Transcript The Psychosemantic Approach to Personality

The Psychosemantic
Approach to Personality
Shulamith Kreitler
Department of Psychology
Tel-Aviv University
Tel-Aviv, Israel
E-mail: [email protected]
Budapest symposium on “The Many Faces of Personality”, May 13-15, 2002
The psychosemantic approach denotes
a theory and methodology
based on
analyzing meaning assignment
tendencies of individuals
and clarifying their role in regard to the
major components of personality:
Traits
Emotions
Cognition
Behavior
Structure of the talk:
A. Presentation of the meaning system
B. Meaning and personality traits
C. Meaning and emotions
D. Meaning and cognition
E. Meaning and behavior
F. General conclusions
A. Presentation of the
meaning system
Developed by Kreitler and Kreitler,
since 1968 onward
The System of Meaning
(Kreitler & Kreitler)
Meaning is a cognitive concept.
It forms part of cognition.
It is the dynamic core of cognition.
Cognition is a system that works
with meaning, namely, it
responds to meanings, and
produces, elaborates, stores,
transforms and uses meanings.
Assumptions Underlying the
Meaning System
 Meaning is communicable
 Meaning is complex (multi-
component system)
 Meaning includes a personalsubjective part and an
interpersonally-shared part
Meaning is a pattern of
cognitive contents
focused on a referent.
A referent can be an external
or internal stimulus, an object,
a situation, an event, an
individual, limited or extended,
real, virtual or fantasized, etc.
The cognitive contents are
designed to express or
communicate information that
would enable identifying the
referent, handling it,
responding to it, or dealing
with it within the psychological
domain.
The cognitive content and the
referent form together the meaning
unit.
Referent – Meaning Value
Examples:
Budapest – is a wonderful city
An airport – serves for transportation
Symposium – brings people together
The cognitive content is called
meaning value because it
fulfills the role of expressing or
communicating meaning.
The meaning unit is characterized in terms
of the following 5 sets of variables:
Referent – Meaning Value
Meaning
Dimensions
Forms of
Types of
Expression
Relation
Forms of
Relation
Shifts in
Referent
The psychosemantic method consists in coding the
responses in terms of the following categories:
 Meaning dimensions: Content categories, such as
Feelings and Emotions, Actions, Sensory Qualities
(color, shape, etc.), Size, Weight
 Types of Relation: Relational categories, such as
Attributive, Comparative, Illustrative-Exemplifying,
Metaphoric-Symbolic.
 Forms of Relation : Formative categories, such as
Positive or Negative, Simple or Complex (e.g.,
Conjunctive, Disjunctive), Absolute or Modified (e.g.,
always, sometimes)
 Shifts of Referent : Categories of shifts to other
constructs, such as from Ocean to Lake, from House
to Windows
 Forms of Expression : Categories of means of
expression, such as words, drawings, movements,
denoted objects
Meaning Variables =
Meaning dimensions
and
Types of relation
and
Forms of relation
and
Shifts of referent
and
Forms of expression
Examples of Meaning Variables
 Meaning Dimensions
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Range of inclusion
Material
Function, Purpose & Role
Feelings & Emotions
Actions
Possessions &
Belongingness
Sensory qualities
Locational Qualities
Temporal Qualities
 Types of Relation
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Attributive
 Comparative
 Exemplifying-illustrative
 Metaphoric-symbolic
 Forms of Relation
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Positive, Negative
Conjunctive, Disjunctive
Normative
 Referent Shifts
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Identical to input
Part of input
Association
Opposite of input
 Forms of Expression
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Verbal
Gestural
Graphic
Tones & Sounds
Meaning Test
Instructions: Communicate to another
person the meaning (interpersonallyshared and personal) of a presented
set of stimuli, using any means of
communication considered adequate,
for example, words, drawings,
movements, etc.
Stimuli: Street, Bicycle, Sea (ocean), to
take, to kill, Telephone, etc.
Examples of Coded Responses
Stimulus: Meaning
Budapest Dimensions
Types of
Relation
Forms of Shifts of Forms of
Relation Referent Expression
A
beautiful
city
Contextual
Allocation /
Judgments
&
Evaluation
Attributive
Positive
None
Verbal
More
southern
than
Helsinki
Locational
Qualities
Comparative Positive
None
Verbal
I love it’s
center
Feelings &
Emotions
Attributive
Part of
(center)
Verbal
Positive
Meaning Profile
Frequencies (proportions) of
individual’s use of each meaning
variable in responding to the
stimuli of the meaning test.
Meaning Variables
Development of Meaning
Characteristics of the meaning system
 Complex
 Developing
 Selective
 Dynamic
 Referent-focused
 Self-embedded
Uses of Meaning Variables
1.
For characterizing an individual’s meaning
processing system
i.e., the individual’s meaning profile
2.
