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INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY

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INTRODUCTION TO PERSONALITY Toward an Integrative Science of the Person | 8th Edition

WALTER MISCHEL Columbia University

YUICHI SHODA University of Washington

OZLEM AYDUK University of California, Berkeley

JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC.

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•P R E F A C E A N D T E X TO R G A N I Z A T I O N Personality psychology was established as the area within psychology devoted to studying the person as a coherent and unique whole (Allport, 1937). The hope was for personality psychology to become the hub where all the levels of analysis devoted to understanding the organization and functioning of the person, and the nature of important individual differences, would become integrated to give a ‘‘big picture’’ view.

In spite of that integrative goal, for many years the field of personality—and particularly its texts, including earlier editions of this one, which was first published in 1971, became divided into alternative competing approaches and theories. The implication was that if a given approach at a particular level proved to be ‘‘right’’ and useful, the other approaches and levels were bound to be somehow ‘‘wrong’’ or less important. The questions usually asked were: ‘‘Which one is best? Which one is right?’’ Some texts even invite the student to take from the course whatever perspective felt most right to them. While this type of approach may be understandable early in a field’s history or pre-science stages, it risks becoming embarrassing in a maturing science, and can leave students more confused than illuminated. One would be surprised by a textbook offering, for example, ‘‘alternative views of organic chemistry.’’

Over the years it has become increasingly clear that the different theoretical approaches to personality ask different questions and address different phenomena at different levels of analysis. Consequently they usually deal only with selected aspects of personality versus the construct in its entirety. Historically, this was understandable, given the limits to what any one researcher or theorist can know and study, especially as the knowledge base in the area grew at an accelerating pace. But this approach also undermined the original ambitious mission of personality psychology to become the hub and locus of integration. And it made it difficult if not impossible for the student to emerge with a ‘‘big picture’’ view of how the diverse concepts and findings from a century of work added up, undermining the take-home message from the course, and leaving the student without a sense of how the pieces fit together. Now, however, an exciting change is taking place, moving personality psychology into a new stage (e.g., Carver, 1996; Cervone & Mischel, 2002; Duke, 1986; Mischel, 2004, 2005; Morf, 2003). One gets a sense of this movement toward integration just from some of the titles of the articles, for example; ‘‘Rethinking and Reclaiming the Interdisciplinary Role of Personality Psychology: The Science of Human Nature Should Be the Center of the Social Sciences and Humanities’’ (Baumeister & Tice, 1996). Fortunately, the explosion of research findings at different levels of analysis, and in closely related areas of the larger science, continues to be so great that the pieces of the puzzle are coming together, at least in outline. The insights from different levels complement each other increasingly well and help to build a more integrated and cumulative view of the person as a whole.

This eighth edition of Introduction to Personality reflects these new develop- ments, and gives the student a picture of the field as a cumulative, integrative science that builds on its rich past and now allows a much more coherent view of the whole functioning individual in the social world. Building on the large changes in this direction

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vi � Preface and Text Organization

begun in the last edition, this revision, subtitled Toward an Integrative Science of the Person, is committed to making that integration, and its practical applications and personal relevance to everyday life, even more clear and compelling for our students.

At the same time, the text continues to provide coverage of the essential features and contributions from the field’s rich heritage. To do so, this edition first covers in a balanced manner the key ideas and pioneering work that shaped the field for many decades in the last century. But the focus is on distilling how findings at each level of analysis still speak to and inform each other, and how they add to the current state of the science and its continuing growth.

We use a variety of features to help the student to see the interplay among the insights obtained at the six major levels of analysis, namely the Trait-Dispositional, Biological, Psychodynamic-Motivational, Behavioral-Conditioning, Phenomenological-Humanistic, and Social Cognitive Levels. Throughout the book, we show how the discoveries made at each level enrich the understanding of the whole. We also show how each level has practical applications for benefiting personal adjustment, self-understanding, and effective coping. As in the last edition, we highlight the ‘‘personal side of the science’’ by inviting students to ask specific questions about how each level applies to them. Consistent with the theme of integration, part preludes orient the reader to each major section of the text that follows by placing it in a broader conceptual framework. Review sections conclude each part with a segue into the next part to enhance the integration.

After providing a solid background in the six levels of analysis, and pointing out their interconnections, the final part of this text—Integration of Levels: The Person as a Whole—continues to be the most notable innovation, found in no other current personality text. In this edition it has been extensively revised and consists of three fresh, integrative chapters that focus on the contemporary scene. These chapters demonstrate the complementary relations among all the levels for gaining a rich sense of the personality system and the person as a whole. They illustrate the type of integrative system that draws on findings at the vanguard of personality science, as well as on the enduring contributions from work at each level of analysis reviewed throughout the text. In these chapters we examine the person engaged in goal pursuit and self-regulation, functioning and adapting proactively within his or her context and culture.

Part I: Trait-Dispositional Level Chapters 3 & 4

Part II: Biological Level Chapters 5 & 6

Part III: Psychodynamic- Motivational Level Chapters 7, 8, & 9

Part IV: Behavioral- Conditioning Level Chapters 10 & 11

Part V: Phenomenological- Humanistic Level Chapters 12 & 13

Part VI: Social Cognitive Level Chapters 14 & 15

Introduction Chapters 1 & 2

Integration: The Person as a whole

Chapters 16, 17, & 18

Organization of the text.

Preface and Text Organization � vii

The organization of the entire text is depicted in the graphic at the bottom of page iv, showing the six levels and their flow into the integration presented in the last three chapters that illustrate how each contributes to the total picture of the person.

Much of the text was rewritten for this edition, retaining only its best, time-tested features. The extensive rewriting reflects the continuing growth and transformation of personality psychology in recent years. But it is also driven by our goal to make the book even more readily accessible to today’s students, and to make mastery of the material personally involving and enjoyable as well as informative and stimulating.

Based on previous teaching experience—cumulatively the authors have spent more than 50 years teaching the undergraduate course in personality—new features facilitate mastery of the material. One important pedagogical feature, continued and expanded from the last edition, consists of focus questions, which occur in the margin of the book adjacent to important concepts and facts. The focus questions are designed to facilitate active processing of content by the reader and to function as study guides and retrieval cues. Their inclusion was based on educational research in controlled studies that showed that questions like ours significantly enhanced retention of facts and concepts. With our own students, this approach has proven so successful (increasing test scores appreciably in groups of randomly selected students who used such questions compared with others who were not provided with them) that we have made it an integral learning tool in this text. To highlight important points effectively, detailed, comprehensive bullet point summaries end each chapter, and overview-summary sections occur within chapters as needed.

