Personality

Hannah Brazeau 1
 Personality is the set of
psychological traits and
mechanisms within the individual
that are organized and relatively
enduring and that influence her or
his interactions with, and
adaptations to, the intrapsychic,
physical, and social environments.
(Larsen & Buss, 2014)

Hannah Brazeau 2
PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY

Personality Psychologists ask questions like:

• How do we describe someone’s personality?

• How many descriptive terms are there available?

• Can we apply some sort of organization to these descriptive terms?

• Is personality innate or learned?

• Is behaviour shaped by personality or by the situation?

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THE TRAIT APPROACH

One of the main areas of focus in Personality Psychology is the study of traits.

Traits are individual difference variables

• Characteristics that describe the ways in which people differ from each other.

They can be thought of as an internal causal property

• The traits within us that guide behaviour

They can be thought of as purely descriptive summary.

• A label that we apply to describe or summarize a person’s typical behaviour

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THE TRAIT APPROACH

Overall, we use traits to describe the people’s relatively enduring patterns of

thoughts, feelings, and actions.
• They show some degree of cross-situational consistency

Research on Personality Traits asks four questions:

1. How many traits are there?
2. How are the traits organized?
3. What are the origins of traits?
4. What are the correlations and consequences of traits?

Hannah Brazeau 5
 THE TRAIT
APPROACH

If we look in the dictionary, there

are 20,000 trait terms.

Personality psychologists use

three techniques to identify
important traits:
1. Lexical Approach
2. Statistical Approach
3. Theoretical Approach

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THE TRAIT APPROACH

The Lexical Approach uses language to determine the traits that are considered
important.
• Important personality characteristics should be reflected in the language that we
use to describe other people.

Begin with looking at dictionaries to determine the different traits in a language, but…

Uses two criteria to identify more “important” traits:

• Synonym Frequency refers to whether there are multiple ways to describe the
same trait
• Cross-Cultural Universality refers to whether many languages have a word for
the same trait

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THE TRAIT APPROACH
Q1
Q4
The Statistical Approach uses statistics to Q10
Q17
determine “important” traits. Q21

Q3
Q6
Q12
Q18
This approach begins with several trait terms, and Q24

then use a statistical technique (factor analysis) to Q2

Q5
determine the “major traits” Q15
Q20
Q25
• This is done by clustering together the trait
Q7
terms that correlate (i.e., are similar). Q8
Q13
Q22
Q23

Q9
This can help us identify the few main/core Q11
Q14
personality traits. Q16
Q19

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THE TRAIT APPROACH

The Theoretical Approach uses a theory to determines the important traits, and how
we are going to classify personality.

Using this method, our starting point would be some theory:

• McClelland's Acquired Needs Theory: Achievement, Power, Intimacy
• Attachment Theory: Secure, Anxiety, and Avoidance

Although solely based on theoretical underpinning, we can still use these traits to
describe the behaviour and thought patterns of people.

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THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS
The Big Five / The Five Factor Model /
O.C.E.A.N

Costa and McCrae used the statistical method to

identify five major/core traits.

Research has found these trait are universal and

stable across the life span.

Each trait is a unidimensional, bipolar construct

• We can score high or low on each trait

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 THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS

Openness to Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism

Experience

Imaginative Organized Sociable Softhearted Anxious

Flexible Careful Fun-loving Trusting Insecure
Independent Disciplined Affectionate Helpful Self-Pitying

Practical Disorganized Aloof Ruthless, Calm

Careless Somber
Routine Suspicious, Secure
Impulsive Reserved
Conforming Uncooperative Self-Satisfied

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 THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS
Openness to Experience Conscientiousness Extraversion Agreeableness Neuroticism

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THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS

Support for the Big Five Personality Traits:

• Replicable in studies using trait words from different languages
• Found by more than a dozen researchers using different samples
• Replicated in every decade for the past half century

The HEXACO Model was developed as an improvement to the original model.

• Ashton and Lee (2004) used the lexical approach in several European and Asian
languages.
• They found a sixth factor: Honesty-Humility

Honesty-Humility
• Higher Scores: Sincere, Honest, Faithful, Loyal, Modest
• Lower Scores: Sly, Deceitful, Greedy, Pretentious, Hypocritical, Boastful, Pompous
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MYERS-BRIGGS

The most used in the USA is the Myers-Briggs

Type Indicator.

The basic breakdown:

• Extraversion (E) vs. Introversion (I)

• How a person interacts with the world

• Sensing (S) vs. Intuition (N)

• How a person processes information

• Thinking (T) vs. Feeling (F)

• How a person makes decisions

• Judging (J) vs. Perceiving (P)

• How a person organizes the world
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MYERS-BRIGGS

You can have one of 16 personality types.

