What criteria should a personality trait fulfill?

  • Substantial individual differences
    • All differences in which people can differ from one another
  • Stable and consistent over time
    • Rank-order stability
      • Rank-order stability of people within a group
      • Comparison of multiple measurement points
    • Stability of the average
      • ‘mean-level’ / ‘absolute’ stability
      • Average levels can change even though there is rank-order stability in a group
      • Average level of personality may/can change during all stages of life. – Stable and consistent across various situations

Situationism

Mischel: ‘Behavioral consistencies have not been shown. The concept of personality traits or characteristics as broad dispositions is thus untenable.’ (1968)

Situationism = The theory that suggests that human behavior is determined by surrounding circumstances rather than by personal qualities.

Two new approaches:

  • Person-situation interactionism
    • Not: Trait  behavior.Rather: Person x situation  behavior.
    • Causes of interaction:
      • Characteristics of the situation
      • Situation selection
      • Evocation (people can create their own environment by evoking responses with their behavior.
      • Manipulation
    • Aggregation
      • Tendencies & necessities

Measurement problems and Personality

Motivdtions problems / cdrelessness

  • No desire/drive
  • Present, but very fast
  • Read questions incorrectly

Solutions:

  • Infrequency scale: Ask questions that almost everyone would have to answer in some way.
  • Calculating reliability
    • Example:
      • 6 Items about the same Big Five personality trait.
      • Calculate coefficient alpha (should be above .60)
    • Formulate the question in different ways

‘Fdking / being dishonest Two types:

  • ‘False negative’
    • The person tested is honest while the person who does the research believes the person tested is dishonest.
  • ‘False positive’
    • The person tested is dishonest while the person who does the research believes the person tested is honest.

Bdrnum Stdtements                (Named after P.T. Barnum)

  • ‘The greatest show on earth’

Barnum effect: Forer (1948)

  • Everyone is satisfied because description describes nearly everyone (horoscopes etc.)

Personality as predictor

  • Tests for recruitment
  • Integrity tests
  • Negligent hiring

Internalizing & externalizing