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Psychology 305A: Personality Psychology

September 19

Lecture 5

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1. The peer mentors (Austin, Gordon) will hold a tutorial on Thursday:

When? 5:30-6:30Where? Kenny 2101

Reminders

2. I will hold optional review sessions for Chapter 2 (research methods) on Thursday:

When? 12:30-1:30 and 4:30-5:30Where? Kenny 2101

Exam Preparation Tips

• The upcoming midterm exam will include questions unique to the textbook content (~25%), questions unique to the lecture content (~25%), and questions that reflect overlap between the two sources of information (~50%). You are encouraged to study both sources of information thoroughly.

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• With respect to the textbook content:

Create questions with the titles and subtitles of sections. Use the content of each section to answer

the questions that you have generated.

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Construct learning objectives for each section of the textbook (what should I take away from this section?).

Familiarize yourself with all terms that are bolded or italicized.

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Study all figures and tables.

Identify the primary points of each section with key words or phrases and use these to test yourself.

• With respect to the lecture content:

Use the learning objectives to guide your studying.

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• You need not memorize the names of researchers who conducted idiosyncratic studies or the dates of

those studies. However, you should familiarize yourself with the names of all major theorists (e.g., Catell, Eysenck, Wiggins).

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• The goal of the exam is to assess your mastery of the course content and “jargon” of personality psychology.

• In order to demonstrate your mastery of the course content on the extended response questions, you should provide thorough and detailed responses to the questions asked. The instructions for the extended response section will read:

“Please respond to each of the questions below. Note that point form answers are acceptable. Your responses should be thorough and detailed. If necessary, you may write on the back side of the page.”

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• The exam questions will assess your ability to recall, synthesize, and apply course content. Examples:

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Psychology 305 10

Recall:

According to Eysenck’s taxonomy of personality, ___________ is among the three primary dimensions of personality.

(a) conscientiousness(b) openness to experience(c) extraversion(d) agreeableness(e) c and d

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Psychology 305 11

Synthesize:

List three similarities and three distinctions between Wiggins’ taxonomy of personality and the five factor taxonomy of personality. (6 points)

Apply:

Explain how you would operationalize personality on the basis of Eysenck’s theory of personality. Be specific in your response; that is, describe the operationalization thoroughly and in concrete terms. (4 points)

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• In order to correctly respond to questions that require synthesis and application, recall is necessary. The correlation between recall questions and synthesis/ application questions typically exceeds .70.

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• The exam will cover:

Chapter 1Chapter 2 (p. 13-27, 31-32; not multifactor studies; multiple choice questions only)Chapter 3Chapter 4All material discussed in class since the start of term.

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I will hold additional office hours and an exam review session in preparation for the exam:

Friday, September 20th: 11:30-2:30 (Kenny 3102)Tuesday, September 24th: 2:00-3:30 (Kenny 3102)Tuesday, September 24th: 5:30-6:30 (Kenny 2101, exam review session)

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Announcement

A little R&R ….(Review and Reflect)

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Psychology 305 16

Personality Disorders

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1. What is a personality disorder? (continued)

2. Are personality disorders better represented by categories or dimensions?

3. describe the Five Factor Model of Personality Dysfunction.

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1. review the primary symptoms of avoidant personality disorder.

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

2. discuss criticisms of the personality disorder categories in the DSM V.

3. Avoidant PD:

A pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation as indicated by 4 or more of the following:

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What is a personality disorder (PD)? (continued)

Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection. Is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked. Shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed. Is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations. Is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy. Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others. Is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage

in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing.

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Case Study:

John is 21 year old student who has gone to the university’s psychological clinic with the complaint that he is anxious in social settings. Because he is so shy and nervous, he has little contact with others. He is worried about starting new classes and being in rooms with strangers. He is especially worried about his psychology courses, where “they might find out I am a nutcase.” He is thinking of switching his major to computer science. Although he is curious about and interested in people, he feels awkward around them. Computers, he thinks, are much easier to get along with.

John reports that, as a child, he was teased mercilessly by other children. He recalls withdrawing at that time. He says that in grade school he would try to make himself small and inconspicuous, so others would not notice him. John cannot name any friends. He has never held a real job. He is afraid others will not like him “when they find out what I am really like,” so he avoids social contact.

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Prevalence: 2.4% (Grant et al. 2004).

F=M.

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Are personality disorders better represented by categories or dimensions?

• Many criticisms have been proposed of the PD categories in the DSM V:

2. the occurrence of comorbid diagnoses.

1. the subjective identification of diagnostic categories.

3. the high rate of “PD NOS” diagnoses.

4. the poor test-retest reliability of diagnoses.

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• Accordingly, many theorists argue that PDs are better represented as extremes on personality dimensions rather than categories:

Example: The Five Factor Model of Personality Dysfunction.

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3. describe the Five Factor Model of Personality Dysfunction.

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1. review the primary symptoms of avoidant personality disorder.

By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:

2. discuss criticisms of the personality disorder categories in the DSM V.

Analysis of the Personality of a Serial Killer: Jeffrey Dahmer

Discussion Questions

1.You are a psychologist who wants to determine if childhood neglect increases the likelihood of developing antisocial PD in adulthood. What research method(s) would you use? Why?

2. As a psychologist, how would you measure psychopathy? How would you assess the reliability and validity of your measure?

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Discussion Questions, continued

3. Which of Eysenck’s personality types best describes Dahmer? Explain.

4. Speculate on Dahmer’s scores on Wiggins’ interpersonal circle.

5. Can a diathesis-stress model be used to explain the onset of Dahmer’s murderous behaviour?

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Discussion Questions, continued

6. Which, if any, PDs (e.g., schizoid, antisocial, avoidant, narcissistic, histrionic, obsessive-compulsive) do you think Dahmer could have been diagnosed with?

7. Was Dahmer a psychopath? Explain.

8. Apply the Five Factor Model of Personality Dysfunction to Dahmer’s personality. Can any of Dahmer’s seemingly maladaptive traits be described in positive terms?

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