Showing papers on "Personality published in 1984"

Subjective Well-Being

Abstract: The literature on subjective well-being (SWB), including happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect, is reviewed in three areas: measurement, causal factors, and theory. Psychometric data on single-item and multi-item subjective well-being scales are presented, and the measures are compared. Measuring various components of subjective well-being is discussed. In terms of causal influences, research findings on the demographic correlates of SWB are evaluated, as well as the findings on other influences such as health, social contact, activity, and personality. A number of theoretical approaches to happiness are presented and discussed: telic theories, associationistic models, activity theories, judgment approaches, and top-down versus bottom-up conceptions.

Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states

Abstract: A number of apparently diverse personality scales—variously called trait anxiety, neuroticism, ego strength, general maladjustment, repression-sensitization, and social desirability—are reviewed and are shown to be in fact measures of the same stable and pervasive trait. An integrative interpretation of the construct as Negative Affectivity (NA) is presented. Extensive data indicate that high-NA individuals are more likely to experience discomfort at all times and across situations, even in the absence of overt stress. They are relatively more introspective and tend differentially to dwell on the negative side of themselves and the world. Further research is needed to explain the origins of NA and to elucidate the characteristics of low-NA individuals. Rorer and Widiger (1983) recently bemoaned that in the field of personality "literature reviews appear to be disparate conglomerations rather than cumulative or conclusive integrations" (p. 432). We intend this review to be an exception to this discouraging statement. Distinct and segregated literatures have developed around a number of specific personality measures that, despite dissimilar names, nevertheless intercorrelate so highly that they must be considered measures of the same construct. Following Tellegen (1982), we call this construct Negative Affectivity (NA) and present a comprehensive view of the trait that integrates data from a wide variety of relevant research. We are not the first to note this broad and pervasive personality trait. The Eysencks, for example, (e.g. Eysenck & Eysenck, 1968) have done extensive research in the area, traditionally calling the dimension "Neuroticism," although in their most recent revision (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1975) they suggest a label, "emotionality," that is similar to our own. Nonetheless, in discussing the relation between our interpretation and previous views of the domain, we argue for the preferability of our term, Negative Affectivity. We also present

The determinants of parenting: A process model.

Abstract: This essay is based on the assumption that a long-neglected topic of socialization, the determinants of individual differences in parental functioning, is illuminated by research on the etiology of child maltreatment. Three domains of determinants are identified (personal psychological resources of parents, characteristics of the child, and contextual sources of stress and support), and a process model of competent parental functioning is offered on the basis of the analysis. The model presumes that parental functioning is multiply determined, that sources of contextual stress and support can directly affect parenting or indirectly affect parenting by first influencing individual psychological well-being, that personality influences contextual support/stress, which feeds back to shape parenting, and that, in order of importance, the personal psychological resources of the parent are more effective in buffering the parent-child relation from stress than are contextual sources of support, which are themselves more effective than characteristics of the child.

The independence of positive and negative affect.

Abstract: Five studies on the relation between positive and negative affect are reported. In Studies 1 and 2 we found that positive feelings were remembered as being nearly independent of negative feelings in the past year, but the two types of affect were moderately negatively correlated for the past month. In Studies 3 and 5, subjects completed daily mood reports for 70 and 30 days, respectively. In Study 4, subjects completed three-week, daily, and moment mood reports and also filled out reports when they experienced strong emotions. The principal finding was that the relation between positive and negative affect differed greatly depending on the time frame. The strongest negative correlation between the two affects occurred during emotional times. The correlation decreased in a linear fashion as the time span covered increased logarithmically. It appears that positive and negative affect are independent in terms of how much people feel in their lives over longer time periods. Researchers need to focus on the processes that underlie both positive and negative affect and that are responsible for producing their relative independence.

Handbook of psychological assessment

Abstract: Preface.Chapter 1: Introduction.Organization of the Handbook.Role of the Clinician.Patterns of Test Usage in Clinical Assessment.Evaluating Psychological Tests.Validity in Clinical Practice.Clinical Judgment.Phases in Clinical Assessment.Recommended Reading.Chapter 2: Context of Clinical Assessment.Types of Referral Settings.Ethical Practice of Assessment.Test Bias and Use with Minority Groups.Selecting Psychological Tests.Computer-Assisted Assessment.Recommended Reading.Chapter 3: The Assessment Interview.History and Development.Issues Related to Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.The Assessment Interview and Case History.Mental Status Examination.Interpreting Interview Data.Structured Interviews.Recommended Reading.Chapter 4: Behavioral Assessment.History and Development.Issues Related to Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.Strategies of Behavioral Assessment.Recommended Reading.Chapter 5: Wechsler Intelligence Scales.Testing of Intelligence: Pro and Con.History and Development.Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.Meaning of IQ Scores.Cautions and Guidelines in Administration.WAIS-III /WISC-III Successive Level Interpretation Procedure.Wechsler Subtests.Assessing Brain Damage.Assessing Additional Special Populations.Short Forms.Recommended Reading.Chapter 6: Wechsler Memory Scales.History and Development.Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.Interpretation Procedure.Recommended Reading.Chapter 7: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory.History and Development.Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.Administration.Interpretation Procedure.Computerized Interpretation.Validity Scales.Clinical Scales.Two-Point Codes.MMPI-2 Content Scales.MMPI-A Content Scales.Harris-Lingoes and Si Subscales.Critical Items.MMPI-2 and MMPI-A Supplementary Scales.Recommended Reading.Chapter 8: Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory.History and Development.Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.Interpretation Procedure.Modifying Indices (Validity Scales).Clinical Personality Patterns.Severe Personality Pathology.Clinical Syndromes.Severe Syndromes.Recommended Reading.Chapter 9: California Psychological Inventory.History and Development.Comparison with the MMPI.Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.Interpretation Procedures.Vector Scale Interpretation.Individual Scales.Special Purpose Scales.Configural Interpretation.Recommended Reading.Chapter 10: Rorschach.History and Development.Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.Approaching Consensus on Rorschach Validity.Administration.Scoring.Structural Summary.Interpretation.Recommended Reading.Chapter 11: Thematic Apperception Test.History and Development.Theoretical Perspectives.Reliability and Validity.Assets and Limitations.Administration.Typical Themes Elicited.Scoring Procedures.Interpretation.Recommended Reading.Chapter 12: Screening and Assessing for Neuropsychological Impairment.History and Development.Interviewing for Brain Impairment.Tests for Screening and Assessing for Neuropsychological Impairment.Tests of Visuoconstructive Abilities.Mental Activities (Attention and Speed of Information Processing).Memory and Learning.Verbal Functions and Academic Skills.Tests of Motor Ability.Executive Functions.Emotional Status and Level of Adjustment.Recommended Reading.Chapter 13: Brief Instruments for Treatment Planning, Monitoring, and Outcome Assessment.Selecting Brief Instruments.Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R) and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI).The Beck Depression Inventory.State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).Recommended Reading.Chapter 14: Psychological Assessment and Treatment Planning.Development and Approaches to Treatment Planning.A Systematic Approach to Treatment Selection.Functional Impairment.Social Support.Problem Complexity/Chronicity.Coping Style.Resistance.Subjective Distress.Problem-Solving Phase.Recommended Reading.Chapter 15: Psychological Report.General Guidelines.Format for a Psychological Report.Sample Reports.Recommended Reading.Appendix A: Test Publishers/Distributors.Appendix B: Percentile Rankings for Wechsler Deviation IQS.Appendix C: Conversion Formulas and Difference Scores for Determining Magnitude (.05 Level) of Fluctuations for Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed. WAIS-III) Additional Groupings.Appendix D: Conversion Formulas and Difference Scores for Determining Magnitude (.05 Level) of Fluctuations for Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd ed. WISC-III) Factor Scores and Additional Groupings.Appendix E: Directions for Completing Appendix E: Worksheet for Determining Magnitude of WISC-III Subtest Fluctuations.Appendix F: Guidelines for Hypothesizing Subtest Strengths and Weaknesses.Appendix G: Directions for Hand Scoring the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) Validity and Clinical Scales.Appendix H: Feedback Statements for the MMPI-2 Clinical Scales.Appendix I: Descriptive Statistics for Nonpatient Adults (N = 600).Appendix J: Maturational Guidelines for Bender Gestalt Designs.Appendix K: Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test Scoring Sheet.Appendix L: Norms for the Standard Administration of the RAVLT.WISC-IV Supplement.References.Author Index.Subject Index.