Updated and greatly expanded instructor and student materials also have been developed, including the sections described below.

INSTRUCTOR MATERIALS

• Comprehensive sets of test questions for each chapter. • Two sets of powerpoint slides. One set corresponds directly to each text chapter;

the other was used by the authors in teaching Introduction to Personality. • A case study viewing an individual from multiple levels of analysis (‘‘Case of

Lourdes’’). • Video of the basic Mischel delay of gratification measure showing young

children’s diverse reactions. This video has attracted extensive media and pro- fessional attention, and is vivid and of great interest to students. It compellingly illustrates classic personality research and provides a memorable supplement to Chapter 17 lectures.

• A bibliography of recommended readings listed by chapter to supplement references throughout the text.

• Sample syllabi for semester and quarter systems; tables of contents for each chapter; selected tables and figures from the text for overheads or handouts.

STUDENT MATERIALS

• Practice questions, recommended readings, key terms with definitions organized by chapter.

• Sample personality questionnaires which can be used to self-test various aspects of personality learned in the course.

• Links to websites with additional measures and information to compliment themes in the text and to facilitate further exploration of personality psychology.

viii � Preface and Text Organization

Preparation of each edition feels like a wonderful adventure in which we learn much about our own field. We hope that both instructors and students will share our excitement about the current state and future of personality psychology, and our appreciation for the richness of its heritage. Your comments on earlier editions continue to help shape and reshape each edition of this text, and we trust that we have heard and been responsive to your suggestions. One of these changes is seen in the new arrangement of part and chapter sequences. As shown in the Contents, the part and chapter sequence now reflects feedback from instructors’ recent experience with this text, as well as our own teaching. Specifically, the Biological Level now follows right after the Trait-Dispositional Level, allowing a clearer sense of the close connections between them. Likewise, the Phenomenological-Humanistic Level comes directly before the Social Cognitive Level, making it clear how the latter built on the former, particularly on George Kelly’s contributions.

This extensive revision by a new team of authors (Ozlem Ayduk replaces Ron Smith) contains more than 25% fresh material. The book has been updated and reorganized to reflect the continuing rapid growth and transformation of personality psychology while also remaining true to, and respectful of, the field’s rich history of theories and methods for understanding personality. We present personality as a vibrant, expanding field that speaks directly to how students live their lives and how they think about themselves.

Walter Mischel

Yuichi Shoda

Ozlem Ayduk

•ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors owe a great debt to more people than can be acknowledged here. Walter Mischel had the extraordinary benefit of studying and working directly with historical pioneers who helped build the field, and who influenced him profoundly. These notably included his mentors George Kelly and Jules Rotter at Ohio State University, and Gordon Allport, Henry Murray, and David C. McClelland, who were his senior colleagues at Harvard University, and he remains grateful to them all. The same is true for his many close colleagues during more than 20 years at Stanford University, and an even longer span that continues at Columbia University. He is especially grateful to his many wonderful students, truly too many to even name here, who made life in psychology exciting for him for what is now more than half a century.

Yuichi Shoda owes his beginning in psychology to the confluence of idealistic subculture at UC Santa Cruz in the early 1980s, with Elliot Aronson, Tom Pettigrew, Brewster Smith, and in particular, David Harrington. Through the years at Stanford and Columbia as a graduate student, he was fortunate to absorb by osmosis the philosophies and approaches to science of such mentors and colleagues as Lawrence Aber, Ozlem Ayduk, Albert Bandura, Geraldine Downey, Carol Dweck, E. Tory Higgins, David Krantz, Robert M. Krauss, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, Philip K. Peake, Ewart Thomas, Jack Wright, and, above all, Daniel Cervone, whose infectious love of good ideas and dedication to our field drew Yuichi to it and sustained him throughout. The University of Washington is now his intellectual home, and he is grateful for the inspiration and support provided by his colleagues Ron Smith, Tony Greenwald, and Brian Raffety, and his many students, most recently Vivian Zayas. Most important of all, however, he has had the privilege of pursuing a shared vision of personality as a dynamic, multifaceted, yet coherent whole, with his mentor and friend, Walter Mischel, for over two decades. This textbook is an expression of this vision.

Ozlem Ayduk is indebted to the social-personality faculty at Columbia University (including Walter Mischel, Geraldine Downey, Yuichi Shoda, E. Tory Higgins, and Carol Dweck) who trained her and other fellow graduate students fortunate enough to be at Columbia in how to be social-personality psychologists, rather than social and/or personality psychologists. The idea that the effect of situations cannot be well understood without taking into account individual differences in people’s responses to those situations, while at the same time, that the situation needs to be incorporated into our very conceptualization of personality still guides and inspires her current research.

In the preparation of this edition, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton and Ethan Kross played significant roles, commenting on drafts and contributing to them. Diane Leader and Vivian Zayas went far beyond the usual expectations for reviewer feedback and devoted enormous care to detailed comments that substantially enhanced earlier drafts of this edition, and we are grateful to them.

A special large debt is owed to Amy Blum Cole and Deniz Cebenoyan who generously helped to prepare endless drafts of the manuscript, commenting and working diligently and constructively on it from its earliest versions into its final production. They also have worked closely and long with the first author to develop a greatly expanded set of

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x � Acknowledgments

innovative instructional supplements as well as a new carefully designed and pretested set of materials for the Instructor’s Manual.

The editorial and production staff, and particularly Maureen Clendenny, Patty Donovan, and Chris Johnson, worked hard and intensively to make the project go well, and were a pleasure to deal with from start to finish. We thank them sincerely. We also are grateful to the exceptionally helpful reviews and support from the reviewers listed below, and apologize to those who contributed but remain anonymous.

Donna Goetz, Elmhurst College Dianne Leader, Georgia Institute of Technology Mindy Mechanic, California State University at Fullerton Herbert Mirels, Ohio State University Karen Prager, University of Texas at Dallas Robert Weiskopf, Indiana University Vivian Zayas, Cornell University

Tables 1 and 2 present a suggested list of chapter assignments for a quarter system, or a semester system.

