Trait Theory

Trait Theory

• - most modern & scientific approach to personality
• - Disposition: latent tendency for certain group of behaviours
• - can be a trait or type
• - unsure whether dispositions explain or describe behaviour
• - Types: simpler form of disposition
• - exclusive (only one or the other)
• - measured by:
• - nominal level (intro/extravert) (can't be ranked)
• - ordinal level (genius/non-genius) (can be ranked)

Trait Theory

• - Typology: system of types
• - Typology of temperament (Galen):
• - Choleric (angry)
• - excess of yellow bile
• - Phlegmatic (calm)
• - excess of phlegm
• - Sanguine (happy)
• - excess of blood
• - Melancholic (sad)
• - excess of black bile

Trait Theory

• - Traits = continuous dimensions
• - Wundt:
• - dimensions: strength of emotion x speed of emotional charge
• - weak x rapid = sanguine (happy)
• - weak x slow = phlegmatic (calm)
• - strong x rapid = choleric (angry)
• - strong x slow = melancholic (sad)

Trait Theory

• - Traits are normally distributed
• - most people are around a certain level of a trait
• - can technically take either side of the mean as a separate type, but you REALLY shouldn't, it neglects the individual's degree of the trait
• - Types are bimodally distributed
• - most people are either on one level or another
• - leads to stereotyping
• - can't convert to traits

Sheldon's somatotypes (rejected theory)

• - Ectomorphs: skinny, tense introverts
• - like melancholics, but have anxiety too
• - Mesomorphs: assertive, muscular
• - more like sanguine (happy) or choleric (angery)
• - Endomorphs: chubby, life-loving extraverts
• - like sanguine (happy) and phlegmatic (calm)
• - Chubbiness can predict nature of crime, but not likelihood to commit

Enneagram

• - Religious roots, updated in 20th century. Some psychoanalytic ideas
• - 9 diff personality types
• - wings: take characteristics from 'adjacent' personalities. One may be stronger than the other (e.g. Type 9, wing 1) or balanced
• - Instinctive subtypes: 3 'instinctive energies' you might develop
• - one or two may dominate
• - relevant to self-preservation, desire for intimacy, desire for social success
• - Complex explanation of motivation (includes what each type wants, fears, virtues & vices)
• - Suggests personality can take from other types as indicated by lines on diagram
• - though this may be completely rejected
• - Eval
• - all-encapsulating, it's neither relgious nor scientific (bad thing)
• - difficult to test
• - may only work for some

Jung

• - Introvert: more concerned with inner world
• - Extravert: more concerned with outer world
• - Affects whether you specialise in:
• - Judging
• - Think (determine what it is)
• - Feel (determine if it's agreeable)
• - Perceiving
• - Sense (determine it exists)
• - Intuition (determine where it's from/going)
• - Giving you...
• - Judging types:
• - Intro/Extraverted Thinking
• - Intro/Extraverted Feeling
• - Perceiving types:
• - Intro/Extraverted Sensing
• - Intro/Extraverted Intuition

Eysenck's 3-Factor Model

• - Supertraits: extraversion, neuroticism & psychoticism (<- added later)
• - meant to be parsimonious, ends up being very general
• - Extraverts
• - social, crave excitement, impulsive
• - under-aroused nervous system -> seek stimulation
• Introverts
• - quiet, reserved, reliable, pessimistic
• - over-aroused nervous system -> shun sensation

Eysenck's 3-Factor Model

• - Neuroticism
• - determined by reactivity of sympathetic nervous system
• - Stable: less reactive
• - Neurotic: less stable, quick to strong negative emotions
• - guilty, low self-esteem, hypochondriac, obsessive, lack of autonomy
• - unstable relationship btwn nervous system and limbic system