For characterizing specific contents
e.g., “I am in Budapest” refers to the Meaning
Dimension Locational Qualities
3.
For characterizing processes
e.g., solving a problem about causality involves the
Meaning Dimension Causes and Antecedents
4.
For characterizing structures or complexes
e.g., identifying the meaning variables
corresponding to a personality trait, a cognitive
act, an emotion, or an act of behavior
B. Meaning and Personality
Traits
What is the relation of meaning
variables to personality traits?
Research procedure applied for
answering this question:
 Administering to participants personality
questionnaire and the Meaning Test
 Correlating the scores on personality
tests with the meaning profiles
 The significant correlations constitute
the meaning profile of the trait.
Example A:
Pattern of meaning variables corresponding to
extraversion
 Meaning Dimensions
 Contextual allocation
 Range of inclusion
 Actions
 Results & Consequences (-)
 Size & dimensions
 Quantity & numbers
 Temporal qualities (-)
 Possessions
 Sensory qualities (-)
(experienced by referent)
 Sensory qualities (of object)
 Judgments & evaluations (-)
 Types of Relation
 Attributive
 Metaphoric (-)
 Forms of Relation
 Positive
 Referent Shifts
 Associations (-)
[Source: Kreitler, S. & Kreitler, H. (1990). The Cognitive Foundations of
Personality Traits. New York: Plenum]
Example B:
Meaning pattern of anality
 Meaning Dimensions  Types of Relation
 Size & dimensions
 Comparative
 Quantity & numbers
 Metaphoric (-)
 Temporal qualities
 Forms of Relation
 Possessions
 Absolute
 Functions
 Negative
 Referent Shifts
 To parts of stimulus
 To opposites
Applying the procedure to 280
personality traits showed that
Each personality trait
corresponds to a unique
pattern of meaning
variables.
Patterns of meaning variables
corresponding to different personality
characteristics and tendencies were
identified,
for example,
 Leadership (Fiedler’s LPC)
 Alexithymia
 Tendency for different defense
mechanisms, e.g., denial, repression,
projection
 Narcissism
 The “good” manager
Meaning Profile of the “Good” Manager
(based on the meaning variables common to the
meaning profiles of 12 managers in different high-tech
firms, evaluated by their peers and supervisors)
 Meaning Dimensions
 Contextual allocation
 Function
 Manner of operation
 Consequences
 Causes (-)
 Domain of application
 State
 Types of Relation
 Attributive
 Comparative: Difference
 Exemplifying (-)
 Metaphoric (-)
 Forms of Relation
 Positive
 Partial (not universal)
 Conjunctive
 Disjunctive
 Normative
 Desired (-)
 Referent Shifts
 Close shifts
 Medium shifts
 Distant shifts (-)
Extraversion
Meaning
Profile
Authoritorianism
Social desirability
Sociability
Depression
Paranoia
Uses of meaning patterns of traits
1.
Assessment of personality traits
Each trait corresponds to a unique pattern of
meaning variables
Step 1
Determine he patterns of meaning variables
corresponding to the trait
Step 2
Determine the individual’s meaning profile by means
of the Meaning Test
Step 3
Compare the traits pattern with the individual’s
meaning profile. Comparison – by correlation or by
counting shared components.
Shared components
Trait’s score
0 – 20%
Very weak
21 – 40%
Weak
41 – 60%
Moderate
61 – 80%
Strong
81 – 100%
Very strong
Validation studies:
The scores of traits based on
personality inventories and meaningbased traits were significantly
intercorrelated:
16 PF
r = .76 – r = .83
CPI
r = .50 – r = .86
Myers-Brigs r = .69 – r = .84
The meaning profile of an individual
provides information about the score of the
individual on 300+ personality traits
without administering any personality
inventory.
Advantages:
 Increased reliability
 Reduced costs (time, resources)
 Increased information (about
personality trends, anti-traits)
2.
Insight into the dynamics of a trait
Patterns of meaning variables corresponding to a
trait provide insight into the unique underlying
dynamics of the trait.
For example,
Extraversion – Low arousal
Social desirability – Evaluation, not emotions.
3.
Validating personality traits
Validating-by-meaning is a new procedure of
validating traits.
It consists in examining the manifestations of traits in
domains defined by the meaning variables in the
pattern corresponding to the trait.
For example, extraversion and anality.
Advantages of this validation:
1. Broad-ranging
2. Theoretically-anchored
3. Comprehensive
4. Systematic
4.
Comparing personality traits
Patterns of meaning variables enable comparison
between traits based on analyzing shared
meaning variables.
For example,
 “Cleanliness” and “punctuality”
 r = .56
 Shared: e.g., State, Quantity, Size
 “Cleanliness” and “authoritarianism”
 r = .58
 Shared: e.g., Evaluation, Cognitive qualities,
Structure, Metaphorization.
5.
