Lecture 4- Trait theories

Describe the trait approach

• Does not try to explain behaviour

• Identifies personality characteristics that can be represented along a continuum

What is a trait?

Categorises people according to degree to which they display a particular characteristic

What assumption does the trait approach make?

Personality characteristics are stable over time

What is a surface trait?

Characteristics or attributes that can be inferred from observable behaviour (what behaviours we see)

What is a source trait?

Most fundamental aspect of personality, broad, basic traits that are thought to be universal and few in number

A student is very social and always talks in class.

a) What is the surface trait?

Observing that they are social and talk in class

A student is very social and always talks in class.

b) What is the source trait?

Student may be high in extraversion, which causes them to be social and talkative

What are the 2 approaches in trait theory?

• Nomothetic

• Idiographic

What is the nomothetic approach?

• Describing personality along a finite number of traits (e.g extraversion, neuroticism)

• These traits can be applied to everyone

What is the idiographic approach?

• Identifies any combination of traits to describe an individual

• Infinite possibilites

• These traits may not apply to everyone

What are the 3 types of trait?

• Central traits

• Secondary traits

• Cardinal traits

What are central traits?

• Can easily describe an individual’s personality

• Several cardinal traits can interact

• e.g extraversion, neuroticism

What are secondary traits?

Preferences, not main predictor of behaviour

What are cardinal traits?

A single dominating trait in personality

What 2 primary personality traits did Eysenck suggest?

• Extraversion-Introversion

• Neuroticism (emotional instability)

What is Jungian Personality Theory?

Personality traits for perceiving the environment and obtaining/processing information

What personality test is based on Jungian Personality theory?

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

What is factor analysis?

• Data reduction technique

• Simplify relations among variables

• Identify common patterns in data

Why is factor analysis important?

• Simplifies assessment

  • Allowing for shorter surveys and easier analysis

• Finds naturally occurring and covarying traits

  • No more assumptions

  • ‘Boils down’ personality to basic components

• Averages together related traits into a single trait

  • Easier than interpreting each individual subtrait

  • Assume overarching ‘factor’ is responsible for subtraits

What is the Goldilocks conundrum?

• What is the ‘just right’ amount of personality traits?

• Neither too many, or too little

How does Eysenck fit into the Goldilocks conundrum?

• Suggested 2 primary personality traits (extraversion-introversion, neuroticism)

• This is too little personality traits

How does Cattell fit into the Goldilocks conundrum?

• Used factor analysis to identify personality traits

• Proposed 16 personality traits

• This is too many personality traits

How does the Big 5 (Costa and McCrae) fit into the Goldilocks conundrum?

• Established via factor analysis

• Provides 5 fundamental ways people differ

• ‘Just right’ amount of personality traits

What are the Big 5 personality traits?

• Think OCEAN:

• Openness

• Conscientiousness

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism

Describe openness

Involves active imagination, divergent thinking, and intellectual curiosity

Describe people who are high on openness

• Unconventional

• Independent thinkers

Describe people who are low on openness

Prefer the familiar rather than the imaginative

Describe people who are high on conscientiousness

• Organised

• Plan oriented

• Determined

Describe people who are low on conscientiousness

• Careless

• Easily distracted from tasks

• Undependable

Describe people who are low on extraversion

Reserved and independent people

Describe people who are high on extraversion

Very sociable people

Describe people who are low on agreeableness

• Antagonistic

• Skeptical

Describe people who are high on agreeableness

• Helpful

• Trusting

• Sympathetic

Describe neuroticism

Places people according to their emotional stability and personal judgement

Describe people who are low on neuroticism

Calm and well adjusted

Describe people who are high on neuroticism

More vulnerable to anxiety and depression

What is a limitation of factor analysis?

• Subjective interpretation of results

  • Researchers must decide what items are included

  • Missing traits, too broad, more important factors

How did psychologists start identifying traits?

• Lexical approach

• Examine traits used within language

• Embedded in everyday speech

What is the lexical approach?

• Proposed by Allport and Odbert

• Searched dictionary for words that describe people

• 18,000 words out of 550,000

  • Words were then filtered → 4500 terms remained

Which words were filtered/removed in the lexical approach (Allport and Odbert)?

• Physical attributes (e.g ‘tall’)

• Cognitive abilities and talents (e.g ‘smart’)

• Transient states (e.g ‘sad’)

• Highly evaluative terms (e.g ‘moron’)

What was the issue with Allport and Odbert’s set of traits using the lexical approach?

Many terms were too closely related or synonymous

What did Cattell do to Allport and Odbert’s set?

• Reduced their set of traits

• Using factor analysis to find primary traits

• Resulted in 16 factors (basic dimensions of personality)

What is the issue with Cattell’s personality factors? What happened as a result of this?

• Slight overlap between factors

• Measuring similar constructs

• Reduced further to the Big 5

What does the Big 5 improve and provide framework for?

• Assessment of personality

• Investigation of personality correlates

• Explanation of the underpinnings of personality

How does the Big 5 provide a way to map specific personality traits?

e.g shyness is a combination of (low) extraversion and (high) neuroticism

What are some strengths of the Big 5?

• Tested in more than 50 cultures

• Found in studies of many languages

• Similar factors observed in other species (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness)

• Traits seem stable over lifespan

What are some limitations of the Big 5?

• Derived from the lexical approach

• So it assumes personality is captured in everyday language

• Uses personality surveys to derive basic factors

Who was a major opponent of the lexical approach?

Eysenck

What was the third factor proposed by Eysenck?

Psychoticism

What is psychoticism, as proposed by Eysenck?

• Agressiveness

• Coldness

• Antisocial tendencies

• Egocentricity

• Vulnerability to psychotic disorders (e.g schizophrenia)

What is the issue with Eysenck’s 3-factor model?

• Agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness (from the Big 5) all map onto psychoticism

• Suggests psychoticism is too broad

What model of personality builds on the Big 5?

HEXACO model of personality

What factors make up the HEXACO model of personality?

• Adds 1 factor to the Big 5

• Honesty-Humility (H)

• Emotionality/neuroticism (E)

• Extraversion (X)

• Agreeableness (A)

• Conscientiousness (C)

• Openness to experience (O)