Distribution of Extraversion Scores in a Sample Higher bars mean that more people have scores of that level. As you can see, most people report being moderately, but not extremely, extraverted, with fewer people reporting very high or very low scores. The figure below shows the distribution of Extraversion scores from a survey of thousands of people. In fact, when personality psychologists measure traits like Extraversion, they typically find that most people score somewhere in the middle, with smaller numbers showing more extreme levels. Instead, they are talking about people who score relatively low or relatively high along a continuous distribution. This means that when personality psychologists talk about Introverts and Extraverts, they are not really talking about two distinct types of people who are completely and qualitatively different from one another. According to trait psychologists, there are a limited number of these dimensions (dimensions like Extraversion, Conscientiousness, or Agreeableness), and each individual falls somewhere on each dimension, meaning that they could be low, medium, or high on any specific trait.Īn important feature of personality traits is that they reflect continuous distributions rather than distinct personality types. Personality traits reflect basic dimensions on which people differ ( Matthews, Deary, & Whiteman, 2003). Īlthough there are many ways to think about the personalities that people have, Gordon Allport and other “personologists” claimed that we can best understand the differences between individuals by understanding their personality traits. But research shows that these traits and others are quite variable within individuals. “Are you an introvert”? In popular culture it’s common to talk about people being introverts or extroverts as if these were precise descriptions that meant the same thing for everyone. Personality psychologists try to describe and understand these differences. Each time we use one of these words, words like “talkative,” “quiet,” “active,” or “anxious,” to describe those around us, we are talking about a person’s personality -the characteristic ways that people differ from one another. Some worry a lot, others almost never seem anxious. Some are active whereas others are couch potatoes. Some people are very talkative while others are very quiet. When we observe people around us, one of the first things that strikes us is how different people are from one another.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |