PSYA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Barnum Effect, Trait Theory, Factor Analysis
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Psya02 lecture 10 personality: breaking down who. Personality: a relatively stable set of characteristics that influences an individual"s behaviour. The aim of personality research is to: construct general theories of personality, assess individual differences in personality. The tendency to accept certain vague or worthless information as true, such as character assessments, horoscopes, psychic predictions and/or exaggerated claims. Although you still occasionally hear people speak in terms of personality types. Most psychologists now think it makes more sense to talk about personality traits. Trait: refers to emotional, cognitive and behavioral tendencies as well as the underlying dimensions that form personality. Traits can be measured by: asking others to rate a person, asking the person to fill out a questionnaire. How many traits are required: allport noted some 18,000 traits, cattell argued for 16 distinct traits (factor analysis) Personality traits and states: a trait is a consistent, long-lasting tendency in behaviour.
