What is personality psychology?
Personality is the combination of behavior, emotion, motivation, and thought patterns
that define an individual. Personality psychology attempts to study similarities and
differences in these patterns among different people and groups.
Personality refers to differences between people in their psychological characteristics, not physical
or biological differences (e.g., height or age). Example: A person’s level of testosterone can influence
his or her typical pattern of behavior. However, level of testosterone itself isn’t considered a
personality characteristic, though it may be related to personality characteristics. 2. Personality
doesn’t include many skills or abilities. Personality is about what people are typically like, not what
they are capable of at their best. Example: Just because someone can be an excellent negotiator or a
skilled chess player, that doesn’t mean it is part of his/ her personality. 3. Personality doesn’t include
fleeting states like hunger, arousal, or mood. Just because a person happens to be happy at a given
moment doesn’t mean it is part of his/her personality; that is why the “characteristic patterns” part
of the definition is so important. C. Personality includes prominent consideration of diversity
because the theories and the tests that arise out of diversity have been primarily based on the
observations of a specific group
Is personality stable over time? 1. Another challenge in showing there really are personality
differences is to show that personality is persistent—it stays more or less the same over time. a. This
is important because if personality changes all the time, then it could be that our personality is just
the result of the situation we’re in, and when our situation changes (e.g., when we move away to
college, we get married, we change jobs), our “personality” also changes. b. To show that the
differences between people are not just the result of the different situations people are in, it’s
important to show that even when major aspects of their situation change—when people go
through major life changes—personality still remains relatively stable. Bleidorn (2012) and
Donnellan, Conger, & Burzette (2007) showed there is mean-level change in personality during the
transition from adolescence to adulthood, but not much rank order change. Lucas (2007) showed
negative life events do have long-term (negative) effects on well-being, but positive events (e.g.,
marriage) only have short-term (positive) effects. c. No one would expect perfect stability from birth
to death
Do people agree about a person’s personality? 1. Another way to show personality is real is to show
people tend to know an extrovert (or a creative person or an emotional person) when they see
one—or at least when they get to know one pretty well. This is important because if personality is
real, people should be able to see it in each other. Of course some aspects of personality are hard to
see in strangers—most people don’t broadcast their negative characteristics to the world, for
example—but people who know a person well should all agree more or less about that person’s
personality. Example: If John is extroverted, stubborn, messy, and generous, his mom, friends, and
teammates should pretty much agree that he is
Does personality predict behavior? 1. One of the most important tests of whether personality exists
is the predictability of behavior based on personality. It is impossible to predict how a person will
behave in every situation, but because personality is supposed to describe typical patterns of
Personality is the combination of behavior, emotion, motivation, and thought patterns
that define an individual. Personality psychology attempts to study similarities and
differences in these patterns among different people and groups.
Personality refers to differences between people in their psychological characteristics, not physical
or biological differences (e.g., height or age). Example: A person’s level of testosterone can influence
his or her typical pattern of behavior. However, level of testosterone itself isn’t considered a
personality characteristic, though it may be related to personality characteristics. 2. Personality
doesn’t include many skills or abilities. Personality is about what people are typically like, not what
they are capable of at their best. Example: Just because someone can be an excellent negotiator or a
skilled chess player, that doesn’t mean it is part of his/ her personality. 3. Personality doesn’t include
fleeting states like hunger, arousal, or mood. Just because a person happens to be happy at a given
moment doesn’t mean it is part of his/her personality; that is why the “characteristic patterns” part
of the definition is so important. C. Personality includes prominent consideration of diversity
because the theories and the tests that arise out of diversity have been primarily based on the
observations of a specific group
Is personality stable over time? 1. Another challenge in showing there really are personality
differences is to show that personality is persistent—it stays more or less the same over time. a. This
is important because if personality changes all the time, then it could be that our personality is just
the result of the situation we’re in, and when our situation changes (e.g., when we move away to
college, we get married, we change jobs), our “personality” also changes. b. To show that the
differences between people are not just the result of the different situations people are in, it’s
important to show that even when major aspects of their situation change—when people go
through major life changes—personality still remains relatively stable. Bleidorn (2012) and
Donnellan, Conger, & Burzette (2007) showed there is mean-level change in personality during the
transition from adolescence to adulthood, but not much rank order change. Lucas (2007) showed
negative life events do have long-term (negative) effects on well-being, but positive events (e.g.,
marriage) only have short-term (positive) effects. c. No one would expect perfect stability from birth
to death
Do people agree about a person’s personality? 1. Another way to show personality is real is to show
people tend to know an extrovert (or a creative person or an emotional person) when they see
one—or at least when they get to know one pretty well. This is important because if personality is
real, people should be able to see it in each other. Of course some aspects of personality are hard to
see in strangers—most people don’t broadcast their negative characteristics to the world, for
example—but people who know a person well should all agree more or less about that person’s
personality. Example: If John is extroverted, stubborn, messy, and generous, his mom, friends, and
teammates should pretty much agree that he is
Does personality predict behavior? 1. One of the most important tests of whether personality exists
is the predictability of behavior based on personality. It is impossible to predict how a person will
behave in every situation, but because personality is supposed to describe typical patterns of