TABLE 1 Suggested Schedule for a Quarter System

Week 1 INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 Orientation to Personality CHAPTER 2 Data, Methods, and Tools

Week 2 PART I: THE TRAIT-DISPOSITIONAL LEVEL CHAPTER 3 Types and Traits CHAPTER 4 The Expressions of Dispositions

Week 3 PART II: THE BIOLOGICAL LEVEL CHAPTER 5 Heredity and Personality CHAPTER 6 Brain, Evolution, and Personality

Week 4 Exam 1 PART III: THE PSYCHODYNAMIC-MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL CHAPTER 7 Psychodynamic Theories: Freud’s Conceptions

Week 5 CHAPTER 8 Psychodynamic Applications and Processes CHAPTER 9 Post-Freudian Psychodynamics

Week 6 PART IV: THE BEHAVIORAL-CONDITIONING LEVEL CHAPTER 10 Behavioral Conceptions CHAPTER 11 Analyzing and Modifying Behavior

Week 7 PART V: THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL-HUMANISTIC LEVEL CHAPTER 12 Phenomenological-Humanistic Conceptions CHAPTER 13 The Internal View

Week 8 Exam 2 PART VI: THE SOCIAL COGNITIVE LEVEL CHAPTER 14 Social Cognitive Conceptions

Week 9 CHAPTER 15 Social Cognitive Processes PART VII: INTEGRATION OF LEVELS: THE PERSON AS A WHOLE CHAPTER 16 The Personality System: Integrating the Levels

Acknowledgments � xi

TABLE 1 (Continued)

Week 10 CHAPTER 17 Self-Regulation: From Goal Pursuit to Goal Attainment CHAPTER 18 Personality in Its Social Context and Culture

Week 11 Final Exam

TABLE 2 Suggested Schedule for a Semester Course

Week 1 INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 Orientation to Personality

Week 2 CHAPTER 2 Data, Methods, and Tools PART I: THE TRAIT-DISPOSITIONAL LEVEL CHAPTER 3 Types and Traits

Week 3 CHAPTER 4 The Expressions of Dispositions PART II: THE BIOLOGICAL LEVEL CHAPTER 5 Heredity and Personality

Week 4 CHAPTER 6 Brain, Evolution, and Personality

Week 5 Review and integration of Parts I and II Exam 1

Week 6 PART III: THE PSYCHODYNAMIC-MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL CHAPTER 7 Psychodynamic Theories: Freud’s Conceptions CHAPTER 8 Psychodynamic Applications and Processes CHAPTER 9 Post-Freudian Psychodynamics

Week 7 PART IV: THE BEHAVIORAL-CONDITIONING LEVEL CHAPTER 10 Behavioral Conceptions CHAPTER 11 Analyzing and Modifying Behavior

Week 8 Review and integration of Parts III and IV Exam 2

Week 9 PART V: THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL-HUMANISTIC LEVEL CHAPTER 12 Phenomenological-Humanistic Conceptions CHAPTER 13 The Internal View

Week 10 PART VI: THE SOCIAL-COGNITIVE LEVEL CHAPTER 14 Social Cognitive Conceptions CHAPTER 15 Social Cognitive Processes

Week 11 Review and integration of Parts V and VI Exam 3

Week 12 PART VII: INTEGRATION OF LEVELS: THE PERSON AS A WHOLE CHAPTER 16 The Personality System: Integrating the Levels CHAPTER 17 Self-Regulation: From Goal Pursuit to Goal Attainment

Week 13 CHAPTER 18 Personality in Its Social Context and Culture Review and integration, Parts I to VII

Week 14 Final Exam

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•B R I E FC O N T E N T S PREFACE AND TEXT ORGANIZATION v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix

�C H A P T E R 1

ORIENTATION TO PERSONALITY 1

�C H A P T E R 2

DATA, METHODS, AND TOOLS 19

PART I

THE TRAIT-DISPOSITIONAL LEVEL

�C H A P T E R 3

TYPES AND TRAITS 45

�C H A P T E R 4

THE EXPRESSIONS OF DISPOSITIONS 72

PART II

THE BIOLOGICAL LEVEL

�C H A P T E R 5

HEREDITY AND PERSONALITY 95

�C H A P T E R 6

BRAIN, EVOLUTION, AND PERSONALITY 124

PART III

THE PSYCHODYNAMIC- MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL

�C H A P T E R 7

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES: FREUD’S CONCEPTIONS 155

�C H A P T E R 8

PSYCHODYNAMIC APPLICATIONS AND PROCESSES 177

�C H A P T E R 9

POST-FREUDIAN PSYCHODYNAMICS 209

PART IV

THE BEHAVIORAL-CONDITIONING LEVEL

�C H A P T E R 10

BEHAVIORAL CONCEPTIONS 245

�C H A P T E R 11

ANALYZING AND MODIFYING BEHAVIOR 270

PART V

THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL- HUMANISTIC LEVEL

�C H A P T E R 12

PHENOMENOLOGICAL-HUMANISTIC CONCEPTIONS 297

�C H A P T E R 13

THE INTERNAL VIEW 323

PART VI

THE SOCIAL COGNITIVE LEVEL

�C H A P T E R 14

SOCIAL COGNITIVE CONCEPTIONS 349

�C H A P T E R 15

SOCIAL COGNITIVE PROCESSES 379

PART VII

INTEGRATION OF LEVELS: THE PERSON AS A WHOLE

�C H A P T E R 16

THE PERSONALITY SYSTEM: INTEGRATING THE LEVELS 409

�C H A P T E R 17

SELF-REGULATION: FROM GOAL PURSUIT TO GOAL ATTAINMENT 437

�C H A P T E R 18

PERSONALITY IN ITS SOCIAL CONTEXT AND CULTURE 466

xiii

•C O N T E N T S

PREFACE AND TEXT ORGANIZATION v

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix

�C H A P T E R 1

ORIENTATION TO PERSONALITY 1

What is Personality Psychology? 1 Stable, Coherent Individual Differences 1 Predicting and Understanding 3 Defining Personality 3

Theory and Levels of Analysis in Personality Psychology 4

Early ‘‘Big Picture’’ Theory 4 From Grand Theories to Levels of Analysis 5

Levels of Analysis: Organization of this Book 6 The Trait-Dispositional Level 7 In Focus 1.1 The Personal Side of the Science 8 The Biological Level 9 The Psychodynamic-Motivational Level 9 The Behavioral-Conditioning Level 10 The Phenomenological-Humanistic Level 11 The Social Cognitive Level 12 Levels of Analysis Applied to Understand Unexpected

Aggression: The Texas Tower Killer 12 Integration of Levels: The Person as a Whole 16 Practical Applications: Coping and Personal

Adaptation 17 Summary 18 Key Terms 18

�C H A P T E R 2

DATA, METHODS, AND TOOLS 19

Why a Science of Personality?: Beyond Hindsight Understanding 19

In Focus 2.1 Gary W., The Text’s Case—Gary’s Self-Description 20

The Range of Personality-Relevant Measures 21 Interviews 22 In Focus 2.2 Early Personality Measurement 22 Tests and Self-Reports 23 Projective Measures 23 Naturalistic Observation and Behavior