ISTJ
• Quiet, serious, earn success by thoroughness and
dependability. Practical, matter-of-fact, realistic, and
responsible. Decide logically what should be done and work
toward it steadily, regardless of distractions. Take pleasure
in making everything orderly and organized - their work,
their home, their life. Value traditions and loyalty.

ENFP
• Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of
possibilities. Make connections between events and
information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on
the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others,
and readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous
andBrazeau
Hannah flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their 15
verbal fluency.
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 THE TRAIT APPROACH

https://bigfive-test.com/

https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/the-16-mbti-types.
htm

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 THE TRAIT APPROACH

It is important to remember that…

Most traits are measured on scales

that range from low to high.

The majority of people score in the

middle in of the scale.

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THE TRAIT APPROACH

Criticism of the Trait Approach

Traits often do a poor job of predicting actual behaviour.

• Walter Mischel’s Situationism: The rules and roles of the situation can control and
determine behaviour.

This led to a divide in the field…

The solution was integration

• Traits and situations are needed to understand behaviour

Hannah Brazeau 19
PERSONALITY AND HEALTH

Personality has been shown to have a stable and cumulative effect health and longevity.

• Positive emotionality (extraversion) and conscientiousness is associated with longer lives.

• Hostility (low agreeableness) is associated with poorer physical health (cardiovascular

illness) and earlier mortality.

• Neuroticism is associated with cardiovascular disease and irritable bowel syndrome.

Why?

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PERSONALITY AND HEALTH
The relationship between Personality and Health may involve three processes.

1. Traits are associated with factors that cause disease.

• Hostility (low Agreeableness) and Neuroticism related to increased sympathetic nervous system
activation. This is connected to an increased risk of developing coronary artery disease.

2. Personality may lead to behaviours that protect or diminish health.

• Extraversion related to more social relationships and support
• Low Conscientiousness and Neuroticism related to unhealthy behaviours (smoking, poor diet, lack of
exercise).

3. Personality related to successful implementation of health-related coping behaviours and adherence to

treatment.
• High Conscientiousness connected to being more likely to follow doctor’s orders.

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PERSONALITY AND HEALTH
McAdams and Donnellan (2009)

Interested in examining whether personality played a role in drinking behaviours of college students.

Recruited 529 University students to fill out measures assessing:

• The Big Five Traits
• Sensation Seeking
• Alcohol use
• Hangover Symptoms (i.e., experienced a headache, vomiting)
• Drinking Problems (i.e., passing out, getting into fights, injuries).

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PERSONALITY AND HEALTH
McAdams and Donnellan (2009)

• Extraversion, Gregariousness (tendency of being fond of company), and Excitement Seeking

were positively associated with alcohol use.

• Neuroticism and Immoderation (tendency to overindulge) was positively associated with alcohol

use.

• Agreeableness and Morality was negatively associated with alcohol use.

• Conscientiousness and Achievement Striving was negatively associated with alcohol use.

• Gregariousness, Excitement Seeking, Immoderation, and Impulsive Sensation Seeking were

positively
Hannah Brazeauassociated with experiencing hangover symptoms and with experiencing drinking problems.
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PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL
RELATIONSHIPS
In children…
• Agreeableness and Extraversion are the best predictors of outcomes related to peer-
relations in children (e.g., peer acceptance and friendship).

• Low Agreeableness (greater Hostility) and Low Extraversion are associated with
being rejected by peers.

In young adults…
• Extraversion seems to be the most important predictor of popularity and status among
young adults.

• Relations between young adults and their parents (the older generation) are negatively
affected by the young adults’ high neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and low
extraversion.
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PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL
RELATIONSHIPS
In romantic relationships…

High Neuroticism and Low Agreeableness consistently emerge as predictors of

negative relationship outcomes such as:
• Relationship Dissatisfaction
• Conflict
• Abuse
• Relationship Dissolution

What traits will predict marital dissatisfaction and divorce?

• Husband’s impulsivity
• Wife’s neuroticism
• Husband’s neuroticism
Hannah Brazeau 25
PERSONALITY AND WORK STRESS
Grant & Langan-Fox (2006)

Interested in whether personality differences and different combinations of the Big Five traits
impact stress felt at work.

Recruited 211 middle-managers (88 men, 123 women) to fill out measures assessing:
• The Big Five Traits
• Coping Strategies
• Occupational Stress
• Job Satisfaction

Hannah Brazeau 26
PERSONALITY AND WORK STRESS
Grant & Langan-Fox (2006)

High Neuroticism + Low Conscientiousness  higher stress, dysfunctional coping, physical

ill health, job dissatisfaction, lower problem-focused coping.

High Neuroticism + Low Agreeableness  greater job dissatisfaction.

High Extraversion + High Conscientiousness + Low Neuroticism  lower stress, lower

physical ill health, and lower job dissatisfaction.

Hannah Brazeau 27
PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT
Barber, Munz, Bagsby and Grawitch (2009)

Interested in how personality interactions can impact academic achievement.

