Lecture notes Core Areas Of Psychology (PSYC1091)

Early personality theory: types
 Astrology (star signs)
 Palmistry (palm reading)
 Phrenology (bumps of the head)
o Franz Josef Gall
 Somatotypes (body shapes)
o Sheldon 1954
 Psychological types (introvert vs extrovert)
o Jung 1921
 Type indicator
o (today)

Types of measures for data
 Self-report data
o Structured
 True/ false, multiple choice, questionnaire
o Unstructured
 Open-ended questions
o Advantages
 Access to wealth of info
 May be obtained at anytime
o Disadvantages
 Problematic when responders don’t cooperate
 Responders interpret items incorrectly
 Responders may not have good knowledge of self
 Life-outcome data
o Public records, social activity information provides data on person
 E.g., register office records on birth/ marriage
o Advantages
 Public records are easy to obtain
o Disadvantages
 Many factors may affect life outcome
 Observer-report data
o Target person observed and reported by:
 Individuals who know the person e.g., spouse/ parents
 Individuals know do not know the person e.g., objective observer
o Setting may be naturalistic or artificial
 Behaviour may change due to being observed
 Other factors may include unlike in lab settings
 Is it ethical to observe without permission?
o Advantages
 External behaviour (impression on others) is assessed
 Multiple observers can report different aspects
o Disadvantages
 Labour intensive and costly
 Potential bias especially when observer knows the person
 Observer may be biased due to their own personal characteristics