Sampling 24 Remote Behavior Sampling: Daily Life

Experiences 26 Physiological Functioning and Brain Imaging 26

Laboratory Methods of Social Cognition 29 Conceptual and Methodological Tools 30

Constructs and Operational Definitions 30 An Example: Defining the Construct of Aggression 31

Establishing Relationships Among Observations 32 Correlation: What Goes with What? 32 Interpreting Correlations 33

Reliability and Validity of Observations and Measures 35 Reliability: Are the Measurements Consistent? 35 Validity: What Is Being Measured? 36

Content Validity 36 Criterion Validity 36 Construct Validity: Validity of the Construct

Itself 36 In Focus 2.3 Sometimes Direct Self-Report Measures

Work Best 37 The Experimental Approach 37

Independent and Dependent Variables 38 Experimental and Control Groups 38 Double-Blind Designs 38

Ethics in Personality Research 39 Summary 41 Key Terms 41

PART I

THE TRAIT-DISPOSITIONAL LEVEL Prelude to Part I: The Trait-Dispositional Level 43

�C H A P T E R 3

TYPES AND TRAITS 45

Types and Traits 46 Types 46 Traits: Individual Differences on Dimensions 46

Traits Defined 46 In Focus 3.1 An Example: Type a Personality 47

Describing and Explaining 48 Trait Attributions 49

Trait Theorists 49 Gordon Allport 49 Raymond B. Cattell 51 Hans J. Eysenck 53

Common Features of Trait Theories 56 Generality and Stability of Traits 56 Traits and States Distinguished 56

xiv

Contents � xv

Search for Basic Traits 56 Quantification 57 Aggregating across Situations to Increase

Reliability 57 Taxonomy of Human Attributes 57

Psycholexical Approach 58 The ‘‘Big Five’’ Trait Dimensions 59 Factor Analysis to Find Trait Dimensions:

The NEO-PI-R and Big Five 59 Evidence and Issues 61

Overview of Usefulness of the Big Five 61 Stability of Traits over Time 62 In Focus 3.2 Prototypes: ‘‘Typical’’ People 63 Big Five Differences Predicting Life Outcomes 65 Limitations, Concerns, Contributions 66

Limitations of Factor Analysis 67 Are Traits Causal Explanations or Descriptive

Summaries? 67 Links between Perceiver and Perceived: Valid

Ratings 68 Summary 68

Interaction of Traits and Situations 69 Summary 70 Key Terms 71

�C H A P T E R 4

THE EXPRESSIONS OF DISPOSITIONS 72

Traits, Situations, and the Personality Paradox 73 Individual Differences in Behavior Tendencies 73 The Intuitive Assumption of Consistency 73 The 1968 Challenge 74 The Paradox Defined 74 The Person versus Situation Debate 74

Situationism 74 Revival of the Traditional Paradigm 75 The Role of the Situation 75

Incorporating Situations into Traits 75 If . . . Then . . . Situation–Behavior Signatures 76 In Focus 4.1 Looking Under the Hood 77 Evidence for Signatures Indicative of Personality

Types 77 Gary W.’s Behavioral Signatures 79 Two Types of Consistency 80 Uses of the Two Types of Consistency 81

Interactionism in Personality Psychology 82 The Meaning of Person–Situation Interaction 82

An Example: Uncertainty Orientation 83 Definition of Triple Typology 83

Interaction as a Rule in Science 84 In Focus 4.2 A Triple Typology for Hostility 85 Resolution of the Personality Paradox 85 Summary: Expressions of Consistency in

Traits–Dispositions 87 Summary 88

Key Terms 88 Taking Stock Part I: The Trait-Dispositional Level 89 Overview: Focus, Concepts, Methods 89 Enduring Contributions of the Trait-Dispositional

Level 90

PART II

THE BIOLOGICAL LEVEL Prelude to Part II: The Biological Level 93

�C H A P T E R 5

HEREDITY AND PERSONALITY 95

Genetic Bases of Personality 96 The Human Genome: The Genetic Heritage 96

Inside DNA: The Basic Information 96 Not Really a Blueprint 97 DNA–Environment Interactions 97 Individual Differences in DNA 98 Biological Switches 98

In Focus 5.1 Even the Bees Do It: Gene–Environment Interactions in Social Behavior 99

Twin Studies 100 The Twin Method 100 Results of Twin Studies 100

The Big Five 100 Temperaments 101

In Focus 5.2 Inhibited Children: Kagan’s Shyness Research 104 Attitudes and Beliefs 104 Aggressive and Altruistic Tendencies 105 Romantic Love and Marriage 105

Twins Reared Apart 106 Beyond Self-Report Measures 107 In Focus 5.3 Understanding Heritability and the

Heritability Index 108 Heredity versus Environment: Another False

Dichotomy 110 Summary 110

Gene–Environment Interaction 110 The Unique (Nonshared) Psychological Environment of

Each Family Member 111 Nonshared Environmental Influences within the

Family 111 Nonshared Environmental Influences Outside the

Family 112 Interactions among Nature–Nurture Influences 113 In Focus 5.4 Nature and (Not Versus) Nurture: Both

Matter 114 Genes Also Influence Environments 115 Search for Specific Gene–Behavior Connections 117 Causal Mechanisms: The Role of Neurotransmitter

Systems 118 Genetic and Environmental Influences on

Person × Situation Interactions 119

xvi � Contents

In Focus 5.5 Interaction of Biology and Environmental Stress in the Development of Depression 120

Social Environments Change the Expression of Genes, the Brain, and Personality 121

Stress Is Bad for Your Brain 121 Summary 122 Key Terms 123

�C H A P T E R 6

BRAIN, EVOLUTION, AND PERSONALITY 124

Brain–Personality Links 124 Biological Bases of Extraversion–Introversion

(H. J. Eysenck) 125 In Focus 6.1 An Early Effort: Physique and

Personality? 125 Brain Asymmetry and Personality Differences 128

Brain Asymmetry 128 The Behavioral Inhibition and Activation

Systems 128 Brain Asymmetry and Emotional

Reactivity 128 BIS, BAS, and Personality Traits 129

In Focus 6.2 BIS/BAS and Everyday Emotional Experiences 130 Summary and Implications 131

Probing the Biology of Neuroticism 132 Sensation Seeking: A Trait with a Specific Biological

