Assigned reading from the text: Cloninger. Pages 37-66.

 
Sample Essay Questions:

        a. Briefly describe someone you know well, mentioning what he or she is like and how this person generally acts. [Write at least five sentences]. Analyze this description in terms of directly stated personality traits and traits that could be inferred from your description
 
        b. Briefly define the trait of "socially dependent". Explain how you might test to see if someone were high or low on this trait, using three different methods. Be sure to explain exactly what data you would collect using each method.

A. Personality Assumptions in Language

        1. Every language includes its a set of personality-related words or phrases.
        2. Many trait words in English. Allport & Odbert (1936) coded 17,953 terms from the dictionary.
 

B. Intuitive Personality Descriptions of People

        1. Descriptions include both traits and ideas about what types of behaviors go together:
 

"We had known each other since childhood. We lived in the same neighborhood, shopped in the same stores, and worshipped at the Calvary AME Zion Church. In high school, I knew him as an older boy whom I very much admired. He was tall, handsome, athletic, intelligent, and well mannered. He stood when adults entered a room, opened doors for girls, and tipped his snap-brim tweed cap to my father when they passed on the street. When he walked me home, he insisted on carrying my books and tennis racquet." {From S. Ladd (1996). Sarah's psalm. Pages 11-12].

        2. Descriptions are subjective. Two people may describe the same person very differently.
        3. People's ideas about traits that go together is called their "Implicit Personality Theory". We use our implicit personality theories in making judgements and predictions about other people.
        4. Many types of biases in our implicit personality theories and personality descriptions

                a. Halo effect.
                b. Perceived similarity
                c. Observer bias
                d. Stereotypes
 

C. Basic Methods of Empirical Research

        1. Content analysis of things people write or say.
 
                a. Can be used to understand one individual--idiographic approach
                b. Indicates implicit personality theories of writer/speaker
                c. Types of coding: particular words, parts of speech, complex sets of behaviors or feelings.

        2. Administration of surveys to large numbers of people.

                a. Most typical approach of academic psychologists. Associated with the nomothetic approach to personality where we look at "individual differences:
                b. Results depend on sample used and having good scales.
                c. Statistical analysis. Various statistics, including correlations. Interpretation of negative and positive correlations. High and low correlations.

        3. Observations of behavior.

                a. Theory guides the researcher in associating behavior with particular personality characteristics.
                b. Behaviors are often potentially the result of more than one underlying cause. Interpretation is difficult.