PSY405 Notes Lecture 42

Perspectives (Domains) of Personality Psychology

👉 Personality psychology studies who a person is, why they behave the way they do, and why people differ from each other. Instead of one single explanation, psychologists use six perspectives (also called domains). Think of them as six different lenses to look at the same human being.

The Six Domains

1. Dispositional – traits (what kind of person you are)
2. Biological – genes, brain, hormones
3. Intrapsychic – unconscious conflicts
4. Cognitive / Experiential – thoughts, feelings, self
5. Social & Cultural – society, culture, roles
6. Adjustment – stress, coping, health

📌 In this lesson, the first three are explained in detail, then the rest are overviewed.

1️⃣ DISPOSITIONAL PERSPECTIVE (Trait Approach)

What does “Dispositional” mean?

Disposition = a stable tendency or trait

👉 This approach studies how people differ from each other in stable ways.

In plain English:

Why are some people calm and others aggressive?

Why is one person confident and another insecure?

Why is someone always anxious no matter the situation?

These stable differences are called traits.

What does this perspective study?

It looks at differences in: Emotions (happy, angry, anxious) Self-concept (how you see yourself) Physiological characteristics (energy level, reactivity) Intrapsychic mechanisms (inner mental processes) 📌 It asks: Where do these differences come from? How do they develop? Why do they stay stable over time?

Definition: Trait

Trait = a stable internal characteristic that influences behavior across situations and time. 🧠 Examples: Honesty Aggressiveness Shyness Confidence 👉 If someone is honest at home, school, and work → that’s a trait, not a mood.

Goal of the Dispositional Psychologist

To:

Identify · Measure · Classify

the most important ways people differ from one another.

How Many Traits Exist?

This is a BIG question in personality psychology. Psychologists believe: Personality is made of common traits (shared by everyone)

But each person has a unique combination

How Do We Classify Traits?

1️⃣ Natural Language Approach

📖 Idea: If a trait is important, people will invent words for it. Examples: Honest Lazy Brave Kind 👉 Languages contain thousands of trait words → meaning traits matter in real life.

2️⃣ Statistical Approach

📊 Uses statistics to find traits. Key term: