UTSC
PSYB30H3
Final EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
,
, find more resources at oneclass.com
PSYB30 Chapter 1 - Introduction to Personality Psychology
• personality psychologist analyze the characteristics of persons
• adjectives that can be used to describe characteristics of people are called TRAIT
DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES (nearly 20,000 in the English language)
o Lazy, optimistic, anxious, etc
• several very different aspects of people
o Words such as thoughtful refer to inner qualities of mind
o as charming and humorous refer to the effects a person has on other people
o domineering are relational and signify a person’s position, or stance, toward others
o ambitious refer to the intensity of desire to reach our goals
o creative refer both to a quality of mind and to the nature of the products we
produce
o deceitful refer to the strategies a person uses to attain his or her goals
Personality Defined
-PERSONALITY is the set of psychological traits and mechanism within the individual that
are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and
adaptations, to the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments
Personality Is the Set of Psychological Traits…
• PSYCHOLIGICAL TRAITS: are characteristics that describe ways in which people
are different and similar to each other
• traits describe the AVERAGE TENDENCIES of a person
o Ex. those with the trait of talkativeness tend to emit verbal behavior with greater
frequency than those who are low on talkativeness
• research on personality traits ask four kinds of question:
o 1)How many (fundamental) traits are there?
o 2)How are the traits organized? (organization, or structure)
▪ Ex. how is talkativeness related to other traits, such as impulsivity and
extraversion
o 3)What are the origins of traits? (Where they come from and how they develop)
▪ Does heredity influence talkativeness?
▪ What sorts of cultural and child-rearing practices affect the development of
traits
o 4)What are the correlations and consequences of traits in terms of experience,
behavior, and life outcomes?
▪ Ex. Do talkative persons have many friends?
• traits are useful for three reasons:
o 1) they describe people
▪ and help understand the dimensions of difference among people
o 2) they explain behavior
o 3) they help to predict future behavior
▪ Ex. what career they will find satisfying, who will tolerate stress better
find more resources at oneclass.com
, find more resources at oneclass.com
And Mechanisms…
• PSYCHOLIGICAL MECHANISMS: are like traits, except that the term mechanisms
refers more to the process of personality (most involve information-processing activity)
o Ex. Someone who is extraverted, may look for and notice opportunities to interact
with other people- prepared to notice and act on certain kinds of social
information
• three essential ingredients:
o 1) inputs
(information from the
environment)
▪ May make them
more sensitive to
certain
information
o 2) decision rules (specific
options)
▪ May make them
more likely to think about specific options
o 3) outputs (certain categories of action)
▪ May guide their behavior toward certain categories of action
• not all our traits and psychological mechanisms are activated all time – at any point in
time only a few are activated
o Activated under particular conditions – ex. courageousness, when facing dangerous
conditions
Within the Individual…
• WITHING THE INDIVIDUAL: means that personality is something a person carries
with him- or herself over time and from one situation to the next
• Typically feel like we are the same person as last week/ year and will be the same next
week/year
o Carried from situation to situation regardless of environment and significant others
• The definition of personality stresses that the important sources of personality reside
within the individual and, hence, are at least somewhat stable over time and somewhat
consistent over situations
That Are Organized and Relatively Enduring…
• ORGANIZED: means that the psychological traits and mechanism for a given person
are not simply a random collection of elements – personality is organized, because the
mechanisms and traits are linked to one another in a coherent fashion
o Ex. desire for food vs desire for intimacy
▪ If you haven’t eaten then desire for food may override but vice versa if you
have already eaten allowing you to pursue intimacy
• psychological traits are also relatively ENDURING (stable) over time, and are somewhat
consistent over situations
o Anger is more of a state than a trait
find more resources at oneclass.com
PSYB30H3
Final EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
,
, find more resources at oneclass.com
PSYB30 Chapter 1 - Introduction to Personality Psychology
• personality psychologist analyze the characteristics of persons
• adjectives that can be used to describe characteristics of people are called TRAIT
DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES (nearly 20,000 in the English language)
o Lazy, optimistic, anxious, etc
• several very different aspects of people
o Words such as thoughtful refer to inner qualities of mind
o as charming and humorous refer to the effects a person has on other people
o domineering are relational and signify a person’s position, or stance, toward others
o ambitious refer to the intensity of desire to reach our goals
o creative refer both to a quality of mind and to the nature of the products we
produce
o deceitful refer to the strategies a person uses to attain his or her goals
Personality Defined
-PERSONALITY is the set of psychological traits and mechanism within the individual that
are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his or her interactions with, and
adaptations, to the intrapsychic, physical, and social environments
Personality Is the Set of Psychological Traits…
• PSYCHOLIGICAL TRAITS: are characteristics that describe ways in which people
are different and similar to each other
• traits describe the AVERAGE TENDENCIES of a person
o Ex. those with the trait of talkativeness tend to emit verbal behavior with greater
frequency than those who are low on talkativeness
• research on personality traits ask four kinds of question:
o 1)How many (fundamental) traits are there?
o 2)How are the traits organized? (organization, or structure)
▪ Ex. how is talkativeness related to other traits, such as impulsivity and
extraversion
o 3)What are the origins of traits? (Where they come from and how they develop)
▪ Does heredity influence talkativeness?
▪ What sorts of cultural and child-rearing practices affect the development of
traits
o 4)What are the correlations and consequences of traits in terms of experience,
behavior, and life outcomes?
▪ Ex. Do talkative persons have many friends?
• traits are useful for three reasons:
o 1) they describe people
▪ and help understand the dimensions of difference among people
o 2) they explain behavior
o 3) they help to predict future behavior
▪ Ex. what career they will find satisfying, who will tolerate stress better
find more resources at oneclass.com
, find more resources at oneclass.com
And Mechanisms…
• PSYCHOLIGICAL MECHANISMS: are like traits, except that the term mechanisms
refers more to the process of personality (most involve information-processing activity)
o Ex. Someone who is extraverted, may look for and notice opportunities to interact
with other people- prepared to notice and act on certain kinds of social
information
• three essential ingredients:
o 1) inputs
(information from the
environment)
▪ May make them
more sensitive to
certain
information
o 2) decision rules (specific
options)
▪ May make them
more likely to think about specific options
o 3) outputs (certain categories of action)
▪ May guide their behavior toward certain categories of action
• not all our traits and psychological mechanisms are activated all time – at any point in
time only a few are activated
o Activated under particular conditions – ex. courageousness, when facing dangerous
conditions
Within the Individual…
• WITHING THE INDIVIDUAL: means that personality is something a person carries
with him- or herself over time and from one situation to the next
• Typically feel like we are the same person as last week/ year and will be the same next
week/year
o Carried from situation to situation regardless of environment and significant others
• The definition of personality stresses that the important sources of personality reside
within the individual and, hence, are at least somewhat stable over time and somewhat
consistent over situations
That Are Organized and Relatively Enduring…
• ORGANIZED: means that the psychological traits and mechanism for a given person
are not simply a random collection of elements – personality is organized, because the
mechanisms and traits are linked to one another in a coherent fashion
o Ex. desire for food vs desire for intimacy
▪ If you haven’t eaten then desire for food may override but vice versa if you
have already eaten allowing you to pursue intimacy
• psychological traits are also relatively ENDURING (stable) over time, and are somewhat
consistent over situations
o Anger is more of a state than a trait
find more resources at oneclass.com
