2. The Person-Situation Debate

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About this Lecture

Lecture

In this lecture, we think about person-situation debates, focusing in particular on: (i) the doctrine of traits, which focuses on an individuals’ tendency towards consistent, predictable, reliable and coherent behaviour; (ii) the doctrine of situationism, which states that behaviour is a function of one’s environment; (iii) trait activation theory, which proposes that certain traits are activated by specific situations, an effect which is amplified when the situation is ambiguous.

Course

In this course, Dr Ayoub Bouguettaya (University of Birmingham) explores the individual versus situational factors debate. In the first lecture, we think about what drives behaviour and the tendency to focus on internal/individual factors when evaluating a person’s behaviour. In the second lecture, we think about the doctrines of traits and situationism, as well as trait activation theory. In the third lecture, we think about how personality acts as a determinant of behaviour and how a trait is defined. Next, we think about social situations and the tendencies of many people to act in similar ways when confronted with certain situations. In the fifth and final lecture, we think about some key questions which surround the individual versus situational factor debate, including whether personality itself is a Western construct.

Lecturer

Dr Ayoub Bouguettaya is a lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham. Dr Bouguettaya’s research interests are in social psychology and how knowledge from that field can be applied to others, particularly health, including how we can apply social identity theory to societal problems, as well as investigating the different perspectives one might take on those issues. Some of Dr Bouguettaya’s recent publications include 'The relationship between gambling advertising and gambling attitudes, intentions and behaviours: a critical and meta-analytic review' (2020) and 'The Effect of a Food Addiction Explanation Model for Weight Control and Obesity on Weight Stigma' (2020).