Personality Defined "Personality is the Set of
Psychological Traits...
And Mechanisms...
Within the Individual...
That Are Organized and Relatively Enduring...
And that Influence...
His or Her Interactions with...
and Adaptations to...
the Environment."Three Levels of Personality Analysis Human Nature
- How we are "like all others"
- Traits and mechanisms of personality that are typical of our
species and possessed by nearly everyone
Individual and Group Differences
- How we are "like some others"
- Individual differences refer to ways in which each person is
like
some
other people (e.g., extraverts, sensations-seekers, high
self-esteem persons)
- Group differences refer to ways in which the people of one
group differ from people in another group (e.g., cultural
differences, age differences)
Individual Uniqueness
- How we are "like no others"
- Individual uniqueness refers to the fact that every
individual has personal and unique qualities not shared by any
other person in the world
- Individuals can be studied nomothetically or
ideographically
- Nomothetic research
involves statistical comparisons of individuals or groups,
requiring samples of participants in which to conduct research;
applied to identify and learn more about universal human
characteristics or dimensions of individual or group
differences
- Ideographic research
focuses on a single person, trying to observe general
principles that are manifest in a single life over time; often
results in case studies or psychological biography of a single
person
A Fissure in the Field - Gap within personality psychology has not yet been
successfully bridged—the gap between the human nature level
of analysis, and the analysis of individual and group
differences
- This translates into a gap between grand theories of
personality (human nature level of analysis) and contemporary
research in personality (individual and group differences level
of analysis)
Grand Historical Theories of Personality
- Attempt to provide universal account of the fundamental
psychological processes and characteristics of our species
- Statements about the universal core of human nature lie at
the center of grand theories of personality, such as Sigmund
Freud's psychoanalytic theory
Contemporary Research in Personality
- Most current personality research addresses ways in which
individuals and groups differ, not human universals
- Personality psychologists specialize in a particular domain,
such as biological aspects of personality or how culture impacts
personality
Bridging the Fissure: The Notion of Domains of Knowledge
- One way to make sense of the vast amount of research in many
different areas of personality is to appreciate that this
research occurs along several key domains of knowledge
- Domain of knowledge is a specialty area of science and
scholarship, where psychologists have focused on learning about
specific and limited aspects of human nature
- This specialization is reasonable, but we must strive to
integrate diverse domains of knowledge to get the "big picture"
of personality
Six Domains of Knowledge About Human Nature Biological Domain
- Core assumption of biological approaches to personality is
that humans are collections of biological systems, and these
systems provide building blocks for behavior, thought, and
emotion
- Behavioral genetics of personality
- Psychophysiology of personality
- Evolutionary personality psychology
Intrapsychic Domain
- Deals with mental mechanisms of personality, many of which
operate outside conscious awareness
- Classic and modern versions of Freud's theory of
psychoanalysis, including work on repression, denial, projection,
and motives for power, achievement, and affiliation
Dispositional Domain
- Deals with ways in which individuals differ from one another
and, therefore, cuts across all other domains
- Focus on number and nature of fundamental dispositions
- Goal of those working in this domain is to identify and
measure the most important ways in which individuals differ from
one another
- Also interested in the origin of individual differences and
how these develop over time
Cognitive-Experiential Domain
- Focuses on cognition and subjective experience, such as
conscious thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and desires about oneself
and others
- Self and self-concept
- Goals we set and strive to meet
- Emotional experiences, in general and over time
Social and Cultural Domain
- Assumption that personality affects, and is affected by,
cultural and social contexts
- Much work on cultural differences between groups (e.g., in
social acceptability of aggression)
- Also much work on individual differences within
cultures—how personality plays out in the social sphere,
including work on sex differences and gender differences in
personality processes, traits, and mechanisms
- At human nature level of analysis, all humans have common set
of concerns they struggle with in the social sphere
Adjustment Domain
- Personality plays key role in how we cope, adapt, and adjust
to events in daily life
- Personality linked with important health outcomes and
problems in coping and adjustment
Summary and Evaluation
- Personality research is often informed by personality
theory
- Theory has several key purposes
- Serves as a guide for researchers
- Organizes known findings
- Makes predictions about behavior and psychological
phenomena that not one has yet documented or observed
- Scientific theories need to be distinguished from
beliefs
- Beliefs are based on leaps of faith, not on reliable facts
and systematic observations, whereas theories are based on
systematic observations that can be repeated by others to yield
similar conclusions
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2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education