Recruited 255 University Students and evaluated their Time Perspective and Self-Control.

Time Perspective is an individual difference variable that reflect a cognitive bias toward a particular
temporal state.
• Present-Oriented Students tend to engage in more procrastination and focus on instant gratification.
• Future-Oriented Students are better able to relate their present behaviours to temporally-distant
standards (long-term goals).

Self-Control is the ability to adjust your dispositional tendencies to meet situational demands.

Hannah Brazeau 28
PERSONALITY AND ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT
Barber, Munz, Bagsby and Grawitch (2009)

The hypothesis is that Self-Control can act as a buffer between Time Perspective and Academic
Achievement.

• Future-Oriented Individuals were more likely to have higher grades.

• Present-Oriented Individuals with High Self-Control also had higher grades.
• Present-Oriented Individuals with Low Self-Control had lower grades.

There’s hope…
• Self-control is thought of as a skill that you can practice to increase self-regulation.

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THE THEORETICAL APPROACH

The theoretical approach uses a theory to define the

central or important features of Personality.

Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory of Personality

was rooted in his theories of human development
and his notions concerning the nature of the mind.

His theories were developed from his sessions with

his clients.
• Psychoanalysis.

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY

The mental processes of the mind are found in:

• Our Conscious contains all of the thoughts,

memories, feelings, and wishes that we are aware
of at any given moment.

• Our Preconscious contains anything that could

potentially be brought into the conscious mind.

• Our Unconscious is a reservoir of feelings,

thoughts, urges, and memories that are outside of
our conscious awareness.

Hannah Brazeau 31
PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY
Within the different parts of the mind, there are “the three structures of personality”:

1. Id: Operates based on the pleasure principle

• Focuses on pure instinct and primal desires
• It has no contact with reality
• Exists within the Unconscious Mind

2. Ego: Operates based on the reality principle

• Focuses on satisfy the id's desires in realistic and socially appropriate ways

3. Superego: Operates based on the idealistic principle

• Focuses on morality
• Conscience – an inner feeling guided by rightness or wrongness.

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY

The Id The Ego The Superego

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY

The ego is constantly trying to decrease conflict between the superego and id.

The ego is also trying to protect our mind from experiencing:

• Negative emotions
• Painful memories
• Distressing Thoughts
• Regrettable Urges

Defense Mechanisms are procedures that the ego uses to unconsciously distort reality in order
to reduce anxiety.

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY
Defense Mechanisms:

Repression: Blocking a wish or desire from conscious expression

• Being unaware of deep-seated hostilities toward one’s parents

Denial: Refusing to believe a reality

• Refusing to believe that one has cancer
• https://youtu.be/P7TnA_8379E?si=inqMFItdrU46hjVp&t=105

Projection: Attributing an unconscious impulse, attitude, or behaviour to another

• Student who did not study for an exam may claim the teacher failed to teach the
material

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY
Defense Mechanisms:

Reaction Formation: Expressing an impulse by doing the opposite

• Treating someone whom you intensely dislike in a friendly manner
• https://youtu.be/n21IeiboB3k

Regression: Returning to an earlier form of expressing an impulse

• Resuming bedwetting after one has long since stopped

Rationalization: Dealing with an emotion intellectually to avoid emotional concern

• Arguing that “everybody else does it, so I don’t have to feel guilty”
• https://youtu.be/3ae2AXn7Blc?si=MYEVZ2UtLD2MqGWm

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY
Defense Mechanisms:

Displacement: Satisfying an impulse with a substitute object

• Punching a wall when you get into a fight with your spouse
• https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2177482009/?ref_=tt_vi_i_1
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRjPUva0RiI

Sublimation: Rechanneling an impulse into a more socially desirable outlet

• Taking up painting to channel your emotions
• Dexter

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY

Freud believed that we could access our unconscious through:

1. Dreams
• Manifest Content: What the dream is
• Latent Content: What the elements and symbols of the dream means

2. Free Association
• Allowing your mind to wonder wherever it would like during psychoanalysis

3. Projective Techniques
• Presented with ambiguous stimuli and asked to indicate what they see (e.g., Rorschach test)

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY

Criticisms of Freud

• He did not believe in the value of experimentation or hypothesis testing in establishing the
validity of psychoanalysis

• He relied on case studies of a select group of wealthy women to generate his theory of
human nature

• He put too much emphasis on sex and aggression

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PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY OF
PERSONALITY

Although Freud have been criticized, he has made a major impact on psychology.

• Psychoanalysis and “talking therapy” is still used in psychotherapy to this day and is
associated with many benefits.

• He was one of the first to propose that childhood experiences impact adulthood—
specifically, traumatic experiences.

• He laid the foundation for psychology and several studies stem from his ideas.

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Hannah Brazeau 42