Eysenck's 3-Factor Model

• - Psychoticism
• - Lack empathy, cruel, loner, aggressive
• - high testosterone, low MAO (monoamine oxidase)
• - Mapping onto Galen's 4-Type theory
• - Unstable x introverted = melancholic (sad)
• - Unstable x extraverted = choleric (angry)
• - Stable x introverted = phlegmatic (calm)
• - Stable x extraverted = sanguine (happy)
• - takes into account natural and genetic elements
• - sensitivity of nervous system + conditioning/socialisation (interactionist approach, also links with diathesis-stress)
• - Shields (1976): MZ = more alike in introversion & psychoticism than DZ

Eysenck's 4-Factor Model: Eval

• - Lack of evidence
• - Attempt to be parsimonious (maybe too successful)
• - Factor analysis (taking a general correlation and finding smaller, tighter correlations within it) is kinda subjective

Cattell's 16 Factor Model

• - Used lexical hypothesis (taking frequent traits from dictionary and finding correlations)
• - 16 factors emerged for basic personality:
• - Outgoing-Reserved
• - Stable-Emotional
• - Assertive-Humble
• - Happy-go-lucky-Sober
• - Conscientious-Expedient (high/low superego)
• - Venturesome-Shy
• - Tender-minded-Tough-minded
• - Suspicious-Trusting
• - Imaginative-Practical
• - Shrewd-Forthright
• - Apprehensive-Placid (guilt-prone/assured)
• - Experimenting-Conservative
• - Self-sufficiency-Group-tied
• - Controlled-Casual
• - Tense-Relaxed

Cattell's 16 Factor Model Eval

• - used to create 16PF questionnaire
• - had low internal consistency
• - was modified, only really kept about 50% of it
• - however some traits were a good predictor of some things (e.g. church participation, school success)
• - very complex, hard to understand
• - didn't acknowledge subjectivity of factor analysis
• - Jung's perceiving/judging = high/low conscientiousness

Cattell's 16 Factor Model

• Constitutional mold traits: effect of genes
• - found that as we age, these have more effect
• Environmental mold traits: effect of environment
• Ability traits: how well you deal (e.g. IQ)
• Temperament traits: how you deal (e.g. calm, angry)
• - Attitudes: interests in specific situation (e.g. certain food)
• - Sentiments: interests over time (e.g. hobby)
• - Ergs: innate interests (e.g. hunger)

The Big 5

• - if you do a factor analysis of a factor analysis of the lexical hypothesis, you get The Big 5 traits (OCEAN):
• - Openness (to new things, sophisticated, liberal)
• - Conscientiousness (ordered, punctual)
• - Extraversion
• - Agreeableness (compassionate)
• - Neuroticism

The Big 5: Eval

• - had an incorrect biological basis, but had a decent evolutionary argument
• - if we do things naturally, they're likely to be helpful evolutionarily. So extra/introversion can be adaptive
• - even worry and depression might have benefits, neuroticism being extreme though still helpful for certain tasks
• - total agreeableness -> total trust -> psychopaths manipulate -> we're not agreeable all the time

The Big 5: Eval

• - Openness to close to intelligence?
• - Agreeableness could be split into morality and pleasantness
• - HEXACO model (includes honesty/humility vs dishonesty trait)
• - Factor analysis reveals one big correlation. What could that be???
• - general social competence? Or just response bias?
• - Lexical hypothesis could be flawed, maybe we don't talk about everything that's important (e.g. humor)
• - putting everything down to the dictionary might also be non-committal, not owning the theory)

The Big 5: Eval

• - good organisational tools
• - stimulate research
• - suggest underlying order of personality

Traits & Behaviour (Mischel)

• - ppl only act according to their traits depending on situation (if you only observed once, correlations would be low. Need to observe a lot)
• - ppl always differ in the same way (if you're extraverted and you don't talk during lectures, you're opposing your personality, but you will consistently not talk during lectures)
• - soooome variation occurs, like you might talk once in a while, but not much

Cognitive-Affective Processing System

• - 5 congitive-affective units, influence processing of info. Interact w/ situational variables -> personality
• - Encoding (how info is processed/stored/used)
• - Beliefs/expectations (about own actions)
• - Goals/values (life-goals, getting rewards)
• - Affect (emotional reactions)
• - Competencies/self-regulation (general intelligence/ability)