Life-Span Development and Behavior

Abstract: Contents: M.M. Seltzer, C.D. Ryff, Parenting Across the Life Span: The Normative and Nonnormative Cases. M.M. Baltes, S.B. Silverberg, The Dynamics Between Dependency and Autonomy: Illustrations Across the Life Span. E.A. Skinner, J.G. Wellborn, Coping During Childhood and Adolescence: A Motivational Perspective. D.F. Alwin, Aging, Personality, and Social Change: The Stability of Individual Differences Over the Adult Life Span. A. Assmann, Wholesome Knowledge: Concepts of Wisdom in a Historical and Cross-Cultural Perspective. A. von Eye, K. Kreppner, H. WeBels, Log-Linear Modeling of Categorical Data in Developmental Research. R.M. Lerner, J.R. Miller, J.H. Knott, K.E. Corey, T.S. Bynum, L.C. Hoopfer, M.H. McKinney, L.A. Abrams, R.C. Hula, P.A. Terry, Integrating Scholarship and Outreach in Human Developmental Research, Policy and Service: A Developmental Contextual Perspective.

Personality: Theory and Research

Abstract: Chapter 1. Personality Theory: From Everyday Observations to Systematic Theories. Chapter 2. The Scientific Study of People. Chapter 3. A Psychodynamic Theory: Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory of Personality. Chapter 4. Freud's Psychoanalytic Theory: Applications, Related Theoretical Conceptions, and Contemporary Research. Chapter 5. A Phenomenological Theory: Carl Roger's Person-Centered Theory of Personality. Chapter 6. Rogers's Phenomenological Theory: Applications, Related Theoretical Conceptions, and Contemporary Research. Chapter 7. Trait Theories of Personality: Allport, Eysenck, and Cattell Chapter 8. Trait Theory: The Five-Factor Model Applications and Evaluation of Trait Approaches to Personality. Chapter 9. Biological Foundations of Personality. Chapter 10. Behaviorism and the Learning Approaches To Personality. Chapter 11. A Cognitive Theory: George A. Kelly's Personal Construct Theory of Personality. Chapter 12. Social-Cognitive Theory: Bandura and Mischel. Chapter 13. Social-Cognitive Theory: Applications, Related Theoretical Conceptions, and Contemporary Research. Chapter 14. Personality in Context: Iinterpersonal Relations, Culture, and Development Across the Course of Life. Chapter 15. Assessing Personality Theory and Research.

Parental psychiatric disorder: effects on children.

Abstract: A 4-year prospective study was undertaken of the families of 137 newly referred English speaking psychiatric patients with children at home aged under 15 years. The group comprised a representative sample of such patients living in one inner London borough. Teacher questionnaires were obtained yearly for all children of school age in the families, and for age-, sex- and classroom-matched controls. Detailed standardized interviews were undertaken yearly with parent-patients and with their spouses. A comparison was also made with a control group of families in the general population with 10-year-old children. Patients' families differed in terms of a higher rate of psychiatric disorder in spouses and a much higher level of family discord. Both parental mental disorder and marital discord tended to persist over the 4-year period, but persistence of both was much more marked when the parent had a personality disorder. The children of psychiatric patients had an increased rate of persistent emotional/behavioural disturbance, which tended to involve disorders of conduct. The psychiatric risk to the children was greatest in the case of personality disorders associated with high levels of exposure to hostile behaviour. Boys showing temperamental risk features were most vulnerable to the ill-effects associated with parental mental disorder.

