Further Examining The Issue of Consistency

1
Further Examining The Issue of Consistency
Inconsistency in Behavior

• Attitudes and Behavior
• Personality and Behavior

2
The Big Five Personality Traits

• Growing evolution of evidence suggests there are
  five basic superordinate traits
• Disagreement about the exact nature of the 5
  traits
• Why?
• Factor analysis is used to identify factors
• Labeling of factors is subjective
• Results depend heavily on the items you start with

3
Factor One

• EXTRAVERSION (Sociability)
• Other labels Social adaptability
  Assertiveness Surgency
• Reflected through behavioral and affective
  channels
• Common adjectives
• Gregarious Energetic Timid (-)
• Outspoken Seclusive (-) Energetic

4
Factor Two

• AGREEABLENESS
• Other labels Conformity friendly compliance
  likeability
• Reflected through behavioral, affective, and
  cognitive channels
• Common adjectives
• Friendly Considerate Spiteful (-)
• Kind Cold (-) Good-natured

5
Factor Three

• CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
• Other labels Responsibility will to achieve
• Reflected mostly through cognitive channels
• Common adjectives
• Cautious Planful Frivolous (-)
• Serious Careless (-) Hard-working

6
Factor Four

• EMOTIONALITY (Neuroticism)
• Other labels Emotional control emotional
  lability
• Reflected through affective channels
• Common adjectives
• Nervous Anxious Calm (-)
• Excitable Composed (-) High-strung

7
Factor Five

• OPENESS TO EXPERIENCE
• Other labels Culture inquiring intellect
  intelligence
• Reflected mostly through cognitive channels with
  some affect and behavior input
• Common adjectives
• Imaginative Creative Unreflective (-)
• Polished Simple (-) Knowledgeable
• Factor with least consensus about its meaning

8
Additional Considerations of Big Five

• Are all traits included?
• What about evaluative words (e.g., good, bad,
  excellent, evil)
• What is the best level of specificity?
• Genetic Predispositions?
• Big-5 Traits tend to be 50 heritable
• Changes over time

9
Is Behavior Really Trait Like?

• Some say No
• Behavior across contexts tends to vary
• Low association between trait self-reports and
  behavior
• Walter Mischels personality coefficient (r
  .30)
• Why low correlations?
• Faulty trait self-reports of personality
• Faulty measurement of behavior
• Aggregation of behavior as solution

10
Theoretical Perspectives In Response to Low
Associations

• SITUATIONISM PERSPECTIVE (S ? P)
• Assumption
• Situations really drive behavior
• Differences in personality are irrelevant
• Data only partially supports this position

11
Theoretical Perspectives In Response to Low
Associations

• INTERACTIONISM PERSPECTIVE (P X S)
• Assumption Differences in personality and
  situations interact to cause behavior
• Suggests that dispositional tendencies vary in
  their expression depending on the situation.
• Example The effect of
• personality on behavior
• depends on strong vs.
• weak situations

Anxiety prone
Not prone
12
Individual Differences in Consistency

• People vary in the strength of their dispositions
• Self-monitoring
• High self-monitors get situational cues from
  environment
• Low self-monitors dont monitor situational cues
• Implication for self-monitoring on association
  between personality and behavior?
• People vary in consistency of specific traits
• Association between a personality trait and
  behavior is higher in people who see themselves
  as being consistent on the trait (Bem Allen)

13
Personalitys Influence on Situations

• Personality influences the situations people
  choose to enter (e.g. church, scuba diving, work,
  marriage partners, etc.)
• Personality evokes different responses from
  others
• Result
• Personality can influence situations such that
  the situation is actually different!!!

14
Personality Coefficient Revisited

• When analysis is restricted to examination of
  carefully conducted studies, coefficient is
  somewhat higher
• Size of correlation is limited by the fact that
  behavior is multi-determined
• Example

15
New View of Traits

• Personality is linked to behavior primarily when
  in a situation that brings it out.
• Patterns of linkages between situations and
  actions vary among people
• Represent individuality, uniqueness in peoples
  functioning.
• The underlying differences in peoples
  personality can dramatically influence whether
  the situation is likely to bring about a traits
  expression or not.