trait theories of personality

Flashcard 1: Definition of Traits
Q: What are personality traits and how are they described?

• Traits are emotional, cognitive, and behavioural tendencies that constitute underlying personality dimensions.

• They describe how individuals differ from one another in patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.

• Characterising people by traits is descriptive, focusing on underlying tendencies rather than situational behaviour.

• Everyday examples: shy, devious, manipulative, open, friendly.

Flashcard 2: Gordon Allport’s Contribution
Q: How did Gordon Allport define traits?

A: Allport proposed that traits have two complementary meanings:

1. Observed trait: a behaviour or tendency that can be seen (e.g., cheerful).

2. Inferred trait: an underlying personality disposition that generates the behaviour (e.g., a tendency to experience positive affect or think positively).Flashcard 3: Methods for

Flashcard 3: Methods for Measuring Traits
Q: How can psychologists measure personality traits?

1. Direct observation: tracking behaviour over time and in different situations.

2. Informant reports: asking people who know the individual well to describe their personality.

3. Self-report questionnaires: participants rate themselves on traits; common in non-clinical (schools, organisations) and clinical settings (e.g., MMPI).

Flashcard 4: Challenges in Trait Selection
Q: Why is choosing which traits to measure a challenge?

• Allport and Odbert (1936) compiled ~18,000 trait-related words from Webster’s dictionary.

• Many words describe similar characteristics, so researchers must collapse the list into fewer, meaningful traits.

Flashcard 5: Raymond Cattell and Factor Analysis
Q: How did Raymond Cattell refine the list of personality traits?

• Reduced Allport’s list to 16 core traits (e.g., warm, intelligent, suspicious, imaginative).

• Used factor analysis to group highly correlated adjectives (e.g., angry + hostile → emotional instability).

• Also investigated heredity vs. environment in trait development: ~⅔ environment, ~⅓ heredity.

• Pioneered research that led to behavioural genetics.

Flashcard 6: Applications of Trait Approach
Q: How is the trait approach applied in practice?

• Non-clinical: schools, workplaces (assessing sociability, responsibility, wellbeing).

• Clinical: psychiatric assessments using inventories like MMPI.

• Provides a quantitative and systematic way to understand personality differences.

Flashcard 1: Traits vs. Types in Eysenck’s Theory
Q: How does Eysenck distinguish between traits and types (super-traits)?

• Habit: a frequent or habitual behaviour.

• Trait: a group of correlated habits (e.g., shyness includes avoiding attention, not initiating conversation, avoiding large gatherings).

• Type/Super-trait: a higher-order group of correlated traits (e.g., introversion combines shyness, rigidity, inward-looking tendencies).

Flashcard 2: Eysenck’s Three Super-Traits
Q: What are the three overarching super-traits in Eysenck’s model?

• Extraversion–Introversion: sociability, activity, risk-taking (extraverts) vs. social inhibition, seriousness, caution (introverts).

• Neuroticism–Emotional Stability: emotional stability vs. emotional instability; high neuroticism = anxious, moody, tense, low self-esteem.

• Psychoticism–Impulse Control: aggressive, impulsive, egocentric (high psychoticism) vs. empathic, self-controlled (low psychoticism).

Flashcard 3: Biological Basis of Traits
Q: How did Eysenck link extraversion–introversion to biology?

• Differences in cortical arousal regulated by the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS).

• Introverts: higher resting cortical arousal → avoid stimulation, prefer solitary/familiar activities.

• Extraverts: lower resting cortical arousal → seek stimulation and novel experiences.

Flashcard 4: Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (Jeffrey Gray)
Q: What is Gray’s Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST)?

• Behavioural Approach System (BAS): attuned to rewards, promotes seeking stimulation and arousal → stronger in extraverts.

• Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS): attuned to punishment, promotes avoidance of danger → stronger in introverts.

• Example: Extraverts may risk more for potential rewards (double or nothing), while introverts avoid risky bets.

Flashcard 5: Nature vs. Nurture in Eysenck’s Theory
Q: How did Eysenck view the role of heredity and environment in traits?

• Like Cattell, Eysenck acknowledged both nature and nurture, but emphasized biological underpinnings and evolutionary significance of traits.

• Traits are influenced by cortical arousal and brain systems rather than purely environmental learning.

Flashcard 6: Practical Implications of Eysenck’s Theory
Q: How can Eysenck’s model explain real-life behaviour?

• Personality differences in risk-taking, sociability, and emotional stability can be predicted by super-trait scores.

• BAS/BIS differences explain why some people seek rewards while others are avoidant of potential danger.

• Can inform psychological assessment, workplace behaviour prediction, and understanding personality-linked risk behaviour.

Flashcard 1: What is the Five-Factor Model (FFM)?

Q: What is the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality?

A: A model of personality structure that identifies five broad traits — Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN) — which summarize individual differences in behavior.

Q: What are facets in the Five-Factor Model?

A: Lower-order traits that combine to form each of the five main factors, e.g., neuroticism includes anxiety, depression, and impulsivity.

Q: How did researchers develop the Five-Factor Model?

