Research & Teaching
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Personality
Overview

Research Summary

For Instructors

For Students





Does Personality Predict Risky Behavior?



Caspi, A., Begg, D., Dickson, N., Harrington, H., Langley, J., Moffitt, T.E., and Silva, P. A. (1997). Personality differences predict health-risk behaviors in young adulthood: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 1052-1063.

For Instructors

Links to the Lecture

Students tend to be complacent about psychological assessment; it is important to develop a bit of skepticism, especially regarding the construct and measurement of personality traits. Simulate the construction of a personality test following some of the suggestions in:

    Benjamin, L.T. (1983). A class exercise in personality and psychological assessment. Teaching of Psychology, 10, 94-95.

This exercise can be accomplished in large classes by passing around overhead transparencies on which students write their items. The relationship between personality and risky behavior can be examined by adding additional retrospective items on various risky behaviors.