Factor analysis and construct validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory.

Abstract: Three studies are reported which provide evidence for the validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Factor analysis of the NPI in Study 1 revealed four factors which were labelled: Exploitativeness/Entitlement, Leadership/Authority, Superiority/Arrogance, and Self-absorption/Self-admiration. In Study 2, scores on the NPI were correlated with basic dimensions of personality, and with relevant self-variables. Narcissism scores were positively related to dominance, exhibitionism, extraversion, self-esteem, and self-monitoring, among others; and negatively related to abasement, deference, and social anxiety, among others. Correlations between the NPI factors and personality variables are also examined. In Study 3, peer ratings of narcissism were obtained and it was found that these were strongly related to scores on the NPI. Taken together, the three studies provide considerable evidence for the construct validity of the NPI, and avenues for future research are suggested.

Personality, motivation, and performance: A theory of the relationship between individual differences and information processing.

Abstract: We introduce a model to relate the personality dimensions of introversion- extraversion, achievement motivation, and anxiety to efficient cognitive performance. We show how these personality dimensions in combination with situational moderators (e.g., success, failure, time pressure, incentives, time of day, and stimulant drugs) affect the motivational constructs of arousal and effort. We propose a general information-processing model that accounts for the systematic effects of these motivational states on certain task components (sustained information transfer and some aspect of short-term memory). We combine empirical generalizations about task components in a structural model and derive testable predictions that differentiate alternative motivational hypotheses.

Approaches to personality inventory construction: A comparison of merits.

Abstract: The three major approaches to personality scale construction, the external, inductive, and deductive strategies, are discussed and their rationales compared. It is suggested that all scales should possess validity, communicability, and economy. The relative importance of these characteristics, however, varies with the purpose for which the instrument is being constructed. A review of more than a dozen comparative studies revealed no consistent superiority of any strategy in terms of validity or predictive effectiveness. But deductive scales normally communicate information more directly to an assessor, and they are definitely more economical to build and to administer. Thus, wherever there is a genuine choice, the simple deductive approach is recommended. Furthermore, self-rating scales narrowly but consistently outdo questionnaire scales in terms of validity and are clearly superior in terms of communicability and economy. There may not be many situations in which the widespread preference for questionnaires is justified. It is concluded that the more commonsensical approaches to personality measurement have a lot to offer. Anyone who is bold enough today to develop a general-purpose personality inventory has basically three options for how to go about it. They are the external approach (also called "empirical," or "criterion group"), the inductive approach (also called "internal," "internal consistency," or "itemetric"), and the deductive approach (also called "rational," "intuitive," or "theoretical"). This article reviews their respective merits on both a priori and empirical grounds. For clarity's sake I will exaggerate the differences between the philosophies associated with these three approaches.

Person x situation interactions: choice of situations and congruence response models.

Abstract: Two models of Person X Situation interaction were examined. The first model predicts that there is a relation between personality and the situations people naturally choose to be in; the second model predicts that when there is congruence between the situation and personality, a person will experience more positive and less negative affect. These models were investigated by using mood and activity reports gathered on 3,512 occasions sampled randomly from the everyday lives of 42 subjects. Situational dimensions were related to some but not all personality variables investigated. Need for order predicted choice of typical situations and extraversion correlated with time spent recreating socially. However, it was found that individuals did not spend more time in those settings where they experienced more positive emotions nor less time in those situations where they experienced more negative affect. In terms of the affect-congruence model, several predicted relations were found, but several others did not reach significance. The failure of the affect-congruence model to be consistently supported was probably because the affect of individuals was relatively consistent across situations. The present results suggest that although some theoretically meaningful Person X Situation interactions do occur, they are not necessarily strong or easily predictable.

A scale to measure locus of control of behaviour.

