Karen J. Prager, Ph.D., A.B.P.P.

Professor of Psychology and  Program Head for Gender Studies

Diplomate in Family Psychology

The University of Texas at Dallas

More Information About Dr. Prager's work

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Research on Intimacy

Processes in Couple Relationships 

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Lecture Outline

Trait Approach: Relevant Research

Burger comments "The use of trait measures has become so entrenched in personality research today that for many psychologists, personality research has become synonymous with the measurement and examination of traits."

On what evidence does he base his statement?

We will cover:

Type A-Type B personality types

Social anxiety

Emotion

Type A & Type B Personality dimensions

What motivated Friedman & Roseman (1974) to discover the "Type A" personality?

Coronary-prone behavior pattern

 Type A personality dimension

Type A and achievement:  facilitators & obstacles

Type A personality and heart attack

Are there exceptions to the predominant finding?

What is the best explanation for the exceptions?

Social Anxiety

Anxiety specifically related to social interactions (or anticipated social interactions).  Also shyness.

Shyness as a trait

Why is shyness not the same as introversion?

Evaluation Apprehension

How to "fix" shyness

Emotions

When is an "emotion" a trait?

What are some of the consistent patterns?

High positive affect predicts:

High negative affect predicts:

High (trait) affect intensity and emotionally loaded events

Emotional expressiveness