Basis? 132 In Focus 6.3 Testosterone and the Antisocial

Personality 134 Biological Assessment and Change 135

New Windows on the Brain 135 The Amygdala and Personality 136

Linking Inhibition to Amygdala Activation 137 Biological Therapies 137

Antidepressants 138 Antipsychotics 138 Tranquilizers 139 Other Common Drugs 139

Evolutionary Theory and Personality 139 The Evolutionary Approach 140 In Focus 6.4 ‘‘There is Grandeur in this View of

Life. . .’’ 141 Implications of Evolution for Personality 142

Mate Selection 142 Sexual Jealousy 142 Sex Differences in Romantic and Sexual

Regrets 142 Explanations Are Not Justifications 143 Altruism 143

Evolutionary Theory and Inborn Constraints on Learning 144 Biological Preparedness 145

Specificity of Psychological Mechanisms 145

The Value of Discriminativeness in Coping with Stress 146

Summary 147 Key Terms 147 Taking Stock Part II: The Biological Level of

Analysis 148 Overview: Focus, Concepts, Methods 148 Enduring Contributions of the Biological Level 148

PART III

THE PSYCHODYNAMIC-MOTIVATIONAL LEVEL Prelude to Part III: the Psychodynamic-Motivational

Level 151

�C H A P T E R 7

PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORIES: FREUD’S CONCEPTIONS 155

Basic Assumptions: Unconscious Mental Determinism 157 The Unconscious 157 The Roads to the Unconscious 157

Dreams 158 Free Association 158

In Focus 7.1 Encouraging Free Association 159 Psychic Structure: Anatomy of the Mind 159

The Id: The Passions at the Core 159 Life Instincts (Eros) 160 Libido 160 Death Instincts (Thanatos) 160 The Pleasure Principle 161 Primary Process Thinking 161

The Ego: In the Service of Reality, Reason, Order 161 The Reality Principle 161

The Superego: High Court in Pursuit of Perfection, Ideals, Transcendence 162

Looking Back at Freud’s Theory of Mental Structures and Their Biological Bases 163

Conflict, Anxiety, and Psychodynamics 164 Conflict 164 In Focus 7.2 The Traumatic Freud–Allport

Meeting 165 Defense: Denial and Repression 166

Neurosis 167 When Defenses Fail: Neurotic Anxiety and

Conflict 167 Development of Neurotic Anxiety 167 The Meaning of Neurotic Acts 167

Origins of Neuroses 168 The Psychopathology of Everyday Life: ‘‘Mistakes’’

That Betray 169 Motivational Determinism: Unconscious

Causes 170

Contents � xvii

Personality Development 170 Stages of Development 170

Oral 170 In Focus 7.3 How Oral is the Infant? 170

Anal 171 Phallic 172 Latency 172 Genital 172

Fixation and Regression 172 Freud’s Theory of Identification 173

Impact of Freud’s Theories 174 Image of the Person 174 The Healthy Personality 174 Behaviors as Symptoms 175

Summary 175 Key Terms 176

�C H A P T E R 8

PSYCHODYNAMIC APPLICATIONS AND PROCESSES 177

Applications to Personality Assessment 178 The Core Beneath the Mask 178 Relying on the Clinician 178 Projective Methods 179

The Rorschach 179 The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) 181

Applying Psychodynamic Clinical Inferences to Gary W.: A Freudian View 181

In Focus 8.1 Gary’s Tat Stories 182 Murray, the Harvard Personologists, and Higher

Motives 184 Studying Lives in Depth 184 Assessment Strategy: Diagnostic Council 185 Higher-Order Motives 185 In Focus 8.2 Selecting U.S. Spies: the OSS Assessment

Project 187 Competence Motivation 188 Need for Achievement 188 Need for Power 190 Need for Intimacy 190 Implicit and Explicit Motives 190

Treatment and Change 191 The Beginnings: Free Association and Dream

Interpretation 191 Today’s View of Freud’s Theory of

Trauma 192 The Transference Relationship and Working

Through 193 Alternative Psychodynamic Interpretations

of Gary W. 194 Psychodynamic Processes: Anxiety and the

Unconscious 195 The Psychoanalytic Concept of Unconscious

Repression 195

Repression versus Suppression 196 Studying Repression 196

Perceptual Defense 197 The Long History of Perceptual Defense 197 Limitations of Early Laboratory Studies 198

Current View of Unconscious Processes: the Adaptive Unconscious 199

The Repressed Memory Debate: False Memories of Abuse? 200 Return of the Repressed 200 Did It Really Happen? 201 The Power of Suggestion 201

The Value of Self-Disclosure 201 Patterns of Defense: Individual Differences in Cognitive

Avoidance 202 Repression–Sensitization 202 Selective Attention 202 Blunting versus Monitoring Styles 204 The Role of Control: When Don’t You Want

to Know? 205 Matching the Medical Information to the Patient’s

Style 206 Summary 207 Key Terms 207

�C H A P T E R 9

POST-FREUDIAN PSYCHODYNAMICS 209

Toward Ego Psychology and the Self 210 Anna Freud and the Ego Defense

Mechanisms 210 Transformation of Motives 211

In Focus 9.1 ‘‘Little Anna’’ and Sigmund: a Freudian Slip? 212 Projection 213 Reaction Formation 213

In Focus 9.2 Testing Reaction Formation in the Lab 214 Rationalization 215 Sublimation 215

Carl Jung 215 Alfred Adler 218 Erich Fromm 220

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Personality Development 221

Stages of Psychosocial Development 222 Trust versus Mistrust 222 Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt 223 Initiative versus Guilt 223 Industry versus Inferiority 224 Adolescence and the Struggle for Identity versus Role

Confusion 224 Intimacy versus Isolation 225 Generativity versus

Self-Absorption/Stagnation 225

xviii � Contents

Integrity versus Despair 225 Erikson’s Contributions 226

Object Relations Theory and the Self 226 ‘‘Good–Bad Splitting’’ 227 The Development of Self 228

Attachment: The Roots of Object Relations 228 Attachment Theory 229 Early Attachment Relations: Secure/Insecure

Attachment Patterns 229 Attachment in Adult

Relationships 230 In Focus 9.3 Secure–Insecure Attachment and

Perceived Social Support in Close Adult Relationships 231

Kohut’s Theory 233 Relational Therapy and Restoration of the

Self 235 Summary 236 Key Terms 237 Taking Stock Part III: The Psychodynamic

Level 238 Overview: Focus, Concepts, Methods 238 Enduring Contributions of the Psychodynamic

Level 239

PART IV

THE BEHAVIORAL-CONDITIONING LEVEL Prelude to Part IV: The Behavioral-Conditioning

Level 241

�C H A P T E R 10

BEHAVIORAL CONCEPTIONS 245

The Behavioral Approach to Psychodynamics: Dollard and Miller 246

Neurotic Conflict: The Core 246 Recasting Conflict in Learning Terms 247

Primary Needs and Learning 248 Drive 249 Cue 250 Response 250 Reinforcement 250 Conflict 251 Anxiety and Repression 252

Reactions to Psychodynamic Behavior Theory 252

Classical Conditioning: Learning Emotional Associations 253

How Classical Conditioning Works 254 Higher-Order Conditioning 254 In Focus 10.1 A Behavioral Challenge to the

Psychodynamic Theory of Neurosis 257 From Trauma to Anxiety 257

Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning: B.F. Skinner’s Contributions 259

How Operant (Instrumental) Conditioning Works: Learning from Response Consequences 259

Skinner’s Basic Approach 259 Importance of the Situation: The Role of Stimuli 260 Rejection of Inferred Motives 261 Conditioned Generalized Reinforcers 263 Discrimination and Generalization in Everyday

Life 263 Shaping Behavior by Successive Approximations 264 The Patterning of Outcomes: Schedules of

Reinforcement 264 Superstitions: Getting Reinforced into

Irrationality 265 Punishment 266 Skinner’s Own Behavior 267 Summary of Two Types of Learning 267 In Focus 10.2 Skinner Analyzes Himself 267

Summary 268 Key Terms 269

�C H A P T E R 11

ANALYZING AND MODIFYING BEHAVIOR 270

Characteristics of Behavioral Assessments 271 Case Example: Conditions ‘‘Controlling’’ Gary W.’s

Anxiety 271 Direct Behavior Measurement 272

Situational Behavior Sampling 272 Finding Effective Rewards 274

Assessing Conditions Controlling Behavior 275 Functional Analyses: Basic Method 276 Functional Analyses: Case Example 278

Changing Emotional Reactions 279 Desensitization: Overcoming Anxiety 279 Conditioned Aversion: Making Stimuli

Unattractive 283 An Example: Treating Cocaine Dependency 283

Changing Behavior 284 Case Example: Hyperactivity 284 In Focus 11.1 Rewards May Backfire 285 Contingency Management: Contracting to Control

Drug Abuse 286 In Focus 11.2 Depression as Insufficient

Reinforcement 287 Symptom Substitution? 288 Evaluating the Consequences of Behavior, Not the

Person 289 Does Changing Behavior Change Personality? 289

Summary 290 Key Terms 291 Taking Stock Part IV: The Behavioral-Conditoning

Level 292 Overview: Focus, Concepts, Methods 292 Enduring Contributions of the Behavioral-Conditioning

Level 292

Contents � xix

PART V

THE PHENOMENOLOGICAL- HUMANISTIC LEVEL Prelude to Part V: The Phenomenological-Humanistic

Level 295

�C H A P T E R 12

PHENOMENOLOGICAL-HUMANISTIC CONCEPTIONS 297 Sources of Phenomenological-Humanistic

Perspectives 298 Defining Humanistic Psychology, Phenomenology,

Existentialism 298 In Focus 12.1 Pioneers at Different Levels of Analysis

at Work and War in the Same Place 299 Allport’s Functional Autonomy 300 Lewin’s Life Space 300 Phenomenology and Existentialism: The Here and

Now 303 Carl Rogers’s Self Theory 304

Unique Experience: The Subjective World 304 Self-Actualization 304 The Self 305 In Focus 12.2 Self-Actualization as a Need

(Maslow) 306 Consistency and Positive Regard 307 Self-Determination 308 Client-Centered Therapy 309 Rogers Reflects on His Own Work 311

George Kelly’s Psychology of Personal Constructs 312 The Person’s Constructs and Personality 312 Characteristics of Personal Constructs 313 Exploring Personal Constructs 314 A Personal Construct Conceptualization of

Gary W. 314 Rationality–Emotionality 314 Power and Control versus Dependence and

Weakness 315 Security–Liberty 315

Behavioral Referents for Personal Constructs 316 Exploring the Meaning Underlying Puzzling Behavior

Patterns 317 People as Scientists 317 Constructive Alternativism: Many Ways to See 318 Roles: Many Ways to Be 319 People Are What They Make of Themselves:

Self-Determination 319 Common Themes and Issues 320

The World as Perceived 320 Potential for Growth, Change, and Freedom 320 In Focus 12.3 Unexpected Similarities: Behavior

Theory and Existentialism 321 Summary 322 Key Terms 322

�C H A P T E R 13

THE INTERNAL VIEW 323

Exploring Internal Experience 323 Why Self Matters: Consequences of

Self-Discrepancies 324 The View Through the Person’s Eyes 326 In Focus 13.1 Effects of Self-Discrepancy:

Anorexia 327 Uses of Self-Assessments 328 The Q-Sort Technique 329 Interviews 330 The Semantic Differential 330 Nonverbal Communication 331 Studying Lives from the Inside: Psychobiography 332 Narrative Identity: Stories that Give Lives

Meaning 332 Enhancing Self-Awareness: Accessing One’s

Experiences 333 Group Experiences 334 Meditation 335 The Person’s Experience and the Unconscious 336 Accessing Painful Emotions: Hypnotic Probing 337 Peering into Consciousness: Brain Images of Subjective

Experiences 338 The Value of Self-Disclosure about Subjective

Experiences 338 In Focus 13.2 Caution: Rumination Can Increase

Depression 339 Change and Well-Being 339

The Meaningful Life, the Healthy Personality 339 Positive Psychology: Finding Human Strengths 340

Summary 343 Key Terms 343 Taking Stock Part V: The Phenomenological-Humanistic

Level 344 Overview: Focus, Concepts, Methods 344 Enduring Contributions of the

Phenomenological-Humanistic Level 345

PART VI

THE SOCIAL COGNITIVE LEVEL Prelude to Part VI: the Social Cognitive Level 347

�C H A P T E R 14

SOCIAL COGNITIVE CONCEPTIONS 349

Development of the Social Cognitive Level 349 Historical Roots 349 Linking Cognition and Social Behavior 350 In Focus 14.1 George Kelly: A Bridge to the Social

Cognitive Level 351 The Cognitive Revolution 352

Albert Bandura: Social Learning Theory 352 Learning Through Observation (Modeling) 352

xx � Contents

Observing Other People’s Outcomes: What Happens to Them Might Happen to You 354

Importance of Rules and Symbolic Processes 355 The Agentic, Proactive Person 356 Self-Efficacy 356 The Role of Self-Efficacy in Personality and Behavior

Change 357 Social Cognitive Reconceptualization of Personality: Walter

Mischel 357 Understanding Consistency in Personality: People as

Meaning Makers 358 Social Cognitive Person Variables 359 Encodings (Construals): How Do You See It? 360 Expectancies and Beliefs: What Will Happen? 361 Affects: Feelings and ‘‘Hot’’ Reactions 362 Goals and Values: What Do You Want? What Is It

Worth? 362 What Can You Do?: Overcoming Stimulus Control

through Self-Regulation 363 Contributors to Person Variables: A Quick Look at a

Long History 364 In Focus 14.2 Mischel’s View of His Mentors, Julian

Rotter and George Kelly 365 Personality Assessment 366

Measuring Self-Efficacy Expectancies 367 Individual Differences in If . . . Then . . .

