Flashcards
Week 4: Trait Theories
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- 1trait-A trait is any readily-identifiable, stable quality that characterises an individual from other individuals
- 2traits serve 3 main functions-To summarise
-predict
-and explain a person’s conduct - 3predominant assumptions of trait approaches : 1permanence over time: Our personality traits remains relatively stable over time.
- 42:Permanence across situations
Our personality traits remain relatively stable over situations. - 53:Behaviour altering:
Personality influences behaviour - 6allports trait theory
- 7Gordon Allport: Lexical HypothesisCardinal Traits: life-revolving, dominant trait. (high breadth, low situational variance)
Central Traits: qualities which characterise daily interactions.
Secondary Traits: traits exhibited under certain situations. (low breadth, high variance) - 8allports values scaleAllport & Odbert (1936) searched the dictionary and identified 18,000 words, of which 4,500 were separate personality traits.
e.g. show-off
show-boat
sociable
outgoing - 9Evaluating Allport: 1-Major contribution: first to discuss the limitations of trait approaches.
i.e. personality has a limited impact on behaviour in certain situations, so cannot be used to always predict behaviour. - 102-No standardised measure developed - the 4500 words described could never be used to describe personality adequately.
- 11cattells theory: factor analysis-Utilised a ‘new’ (at the time) approach known as factor analysis to come up with his theory
-Factor Analysis: statistical technique for the reduction of data.
-Factor analysis attempts to look for simple patterns within all of allports 4500 traits, e.g. how many of the 4500 are actually looking at the same trait. - 12continued-Cattell realised that a number of the personality traits described by Allport were the same, meaning that the 45500 words found could be reduced using factor analysis
-Came up with 16 personality factors - 13testing-Cattell made a distinction between source and surface traits.
-Surface traits are very obvious and can be easily identified by other people
- whereas source traits are less visible to other people and appear to underlie several different aspects of behavior.
-Cattell regarded source traits are more important in describing personality than surface traits. - 14evaluation 1:Developed a comprehensive, empirically-based trait theory of personality.
Therefore acknowledged the complexity of the personality construct. - 152Cattell used maths to show that personality could influence behaviour.
E.g. those factors highest up the list most important determinants of behaviour. - 163his 16fp test has been widely used
- 17eysenck giant 3 model-Also known as the ‘PEN’ model – one of the most influential theories of personality ever
-Developed using a combination of factor analytic and empirical approaches.
-Is a hierarchical model, with three levels. - 183 supertraits-Neuroticism (Unstable, anxious,
easily upset)
-psychoticism (Impersonal, unsocialised,
cruel)
-extraversion (Outgoing, sociable,
energetic) - 19extraversion-Extraversion characterises people based on their orientation toward external sources of stimulation from the environment versus an orientation inward at the opposite extreme
- 20psycoticism-includes a disposition toward psychosis and a degree of sociopathy
- 21Neuroticism-Neuroticism is basically a measure of emotional stability-instability.
- 22distribution-Extraversion and neuroticism – these are normally distributed (most people fit in the middle).
-psychoticism has a positive skew - 23evaluation-Research shows differences between extraverts and introverts.
-Neuroticism related to behaviour and mental health.
-There is also some biological evidence for neuroticism and extraversion.
-Evidence for psychoticism is less clear - 24the five factor model costa and mcrae
- 25continued-Becoming increasingly accepted that five traits best describe personality structure.
-However, debate as to what the five ‘supertraits’ are. - 26Lexical Approach & Support for the FFM-1st came Allport’s 4500 trait names, &from this, Cattell produced his 16PF.
-Fiske (1949) re-analysed the same data, -and reported five factors. - 27History of the FFM-Tupes and Crystal (1961) were researchers on a USA airforce base
-Had officer cadets complete personality questionnaire based on 16PF.
-However, found 5 rather than 16 factors which were stable over 8 different samples.
-Warren Norman – a friend of T&C – gave his students personality questionnaires, and also found 5 factors. - 28Goldberg’s Big Five Model-Used lexical and factor analysis to develop the Big Five Model (BFM)
-Lexical analysis: asked people (and others) to describe themselves.
-Factor analysis: self- and peer-reports.
Came up with a descriptive (phenotypic) and hierarchical model. - 29Goldberg’s Five Dimensions:-Extraversion/introversion
-Friendliness/hostility
-Conscientiousness
-Neuroticism/emotional stability
-Intellect - 30The Five Factor Model(Costa & McRae)The five factors are:
-Openness;
-conscientiousness;
-extraversion;
-agreeableness;
-neuroticism.
-Each factor lies on a continuum along which individuals are placed. - 31info-There are six facets to each of the five factors. Therefore gives a causal, rather than descriptive, explanation.
-Similar to the description put forward by Eysenck. - 32Evaluating the ‘Big 5'-Generally accepted to be 5 factors, but what these factors actually are is disagreed.
-Indeed, researchers have called for the approach to be falsified.
-How should the factors be described (i.e. titled)?
E.g. agreeableness conformity, likeability.
-Some uncertainty what each of the factors actually do/look it.
-Is data-driven (exploratory factor analysis), meaning it is not based in theory. - 33—
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- PS4003 (Personality) Flashcards on Week 4: Trait Theories, created by Veton Vishka2 on 07/11/2017.
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