Six domains of knowledge in the book:

–     Traits

How do people differ?

–     tiology

How do biologicdl fdctors dnd processes determine behdvior, thoughts dnd emotions? Psychophysiology dnd genetics.

–     Psychic factors and motives Intrdpsychic

–     Wishes, goals, experiences, self-concept How do we see ourselves?

–     Social positions, relations, culture

Persondlity influences dnd is influenced by the socidl dnd culturdl environment.

  • Disorders and adjustments to stress and challenges. How do we ddjust to certdin chdllenging situdtions?

The big five of personality psychology:

  • Extraversion
  • Agreeableness
  • Conscientiousness
  • Neuroticism
  • Openness

Personality Psychology = The psychology of differences between people

Interpersonal = between people

Intrapersonal = within people

Differences between individuals = Interindividual differences Differences between groups = Intergroup differences Difference within individuals = Intraindividual differences

Differences within individuals between individuals = Interindividual differences in intraindividual differences

Proximal explanations = Factors that co-occur in time with the phenomena you’re trying to explain.

Distal explanations = Factors that are further away in time (in an individual past or even in a way further evolutionary past.

A Buick history

Theophrastus (327-287 BC) was a student of Plato who made a collection of personality sketches ‘personality types’. He made primitive descriptions of personality traits.

In the 19th century the interest was renewed. Francis Galton and James Mckeen Cattell were two people who were interested in personality psychology. They primarily used sensorimotor tasks.

Alfred Binet said that the individual differences in higher order processes are stronger than those in elementary sensorimotor tasks. Binet also developed an IQ-test called the StanfordBinet test.

3 steps to studying individudl differences in chdrdcter:

  • William James and Sigmund Freud had ideas but no empirical research.
  • WW1: The detection of ‘combat stress’ during recruitment.
  • 1932: The scientific journal ‘Chdrdcter dnd Persondlity’

The real starting point of Personality Psychology however was in 1937, when ‘Personality, a Psychological Interpretation’ by Gordon Allport was published.

Chapter 1 Introduction to Personality Psychology

Personality = The set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that is organized, relatively enduring and that influences his or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the environment (including the intrapsychic, physical and social environment).

Mechanisms:                Input              Rule            Output

The traits and mechanisms are organized because they’re linked in a coherent fashion and not random.

Three layers of personality:

  • The human race
  • Individual/group differences
  • Individual uniqueness

Personality is comprehensive but a comprehensive theory is not yet there.