Download - How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods
![Page 1: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
How can we answer questions about personality scientifically?
Personality ResearchMethods
![Page 2: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Self-Identification Survey
![Page 3: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Personality Research Methods
Goals – 1. Most generally, to become more
sophisticated consumers of research information
2. To understand how we study personality empirically
3. To appreciate strengths and weaknesses of various designs and analyses – what they can and can’t tell us about personality
4. Be able to interpret some key types of statistics
![Page 4: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Personality Research Methods
What is the purpose of research?
To, as objectively as possible:• Evaluate theories• Answer practical questions
In general, to accumulate knowledge in an objective and public manner
![Page 5: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Personality Research Methods
Three topics:
• Research design
• Interpreting data (statistics)
• Measurement (personality assessment, already covered)
![Page 6: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsResearch Design
Two broad kinds of questions in research –
1) Is X related to Y?• Are SAT scores related to GPA scores?• Is emotional expressivity related to physical health?
2) Does X cause Y? • Does medication cause symptom reduction?• Does child abuse cause Borderline PD?• Do genes determine sexual orientation?
Causality is “the big question”
![Page 7: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsResearch Designs
Types of research design• Experimental• Passive• Case Study
![Page 8: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsResearch Design
Experimental Design –
• Manipulate a variable (IV) and measure changes in another variable (DV).
• Random assignment to conditions (levels of IV).
• Strengths and Limitations - Discuss
![Page 9: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsResearch Design
Passive Designs – • Observe (measure) how pre-existing
differences between people on one variable are related to differences between those people on another variable
• E.g., drug abuse and psychological adjustment
• Why “Passive”?• Strengths and Limitations – discuss
![Page 10: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsResearch Design
Case Studies – • In depth analysis of specific entities (a person, a
group, an organization)
• Eg, Charles Whitman; Freud - the case of Little Hans; Allport – “Letters From Jenny”;
• Strengths and limitations - discuss
![Page 11: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsResearch Design
Personality Psychology often uses Passive Designs
Why?
Is Extraversion related to popularity?
Is Drug Abuse related to psychological adjustment?
![Page 12: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Personality Research Methods
Three topics:
• Research design
• Interpreting data (statistics)
• Measurement (personality assessment, already covered)
![Page 13: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsInterpreting Data
Statistics are nothing but tools to help us make sense out of data.
We will typically:• Look for group differences on some variable• Look for relationships among variables
At one level, these are the same things.
![Page 14: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Your BFI Data
A few questions to answer:
•Is personality related to happiness?
•Are there sex differences in personality?
•Is personality related to GPA?
•Do these associations/differences differ by trait?
But first – how do we quantify/describe associations/differences?
![Page 15: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsInterpreting Data
Why worry about this?• General sophistication in critical thinking?• Ability to understand studies that we’ll be
discussing
Two general kinds of statistics:1. Descriptive Statistics2. Inferential Statistics
![Page 16: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsInterpreting Data
Two general kinds of statistics:1. Descriptive Statistics –
• To summarize/describe the data that was collected in a sample of subjects.
• Examples – frequencies, means, standard deviations, correlation
![Page 17: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsInterpreting Data
Two General Kinds of statistics (continued)2. Inferential Statistics –
• To make statements/inferences about the population(s) of people from which the sample of subjects was drawn.
• “Statistical significance”. Is the result representative of the “population”?
• Male and female samples (20 each) – find difference in IQ. Is this representative of the “population of males and females?
![Page 18: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsInterpreting Data
What is a correlation? • A correlation (r) is a number that summarizes
the direction and degree of association between two variables
• Do people who have high SAT scores also get relatively high GPAs?
• This is a question about the association between two variables: SAT score and GPA.
![Page 19: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsInterpreting Data
A correlation gives two pieces of info:1. Direction of association
• + people who score relatively high on one variable tend to score relatively high on the other
• - people who score relatively high on one variable tend to score relatively low on the other
• 0 there is no relationship between the variables - people who score relatively high on one variable are likely to score either high OR low on the other.
• Note: “relatively”; “positive” ≠ good
![Page 20: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
Your BFI Data
A few questions to answer:
•Is personality related to happiness?
•Are there sex differences in personality?
•Is personality related to GPA?
•Do these associations/differences differ by trait?
But first – how do we quantify/describe associations/differences?
![Page 21: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsInterpreting Data
A correlation gives two pieces of info:2. Degree of association
• How strongly related are the two variables?
• Range from +1 (Very strong positive relationship) to –1 (Very strong negative relationship)
• Values closer to zero represent “weaker” relationships
So what would a “strong” correlation be? .90? .30? .50?
![Page 22: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Personality Research MethodsInterpreting Data
Interpreting a correlation – Is this relationship strong or weak?
At least two ways to interpret the size of a corr:
1. Research context
2. Translate to Probabilities (BESD, in textbook)
![Page 23: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
Statistical vs Experimental “Control”
What is experimental control? What do we want to “control” when doing an experiment?
What if we can’t do so experimentally? – Statistical control?
“Multiple regression”, partial correlations, etc
Example Conscientiousness, SAT, and GPA
![Page 24: How can we answer questions about personality scientifically? Personality Research Methods](https://reader030.vdocuments.net/reader030/viewer/2022032605/56649e835503460f94b84a03/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
Personality Research Methods
Goals – 1. Most generally, to become more
sophisticated consumers of research information
2. To understand how we study personality empirically
3. To appreciate strengths and weaknesses of various designs and analyses – what they can and can’t tell us about personality
4. Be able to interpret some key types of statistics