Lecture 27

Personality

1. Personality
1. Definition
2. Levels of Analysis
2. Traits
1. Definition
2. Importance
3. Five Factor Model
4. Trait Stability
3. Behavioral Genetics
1. Modeling Variability
2. Assessment Techniques
3. Typical Correlations
4. Understanding What's Inherited

Overview

It has been said that every person is "like all other people, some other people, and no other person." Personality psychology studies these similarities and differences.

Traits represent the fundamental unit of personality. Thousands of traits have been distinguished, but many contemporary psychologists believe these traits represent five broad dimensions of personality.

Behavioral geneticists study how genetic and environmental factors influence personality. Most traits show a strong genetic component, with environmental factors (and error) accounting for the remaining variance.

Specifics

• Define personality and identify three levels of analysis.
• Define traits and discuss three factors that influence trait development.
• Identify and describe the factors that comprise the Five Factor Model.
• Summarize research on trait stability, with respect to mean levels and rank-order stability and age.
• Be familiar with (a) the methods that behavioral geneticists use to study the influence of genes and the environment on personality, (b) the typical findings, and (c) what these findings reveal about the effects of growing up in the same household.