Abstract: Many behaviour, psychotherapy and healthy life-style programmes require subjects to take responsibility for the control of the old unwanted behaviours or to be responsible for maintaining new desired behaviours after therapy has ended. A scale to measure the locus of control of behaviour would be valuable if it could predict persons likely to relapse following apparently successful therapy. A 17-item Likert-type scale to measure this construct was developed and shown to have satisfactory internal reliability, to be test-retest reliable in the absence of treatment, to be independent of age, sex and social desirability, and to distinguish clinical disorder from normal non-clinical subjects. Furthermore, change towards internality (a reduced LCB score) during therapy was shown to predict maintenance or, alternatively, change towards externality (an increase or no change in the LCB score) was shown to predict relapse 10 months later in treated stutterers. The scale was shown to be related to the personal control factor of the Rotter I-E scale but to be more powerful a predictor of relapse than this personal control subscale or the full Rotter scale.

Personality and vocational interests in an adult sample

Abstract: Johns Hopkins University This article examines the relations between Holland's vocational typology and the Neuroticism-Extraversion-Openness (NEO) model of personality in a sample of men (N = 217) and women (N = 144) aged 21 to 89 \bung and old adult groups were similar to college students m most vocational interests, and the same pattern of sex differences was found. Correlations between Self-Directed Search (SDS) scales and NEO scores showed strong associations of Investigative and Artistic interests with Openness to Experience, and of Social and Enterprising interests with Extraversion Individuals interested primarily in Conventional occupations tended to be closed to experience. These associations were generally confirmed when spouse ratings were used as a non-self-report measure of personality traits in a subset of the subjects The NEO complements the Holland typology, primarily m providing measures of Neuroticism Research on the possible utility of supplementing vocational interest data with personality measures is suggested, and some implications for vocational counseling among older adults are discussed Historically, vocational interests and personality traits have been considered relatively distinct areas of inquiry. Instruments such as Strong's (1943) Vocational Interest Blank (SVIB) and the Kuder Preference Inventory (1960) were empirically derived and pragmatically oriented guides to occupational choice. By contrast, with such notable exceptions as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the California Psychological Inventory, personality models (e.g., Cattell, 1946; Eysenck, 1960; Murray, 1938) have often been theoretical in orientation, and personality measures have usually been constructed through rational or factor analytic methods. Although relations between the two domains have long been hypothesized (e.g., Darley & Hagenah, 1955; Strong, 1943), early research results were inconsistent. Indeed, Super (1957) concluded that "personality traits seem to have no clear-cut and practical significant differential relation to vocational preference" (pp. 240-241). In part, this conclusion reflects the use of older personality measures such as the

Yea-Saying, Nay-Saying, and Going to Extremes: Black-White Differences in Response Styles

Abstract: This paper reports an important racial difference in patterns of responding to Likert-type items: blacks are more likely than whites to use the extreme response categories, particularly the positive end of agree-disagree scales. This finding appeared consistently in several large-scale nationally representative surveys of youth. Response style indexes (Agreement, Disagreement, Acquiescence, and Extreme Responding) display ranges of individual differences and cross-time stabilities comparable to commonly used personality measures. Response styles show no consistent differences by sex, and no appreciable correlation w;ith indicators of family socioeconomic level or with educational accomplishments and aspirations. For both races, agreement tendencies are stronger among those in the South, especially in nonmetropolitan areas; however, controlling for geography does little to reduce overall black-white differences. The findings reveal potential pitfalls in dealing with racial differences in survey and personality measures, and illustrate the need for great caution in reporting and interpreting such differences. Jerald G. Bachman is Program Director and Patrick M. O'Malley is Senior Study Director at the Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research, The University of Michigan. The authors thank Pamela R. E. Kittel for her assistance in the preparation of this report. Public Opinion Quarterly Vol 48:491-509 ? 1984 by the Trustees of Columbia University Published by Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc. 0033-362X/84/0048-491/$2.50 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.138 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 06:05:10 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 492 JERALD G. BACHMAN AND PATRICK M. O'MALLEY others are more likely to use the middle values (e.g., mostly agree, mostly disagree) (Hamilton, 1968). As Couch and Keniston pointed out, one perspective is to view such response styles as "primarily a statistical nuisance that must be controlled or suppressed by appropriate mathematical techniques," but another perspective treats response styles as "a manifestation of a deep-seated personality syndrome" (1960:151). Both perspectives are relevant for the present study. For several years we have been aware of some fairly substantial differences between black and white high school seniors in their patterns of responding to Likert-type questionnaire items. Specifically, blacks are more likely than whites to agree in response to agree-disagree items, and to use the extreme ends of response scales. We did not originally set out to search for these differences in response styles; rather, we discovered them serendipitously in the process of making more general comparisons of blacks and whites across a wide range of questions tapping attitudes, opinions, and personality dimensions. But once aware of the overall differences in response distributions, we considered it worthwhile to investigate them further. The present paper, based on those further investigations, is intended to document the extent of black-white differences in response styles, to explore some possible explanations, and to illustrate some special problems and pitfalls facing those who analyze and report racial differences in attitudes and personality.

