3 - The Five Factor Model of Personality

Flashcards based on lecture notes about Language, Behavior, Prediction, FFM, and Big 5 personality models.

How do we predict what we or others will do, according to Kelly's covariation model?

Observe them and look at the consistency of people's behavior in different contexts.

What is the Whorfian hypothesis?

Language influences thought and behavior (linguistic relativism), and it develops relative to the cultural context.

Besides language, what other method can be used to predict behaviour?

Biology; observing patterns of behavior in the real world (ecology) and identifying associations between behavior and biological substrates.

What is the primary difference between the Big 5 and FFM regarding their empirical basis?

Big 5 has a lexical approach (natural language), while FFM is biologically and behaviorally driven.

What is the lexical approach that is associated with the Big 5?

Natural language is used to identify traits

How are domains measured in FFM?

Through questionnaire items designed to tap into behaviors which are linked to biological substrates.

Name the five domains of FFM.

Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness.

Name the five domains of Big 5.

Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Intellect, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness

How does Big 5 differ from FFM in terms of hierarchy?

Big 5 has no hierarchy (only top level), while FFM has a trait hierarchy where specific behaviors are linked to facets below the main traits.

How is causality defined in FFM compared to Big 5?

FFM posits that traits cause behavior (a causal model), while Big 5 has no formal causal statement.

What are the origins of FFM traits?

Traits are derived from biological (neurological) processes that have a genetic basis and are stable over time and across cultures.

What are the origins of Big 5 traits?

They originate from natural language where a rich corpus of adjectives describe our own and others behavior.

What do twin studies reveal about the genetic and environmental influence on traits?

Somewhere between 51% and 58% of variation is due to some sort of genetic component and somewhere between 40% and 50% for non-shared environment.

What do Genome-Wide Associations Studies (GWAS) do?

Examine the whole genome and look for associations with genes - exploratory analysis.

What can Structural MRI show in the neuroscience of personality?

Traits are associated with brain regions associated with the behaviors linked to that trait by looking at the size and structure of brain structures.

What can Functional MRI show in the neuroscience of personality?

Brain activity on a task varies as a function of a trait by looking at the change in regional blood flow.

What brain region is associated with neuroticism?

Amygdala, mPFC, Mid-cingulate

What brain region is associated with conscientiousness?

Lateral pre-frontal cortex

In the context of temporal stability, what is 'Set like Plaster'?

Expression of traits change over time and traits tend to show stability acros adulthood.

What does the acronym WEIRD stand for?

Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic

What is the Tsimane society?

A forager-horticulturalist society in lowland Bolivia, where there is no evidence for the FFM

What is the FFM Critique?

problems with using factor analysis to determine personality.