, how many scholarships will likely be replenished?

14

Which of the following are examples of interactionism in behavior?

Adriana is a foodie and is always looking to try new foods. She makes a point to go to a different restaurant every chance she gets and hardly ever visits the same place twice. Joey and Geraldo are preparing to ask people to the prom in unique ways. Joey is worried about how his plan will work and be received. Geraldo is excited to surprise his girlfriend with his creative "promposal." They both decide to ask their dates shortly after prom tickets go on sale. Samuel's manager announces a new work policy at a meeting. Samuel is not agreeable and says he will not accept the policy. Other employees begin discussing other policies that should be rescinded. Not Example(s) Professor Imbue enters the classroom and the students all become quiet. Jacinda has an analytical mind and looks for the reasons behind events. She therefore decides to major in journalism.

Older people are more inclined than younger people to believe that individuals generally possess consistent personality traits because of what?

As people age, they develop consistent personalities for themselves through embarking on a career track, starting families, and undertaking roles and responsibilities

Which of the following are benefits of the trait approach's focus on individual differences?

Benefit(s) There is no zero point of any given trait. An individual's trait level is compared to the trait level of others. It allows for a better understanding of how people differ from one another. Trait measurements are almost always made on ordinal scales Not Benefit(s) It does not consider personality processes that are universal. Trait measurements are almost always made on ratio scales.

This table shows findings from a research study conducted by Funder & Colvin (1991). The table shows the - in the average behavior of participants at two consecutive sessions. The influence of some situations on behavior decreased, whereas others increased during the second session. Among those that decreased, it appears that - with the situation would allow for a(n) - in situational influence. Among those that increased, familiarity with the situation would allow the behaviors exhibited to be more natural, or based on -.

Change Familiarity Decrease Traits

Which of the following are examples of why trait terms are relevant to the pro-personality argument in the person-situation debate? Example(s)

Example(s) Trait terms show that individual differences are important because descriptive words are so common in language. The subtleties among trait terms highlight the individual uniqueness of humans. Trait terms describe the characteristics that we possess. Not Example(s) Trait terms show that the situationist approach is wrong. Trait terms provide a complete description of personality.

Situationist

Experiences are more influential in predicting behavior. Personality is inconsistent. Traits have a limited predictive ability. Personality assessment is not worthwhile

Which of the following are factors that might affect why individuals have different levels of consistency in their personality?

Factor(s) age maturity psychological adjustment mental health Not Factor(s) pessimism environment

The author relates a teaching experience in which he discussed with two different personality classes the same idea: that traits are irrelevant and that our behavior is entirely predicted by the situation. Identify the responses he received from younger undergraduate students versus those from older night-school students.

Response(s) from Younger Undergraduate Students accepted the idea that traits could be irrelevant in predicting behavior accepted the idea that our behavior may be predicted by the situation we are in Response(s) from Older Night-School Students did not accept the idea that traits could be irrelevant in predicting behavior did not accept the idea that our behavior may be predicted by the situation we are in

In the end, what might be a good way of understanding the relationship between situational variables and personality traits?

Situational variables tell us about how people will act under certain circumstances Personality traits tell us about how people act in general

The pro-personality response to the situationist argument hinged on three points. What was not one of their counterarguments?

Situationists overemphasized the level of consistency in people's behavior.

Which of the following suggestions would personality theorists make for redesigning research to properly assess the impact of traits on behavior?

Suggestion(s) Conduct research in naturalistic (real-world) conditions. Exclude participants who self-identify as inconsistent. Focus research on trends in behavior. Not Suggestion(s) Conduct research in labs to have more control. Focus research on instances of behavior.

The person-situation debate focuses on what question?

Which is more important for determining what people do, the person or the situation.

Research within the trait approach to personality is almost always ---- in design. This means that we measure not only the level of a trait that someone has, but also a ---- that corresponds with that trait. If they covary, we can conclude that they are ---- and that it is possible that the level of the trait can then predict the behavior.

correlational behavior associated

A(n) ---- approach to behavior allows for multiple factors to influence people's behavior. This view suggests that people remain ---- in comparison to peers, while still allowing for differences in behavior based on the ----. This view also suggests that people can be ---- and maintain a level of consistency, and that they therefore do not behave in erratic ways.

interactionist consistent environment adaptable

Personality theorists claim that ---- research methodology supporting the situationist argument forces us to continue to ask the question posited by the person-situation debate. Further, they state that with better and more realistic research designs, progress could be made. One suggestion they have made is for researchers to use as research participants people who feel they are more ----, such as older people or ----- self-monitors, in order to help settle the debate.

poor consistent low

Person-Situation Debate

posits that, depending on the circumstances, either the trait or the environment could cause behavior states that behavior may either change or be consistent over time

trait approach

predicts that people will behave in ways that match their traits provides evidence, usually via correlational data, that shows the relationship between traits and behavior posits that a person's trait behavior is consistent in comparison to peers states that characteristics remain consistent across time

The trait approach illustrates how the level of our traits can cause our behavior to be consistent. However, behavior can also be inconsistent at times. This is because behavior is also influenced by what factor?

situations

Traditionally, social psychologists have focused more on ---- in their research. This makes it virtually impossible to understand the influence of the ---- versus traits in predicting behavior. If social psychological research began to report ---- in their findings, it would be possible to ---- the influence of the situation and the influence of the trait on behavior.

statistical significance situation effect sizes compare