Psych 438 Practice Exam Questions and Correct Answers
4 views 0 purchase
Course
PSYCH 438
Institution
PSYCH 438
Person-situation debate Debate in the field about influences on behavior: The person - inherent characteristics of an individual The situation - characteristics of the situation (i.e., context) General consensus: Both are meaningful and impact human behavior
Personality Set of psychological traits...
Psych 438 Practice Exam Questions and
Correct Answers
Person-situation debate ✅Debate in the field about influences on behavior:
The person - inherent characteristics of an individual
The situation - characteristics of the situation (i.e., context)
General consensus: Both are meaningful and impact human behavior
Personality ✅Set of psychological traits and mechanisms 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
Theory ✅Organized system of assumptions and principles that purport to explain a
specific set of phenomena and their interrelations
Essential is science
3 purposes:
Guide research
Organizes known findings
Makes predictions
What makes a good/strong theory? ✅Comprehensiveness
Heuristic value
Testability
Parsimony (fewer assumptions and premises the better, but only as simple as it needs
to be)
Compatibility and integration across domains and levels
Application ✅Theories often are developed to solve practical solutions (e.g., cure
diseases, develop new technology)
Many personality theorists were also therapists looking for ways to more effectively help
patients
Assessment ✅Methods of assessing personality differ across the different theoretical
approaches
How personality is measured depends on how one conceptualizes/defines personality
Research ✅All of the theories discussed have generated relevant research
Variation in "methodology of choice" among different theories
Self-report data ✅Interview
Periodic assessment (diary)
Questionnaires
, Structured or unstructured
Structured: Likert scale, forced-choice, true/false
Unstructured: Open-ended questions, free response, fill-in-the blank
Require some sort of coding scheme, more time consuming to code
Self-report data ADVANTAGES ✅People have access to wealth of information about
themselves, that others do not
Thoughts, feelings, desires, beliefs
Self-esteem, perceptions of of how others see them
How they relate others
Short-term, long-term goals
Self-report data LIMITATIONS ✅Respondents must be willing and able to answer the
questions
People aren't always honest
People may not have insight
Observer-report data ✅Data provided by friends, family, teachers, about an individual
E.g., impression person makes on others, his or her social reputation, nature of
interactions with others, etc.
Can be collected using the same modalities as self-report data (e.g., questionnaires,
interview, etc.)
Selecting observers ✅Professional personality assessors
Don't know participant in advance
Often in laboratory settings
Individuals who know the target
Can observe natural behavior
Cross situational behavior
But susceptible to biases
Observer-report data ADVANTAGES ✅Can provide information not otherwise
accessible to researchers and which participants may not be willing or able to share
Multiple assessors can be used - reduce bias
Inter-rater reliability
Statistical procedures to average ratings across raters
Observer-report data LIMITATIONS ✅Can be costly, require training, etc.
Test data ADVANTAGES ✅Can elicit behavior difficult to observe in everyday life
Allow investigators to control context - eliminate extraneous variables
Can test specific hypotheses - manipulating variables
Test data LIMITATIONS ✅Participants can try to guess hypothesis and alter behavior
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller twishfrancis. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $8.99. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