Children's understanding of dispositional characteristics of others.

Abstract: RHOLES, WILLIAM S., and RUBLE, DIANE N. Children's Understanding of Dispositional Characteristics of Others. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 550-560. 2 studies are reported that concern children's use of personality traits and abilities to predict the behavior of other persons. In Study 1, subjects first observed vignettes that were designed to reveal an actor's abilities or personality traits. Then, they made predictions for the actor's behavior in other, related behavioral situations. In Study 2, subjects were told about 1 instance of an actor's behavior, and they were provided with covariation information that implied that the actor's behavior either was or was not caused by personal dispositions. Subjects then predicted the actor's behavior in related situations. In both studies the older subjects (9-10 years old and older) predicted that the actor's behaviors in new situations would be relatively consistent with the behavior that was observed or described, when the behavior was perceived to be a function of dispositional causal factors. Younger children (5-7 years old), on the other hand, did not predict that the actors' behaviors would be consistent across situations (regardless of their perceptions of the causes of the actors' behavior), even though they labeled the actors' behaviors with appropriate personality trait or ability terms (Study 1) and were able to use covariation information cues to infer dispositional causes (Study 2). These results suggest that younger children do not regard dispositional factors as stable, abiding characteristics of other persons.

Adolescent sons of alcoholics: neuropsychological and personality characteristics.

Abstract: Adolescent sons of alcoholics and nonalcoholics were compared on a battery of intellectual, neuropsychological, personality, and behavioral measures. The former group demonstrated certain neuropsychological deficits in perceptual-motorability, memory, and language processing. They also had auditory and visual attertbonal impairments and a lower level of achievement in reading comprehension. In addition, the sons of alcoholics presented a more neurotic personality profile than sons of nonalcohoiics. They were, however, less impulsive than the comparison group. More developmental and familial problems were noted in the alcoholics' offspring as well. The implications of these findings for understanding the causes and consequences of alcoholism are discussed.

Objective and subjective components in mothers' perceptions of their children from age 6 months to 3 years.

Abstract: There has been considerable discussion in the literature about the meaning of parent reports of child characteristics, particularly in the area of temperament. Some have suggested that the reports are essentially reflections of the child's ac tual, objectifiable behavior; others, that they are essentially reflections of the parents' cognitive characteristics. In the most comprehensive way to date, the current study evaluated the model that parent reports consist of both objective and subjective factors. In the context of a longitudinal study, 27 different mother-report scales were collected at the ages 6, 13, 24, and 36 months. The scales measured various constructs of temperament, mother-child relationship, child competence, and problem behavior. Factor analysis of the scales indicated that mothers' perceptions of their children were differentiated in meaningful and consistent ways throughout the years. For example, the difficultness scales from different ages loaded on the same factor and were relatively distinct from other temperament scales. Large sets of bivariate and multivariate correlations be tween the mother-report scales and mother personality, family background, ob servational, and father-report variables led to the conclusion that there is robust support for the model that mother reports consist of both objective and subjec tive components.