The New Big 5: 5 Fundamental principles for an integrative science of personality
- Evolution and Human nature: Evolutionary theory (how we are alike with everyone else)
Humans are biological beings and (through natural selection) engage in behaviours that contribute to passing down of genes through
Human being is an individual variation of that general design
Social adaptations are made because all human beings live in social groups
Looking into how humans adapt to environmental problems to formulate how human design came about
Two fundamental tasks of getting ahead and getting along
Not everyone is able to adapt to the environment to the same degree, leading to broad individual differences
These broad individual differences are investigated further because they hold the greatest significance for meeting the adaptation demands in survival and social lfe
Likely used as basis for major life decisions across many cultures
- The Dispositional Signature (what you have)
Variations on a small set of broad dispositional traits implicated in adaptations are the most recognisable aspects of psychological individuality
Dispositional traits: Broad, nonconditional, decontextualised information about individuals
Broad individual differences in though, emotion, behaviour, that are relatively stable across situations and time
Rough outline of human individuality
Big- 5 substantial links with human biology:
- Substantial heritability
- Links with brain and neural systems
- Appear to derive from constitutionally-based childhood temperaments
- Relatively stable across life span
- Almost universal cross-culturally
- Characteristic Adaptations (social-cognitive approach; what you do)
Behaviour expressed through cognitive schemata, expectancies, goals and strivings, strategies and coping mechanisms, and responses to developmental challenges
- Life Narratives (psychodynamic; being of personality)
Human beings construct their own personal narratives to make meaning and identity as they engage with their social world
Story-telling has benefits:
- Shaping the self
- Promoting personality growth and development
- Helping individuals cope with adversities
- Differential role of Culture
Culture shape the display rules for dispositional trait expressions
Can influence the distribution of certain traits in populations
Shapes the timing and content of characteristic adaptations by making different activities available and more encouraged
Independent vs interdependent selves (individualistic vs collectivistic cultures)
Goals we have are shaped by cultural norms
Culture shapes life narratives