Signatures 367 The Implicit Association Test (IAT) 369 Incorporating the Psychological Situation into

Personality Assessment 370 In Focus 14.3 Identifying Psychological

Situations 371 Personality Change and Therapy 371

Overview of Approach 371 Behavior Therapies Become Cognitive 372 Beck’s Cognitive Therapy 374

Common Themes 375 Summary 377 Key Terms 378

�C H A P T E R 15

SOCIAL COGNITIVE PROCESSES 379 Principles of Social Cognition Applied to Personality 379

Social Cognition and Personality 380 Schemas 380 Effects of Schemas 381

Directing Attention and Influencing Memory 381 Making Inferences 382 Self-Fulfilling Prophecies 382 Activation of Schemas 382

The Self 383 Self-Schemas 384 The Relational Self and Transference 384

The Relational Self 384 Transference Reconsidered 385

Perceived Stability of Self and Potential for Change 386

Multiple Self-Concepts: Possible Selves 387 Self-Esteem and Self-Evaluation 389

Costs of Self-Esteem Pursuit 390 Essential Features and Functions of the Self 390

Perceived Efficacy, Helplessness, and Mastery 391 Self-Efficacy Expectancies 391 Learned Helplessness and Apathy 391 Causal Attributions Influence Emotions and

Outcomes 392 Pride and Shame 393

In Focus 15.1 The Perception of Control and Meaningfulness 394 Perceived Control and Predictability 394

Reinterpreting Helplessness and Depression: Pessimistic Explanatory Styles 394

Learned Optimism 395 In Focus 15.2 The Illusory Warm Glow of

Optimism 396 Helpless versus Mastery-Oriented Children 397

Tuning in to the Wrong Thoughts: Anxiety 398 Enhancing Self-Efficacy When Expecting

Failure 398 Incremental versus Entity Theories: Your Own

Personality Theory Matters 398 Summary 400 Key Terms 401 Taking Stock Part VI: The Social Cognitive Level 402 Overview: Focus, Concepts, Methods 402 Enduring Contributions of the Social Cognitive

Level 403

PART VII

INTEGRATION OF LEVELS: THE PERSON AS A WHOLE Prelude to Part VII: Integration of Levels 405

�C H A P T E R 16

THE PERSONALITY SYSTEM: INTEGRATING THE LEVELS 409

What has to be Integrated?: Contributions from Each Level 410

Trait-Dispositional Level: Two Types of Consistency 410 Overall Average Differences in Types of Behavior

(Broad Traits) 411 If . . . Then . . . Situation–Behavior Signatures of

Personality 411 Biological Level 412 Psychodynamic-Motivational Level 412 Behavioral-Conditioning Level 413 Phenomenological-Humanistic Level 413

Contents � xxi

Social Cognitive Level 414 Toward Integration: Characteristics of the Personality

System 414 Application of Neural Network Information-Processing

Models to Personality 414 An Application: The Cognitive–Affective Personality

System (CAPS) 415 Two Basic Assumptions: Chronic Accessibility and

Stable Organization 416 Expressions of Personality Structure:If . . . Then . . .

Personality Signatures in CAPS 417 Personality Dispositions (Processing Dynamics) 418 The Rejection Sensitivity (RS) Signature: Finding Both

If . . . Then . . . and Trait Components 418 RS and Aggression 418 RS and Depression 419

The Narcissistic Signature 419 Personality Development and Change 420 Features and Findings Integrated from Each

Level 421 The Personality System in Action 423

External and Internal Sources of Activation 424 Expressions of the System—and Their

Consequences 424 Shaping One’s Own Future Situations: Selecting Dating

Partners 425 Applying CAPS to Real-Life Problems: Breast

Self-Examination 426 In Focus 16.1 When the ‘‘Situation’’ is Another Person:

The Personality of Close Relationships 427 Getting ‘‘Under the Hood’’: What is the Person

Thinking, Feeling, Doing in the Situation? 428 Putting It Together: Integrating the Levels 434 Self-Regulation for Purposeful Change 434

Summary 435 Key Terms 436

�C H A P T E R 17

SELF-REGULATION: FROM GOAL PURSUIT TO GOAL ATTAINMENT 437

Overview of Contributions to Self-Regulation from Each Level 438

Self-Regulatory Processes in Goal Pursuit 441 Personal Goals and Projects 441

Life Tasks 441 Goal Hierarchies 441 Standards and Self-Evaluation 442

Why Self-Regulate? 442 Automaticity 442 Beyond Automaticity to Willpower? 443 Self-Regulation Requires Both Motivation and

Competence 443 The Biological Level: Effortful Control 444

Brain Mechanisms in Effortful Control 444

The Trait-Dispositional Level 444 Ego Control and Ego Resilience 445

The Social Cognitive and Phenomenological-Humanistic Levels 446

Self-Regulation in Approach (Appetitive) Dilemmas 447 Delay of Gratification Ability 447

The Goal-Directed Delay Situation: The Marshmallow Test 447

Cooling Strategies: It’s How You Think That Counts 448 Strategic Self-Distraction 448 Hot and Cool Construal 449 Flexible Attention 450 Summary 451

Life-Span Implications of Self-Regulatory Competence 451 Stable Self-Regulatory Competence 451 Long-Term Protective Effects 451

Multiple Interacting Influences in Self-Regulation 453

Self-Regulation in Avoidance (Aversive) Dilemmas 454 Cognitive Appraisal of Stress: Dealing with Negative

Emotions 454 Cognitive Appraisal versus Hiding Negative

Feelings 454 In Focus 17.1 Overcoming the Stress of Dissecting a

Cadaver in Medical Training 454 Cognitive Transformations to Deal with

Stress 455 In Focus 17.2 Working Through, and Getting

Over, Emotional Hassles in Close Relationships 456

Interaction of Hot and Cool Systems in Self-Regulation 457

The Emotional (Hot) Brain/The Rational (Cool) Brain 457 Bodily Changes: Emotion in Stress 458 Fight or Flight Reactions 458 The Hot Amygdala 459 The Rational Cool Brain 459

Hot System/Cool System Interaction in Self-Regulation 459

In Focus 17.3 Neural Mechanisms in Impulsive Violence 460 Attention Control 460

Making Willpower Automatic: From Intentions to If . . . Then . . . Implementation 461

Social Emotions Enable Self-Regulation: Links to Evolution 461 The Downside of Self-Regulation 462

Conclusions 462 Potential for Self-Directed Change? 463

Summary 464 Key Terms 465

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�C H A P T E R 18

PERSONALITY IN ITS SOCIAL CONTEXT AND CULTURE 466

Culture and Personality 467 Mapping Cultural Differences with the Big

Five 467 Cross-Cultural and Intracultural Differences 467

Individualism versus Collectivism 468 Culture as a Shared Meaning System 469 In Focus 18.1 Cultural Differences in Emotional

Meanings: Appraising the Situation 470 Cultural Differences in the Organization of

Personality?: If . . . then . . . Cultural Signatures 471

An Integrated System View of Culture and Person Dynamics 472

In Focus 18.2 Using the Game of Chicken to Study the Culture of Honor 473

Summary: The Link between the Cultural and the Personal Meaning Systems 474 Culturally Specific Personality Dispositions 474 Summary: Interacting Influences in

Culture-Personality Links 474 In Focus 18.3 Studying Race-Based Rejection

Sensitivity 475 Gender and Sex Differences 476

Overview and Issues 476 Neonatal Sex Differences 476 Gender Concepts 476 Expression of Gender-Relevant Behavior 476

In Focus 18.4 Adult Sex Differences and their Implications 477 If . . . then . . . Patterns in Sex Differences 478

Interactions of Biology, Sex, and Culture in Response to Threat 478 Men Fight or Flee: Women Tend and

Befriend 479 Interactions in the Genesis of Gender Roles 480

Interacting Influences on Personality Development 481 Biology–Trait–Socialization Interactions:

Shyness 482 What Develops?: the Evolving Self 483

Taking Charge: Human Agency 483 The Self-Construction Process 483

The Self as an Active Agent 484 Self-Direction/Agency 484 The Relational Self 485

What Do People Need to Thrive?: The View from Multiple Levels 485

Potential for Change 487 The Role of Genetics 487 The Role of the Brain 487

Summary 489 Key Terms 489 Taking Stock Part VII: Integration of Levels: The Person as a Whole 490 Prospects for Personality Psychology 490 Personology Revisited 490

GLOSSARY 492

REFERENCES 508

NAME INDEX 549

SUBJECT INDEX 559

C H A P T E R 1 ORIENTATION TO PERSONALITY

� WHAT IS PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY? Stable, Coherent Individual Differences Predicting and Understanding Defining Personality

� THEORY AND LEVELS OF ANALYSIS IN PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY Early ‘‘Big Picture’’ Theory From Grand Theories to Levels of Analysis

� LEVELS OF ANALYSIS: ORGANIZATION OF THIS BOOK The Trait-Dispositional Level

IN FOCUS 1.1 The Personal Side of the Science The Biological Level The Psychodynamic-Motivational Level The Behavioral-Conditioning Level The Phenomenological-Humanistic Level The Social Cognitive Level Levels of Analysis Applied to Understand Unexpected

Aggression: The Texas Tower Killer Integration of Levels: The Person as a Whole Practical Applications: Coping and Personal Adaptation

� SUMMARY / KEY TERMS

� WHAT IS PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY? What is personality? The term ‘‘personality’’ has many definitions, but no single meaning is accepted universally. In popular usage, personality is often equated with social skill and effectiveness. For example, we may speak of someone as having ‘‘a lot of personality’’ or a ‘‘popular personality,’’ and advertisements for self-help courses promise to give those who enroll ‘‘more personality.’’

Less superficially, personality may be taken to be an individual’s most striking or dominant characteristic. In this sense, a person may be said to have a ‘‘shy personality’’ or a ‘‘neurotic personality,’’ for example, meaning that his or her dominant attribute appears to be shyness or neurotic behavior, respectively.

In personality psychology, the concept goes much beyond these meanings. It has many aspects, reflecting the richness and complexity of the phenomena to which the term refers. Here is an example of one aspect of the concept.

Stable, Coherent Individual Differences

Charles and Jane both are first-year college students taking an introductory course in economics. Their instructor returns the midterm examination in class, and both receive a D. Right after class, Charles goes up to the instructor and seems distressed and upset: He sweats as he talks, his hands tremble slightly, he speaks slowly and softly, almost whispering. His face is flushed and he appears to be on the verge of tears. He apologizes

1

2 � Chapter 1. Orientation to Personality

Different people respond differently to similar events.

(Source: Photo Alto/Getty Images)

for his ‘‘poor performance,’’ accusing himself bitterly: ‘‘I really have no good excuse—it was so stupid of me—I just don’t know how I could have done such a sloppy job.’’ He spends most of the rest of the day alone in his dormitory, cuts his classes, and writes a long entry in his diary.

Jane, on the other hand, rushes out of the lecture room at the end of class and quickly starts to joke loudly with her friend about the economics course. She makes fun of the course, comments acidly about the instructor’s lecture, and seems to pay little attention to her grade as she strides briskly to her next class. In that class, Jane participates more actively than usual and, surprising her teacher, makes a few excellent comments.

This example illustrates a well-known fact: Different people respond differently to similar events. One goal of personality psychology is to find and describe those individual differences between people that are psychologically meaningful and stable.

Though the concept of personality has to do with how an individual differs from others, it implies more. Personality refers to qualities of individuals that are relatively stable. If a person’s behavior changes from time to time, then it may not be indicative of personality. But sometimes the change in the person’s behavior can also be meaningful

1.1 Which two aspects of individuality give rise to the concept of personality?

and tell you something more about the individual. Suppose on the second day, the course in which Jane was more upset than Charles was English Composition in which their essays were read aloud to the class. Not only was the subject matter different from economics, they also learned that their classmates thought poorly of the essays they wrote. Now, does this additional information help make sense of their behaviors? If you answered yes, think about why.

One possibility is that with the new information about what happened on the second day, one can begin to see why their behaviors changed from the first day to the second day. One can begin to form a mental picture of the kind of person who doesn’t seem upset by a bad grade in Economics but is devastated by a poor grade in English and/or her peers’ unenthusiastic response to her essay. Similarly, one may form an impression of