A: By using factor analysis to group hundreds of personality descriptors (adjectives, statements, and antonyms) into five consistent higher-order factors.

Q: Is the Five-Factor Model applicable across cultures?

A: Yes, mostly. Research across multiple countries and languages generally replicates the five-factor structure, though some variation occurs depending on culture and language.

Q: Which studies support the FFM’s cross-cultural validity?

A: - Schmitt et al. (2007): 17,837 participants, 56 nations; FFM robust.

• McCrae & Terracciano (2005): 12,156 participants, 51 countries; aggregate scores aligned with FFM.

• Rossier et al. (2005), Robie et al. (2005): Confirmed FFM in African, Japanese, and American samples.

Q: How can culture influence FFM findings?

A: Using native-language adjectives sometimes produces fewer or different factors than Western instruments. Example: Taiwan produced three factors instead of five; Philippines partially mapped onto FFM.

Q: How does the FFM relate to real-world behavior?

A: FFM traits predict behaviors such as alcohol consumption. Example: low conscientiousness + high extraversion → heavy drinking; low extraversion + high agreeableness → abstinence.

Q: What are some criticisms of the FFM?

Provides a static view of personality.

• Construct validity and genetic basis of traits are uncertain.

• Limited practical utility in applied psychology.

• Needs a more dynamic model that accounts for social learning and cultural influences.

Q: What is the HEXACO model of personality?

A: A six-factor model of personality developed by Ashton and colleagues, which includes Honesty–Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience.

Q: What makes the HEXACO model unique compared to the Five-Factor Model?

A: The addition of the Honesty–Humility dimension, which measures sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, and modesty.

Q: What adjectives describe each HEXACO factor?

• H: sincere, honest, loyal vs sly, deceitful, greedy

• E: emotional, anxious, vulnerable vs brave, stable, self-assured

• X: outgoing, lively, sociable vs shy, reserved

• A: patient, tolerant, gentle vs quarrelsome, stubborn

• C: organised, diligent, careful vs negligent, lazy

• O: intellectual, creative, unconventional vs shallow, unimaginative

Q: How are HEXACO factors broken down into facets?

A: Each factor has four narrower facets, e.g.:

• H: sincerity, fairness, greed avoidance, modesty

• E: fearfulness, anxiety, dependence, sentimentality

• X: social self-esteem, social boldness, sociability, liveliness

• A: forgivingness, gentleness, flexibility, patience

• C: organisation, diligence, perfectionism, prudence

• O: aesthetic appreciation, inquisitiveness, creativity, unconventionality

Q: What is the additional facet in the HEXACO model?

A: Altruism — a blend of Honesty–Humility, Emotionality, and Agreeableness.

Q: What are the criticisms of the HEXACO model?

Heavy reliance on factor analysis, leading to replication issues.

• Only three traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness) consistently replicate across cultures.

• Conceptual distinctiveness of Honesty–Humility is debated.

Q: How does HEXACO compare to the Five-Factor Model?

A: Both predict behavior similarly, but HEXACO adds Honesty–Humility. Support for its distinctiveness is growing, though further research is needed.

Q: What does the concept of personality traits imply about behavior?

A: Personality traits suggest some consistency in behavior across situations and over time, though people are not perfectly consistent and can change.

Q: What was Walter Mischel's main argument about personality consistency?

A: Situational variables largely determine behavior, not personality traits; personality tests have modest correlations with real-world behavior.

Q: What evidence did Mischel provide for low cross-situational consistency?

A: Trait measures poorly predicted behaviors like psychiatric hospitalization; correlations among behavioral measures were often low (+0.30–0.40) or nonexistent.

Q: How did Seymour Epstein challenge Mischel’s conclusions?

A: Individual behaviors have multiple causes, so averaging behaviors across situations (aggregation) better predicts traits; traits represent classes of behaviors over many situations.

Q: Can we predict behavior from traits?

A: Not perfectly for all situations and people, but some people are more predictable on certain traits, especially those they see as central to their personality.

Q: What factors make personality easier to predict?

A: People who are open, easy to ‘read,’ and consistent, and traits that are central to self-perception, are easier for others to predict.

Q: How do personality traits relate to life outcomes?

A: Early personality traits predict later behaviors, mental health, and even links to healthy aging.

Q: What are person-by-situation interactions?

A: People express particular traits in particular situations; traits are activated depending on circumstances rather than expressed uniformly.

Q: What are Mischel’s “if–then” patterns?

A: Stable patterns where specific situations (‘if’) trigger particular thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (‘then’). Example: aggression may occur when threatened in one person, but when feeling emasculated in another

Q: How does Mischel integrate his approach with other personality theories?

A: He combines cognitive–social theory (thoughts and behaviors), trait theory (enduring dispositions), and psychodynamic theory (personality dynamics activated under specific conditions).

Q: When is personality most likely to show consistency?

A: Consistency is most evident within similar situations. Example: a person low on neuroticism generally, but highly distressed when criticised.

Q: What is Mischel’s main contribution to understanding personality?

A: He emphasized that personality is not just traits or situations alone, but the interaction between the two, highlighting situational specificity of behavior.