Dr. Jason Plaks

RESEARCH

Everyone has a set of core beliefs and assumptions about how human personality works. Jason Plaks and his colleagues investigate how different starting assumptions about personality lead to markedly different judgments about other people and oneself. One set of studies has found that people who believe that personality is fixed tend to use stereotypes, make sweeping trait attributions, and focus on trait-confirming information. In contrast, those who believe that personality is malleable focus more on the effect of the situation on an individual's behaviour. A second set of studies has shown that people who believe that personality is fixed experience more anxiety and perform worse when they believe their ability has changed - even if that change is for the better. In contrast, those who believe that personality is malleable are made anxious by evidence that they have failed to change. Current research is extending these ideas to examine other types of beliefs, including beliefs about the intentionality of behaviour. In addition, Dr. Plaks is uncovering neurophysiological processes involved in these phenomena, using a method that measures electrical activity in the brain (event-related potentials, or ERP).