Identifying personality traits
Formal properties of patterns of meaning variables
corresponding to traits:
a) No. of meaning variables in the pattern: 13.8 ± 6.5
b) No. of different kinds of meaning variables in the
pattern: 3 - 4
c) Proportion of different kinds of meaning variables
in the pattern:
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d)
e)
Meaning dimensions
Types of relation
Forms of relation
Referent shifts
54.75%
25.75%
5.90%
12.57%
Relative proportion of negative components in the
pattern: .38
Proportion of meaning dimensions and types of
relation in the pattern representing general
variables: .44
Number of Significant
Deviations
Conclusion
0–1
Trait-identical
2–3
Trait-similar
4–5
Trait-dissimilar
Examples
Trait-identical
Neuroticism, Narcissism
Trait-similar
Alexithymia, Trait-anxiety
Trait-dissimilar
MMPI scales
C. Meaning and Emotion
The tendency for each type
of emotional reaction
corresponds to a
pattern of meaning variables
Example
Pattern of meaning variables
corresponding to anxiety (as assessed by
7 scales)
Meaning Dimensions
Action (-)
Sensory qualities
Feelings & emotions (experienced)
Judgments & evaluations
Cognitive qualities
Types of Relation
Attributive (-)
Metaphoric
D. Meaning and Cognition
Meaning Variables and Cognition
Cognitive
contents, information
Cognitive processes
Cognitive acts,
structural schemas
Meaning values
Meaning variables
Meaning profiles
Meaning
1. Meaning Values and Cognitive Contents
Meaning values correspond to cognitive
contents and information.
Examples:
When the individual’s meaning profile shows
a high frequency of the meaning dimension
Locational Qualities, that individual may be
expected to have a lot of labels, words,
information in the domain of location, places,
routes.
2. Meaning Values and Cognitive Processes
Cognitive processes correspond to specific
meaning variables or combinations of
meaning variables.
Examples:
Shifting from one theme to another – High frequency of
referent shifts of medium degree (e.g., shifting to previous
response, or to superordinate referent)
Associations – High number of meaning values
(absolute and especially relative), high number of
different shifts of referent
Abstracting –High frequency of meaning dimension
Contextual Allocation
3. Meaning Profiles and Cognitive Acts
Cognitive acts correspond to specific
combinations of meaning variables that
constitute complete profiles.
Meaning Profile of Planning
 Meaning Dimensions
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Contextual allocation
Range of inclusion
Actions
Manner of operation
Antecedents & causes
Consequences & results
Range of application
Structure
Quantity & numbers
Locational qualities
Temporal qualities
Sensory qualities (-)
Judgments & evaluations
 Types of Relation
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Attributive
 Metaphoric-symbolic (-)
 Forms of Relation
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Propositional, positive &
negative
 Partial
 Conjunctive
 Disjunctive
 Shifts of Referent
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Close shifts: Parts, Former
responses, Grammatical
variations
 Medium shifts: Input
modified by addition,
Combination of several
former responses
 Distant shifts (-) :
Associations, Labels
 Forms of Expression

Verbal, Verbal description
of drawings
Further cognitive acts whose
meaning profiles were identified:
 Memory for verbal material / names /
faces
 Analogical thinking
 Inventive thinking
 Creativity
 Exploration and curiosity
 Various cognitive styles (e.g.,
impulsiveness vs. reflectivity, monitoring vs.
blunting)
E. Meaning and Behavior
Contents and processes of meaning
affect behavior only indirectly and in
multiple ways
The Cognitive Orientation Model of Behavior Evocation
(Kreitler and Kreitler)
INPUT
I
What is it?
Input identification
(Meaning Action)
Conditioned/Uncondition
ed response; Defensive
reaction
IF UNIDENTIFIED OR IDENTIFIED AS SIGNAL FOR MOLAR ACTION
II
What is it to me /
for me? How am I
involved?
Meaning generation
(beliefs)
Action required or not
IF ACTION REQUIRED
III
Which action?
Beliefs of 4 types
representing deeper
meaning
Behavioral Intent
CO Cluster
IF BEHAVIORAL INTENT
IV
How to perform
action?
Behavioral Program
BEHAVIOR
Effects of meaning
TRAITS
EMOTIONS
Meanings
Input perception
TRAITS
EMOTIONS
TRAITS
EMOTIONS
TRAITS
EMOTIONS
Meanings
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Input identification
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Personal involvement /
Requirement for action
Meanings
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Behavioral intent
Meanings
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Behavioral program
Meanings
Meanings
Action
F. General Conclusions
The psychosemantic approach to personality
 Provides new insights into the nature,
functioning and manifestations
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of personality traits
of emotions
of cognitive acts
 Provides new possibilities for the assessment
 of personality traits
 of emotions
 of cognitive acts
 Provides new perspectives for the functioning
and effects of MEANING in regard
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to personality traits
to emotions
to cognitive acts