[TOP] E14: Raymond Cattell, Hans Eysenck, and other Trait Theorists

Raymond Cattell

Proponent of Factor Analysis and the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF).

Factor Analysis

A statistical technique based on correlations between several measures, which may be explained in terms of underlying factors.

Traits

Defined as the mental elements of the personality.

Traits

• Only when we know someone’s _____ can we predict how that person will behave in a given situation.

• Thus, to understand someone fully, we must be able to describe in precise terms the entire pattern of traits that define that person as an individual.

Trait₁ + Trait_i = Personality

Formula for how Traits make up a Personality.

relatively permanent

• Reaction tendencies, derived by the method of factor analysis, are __________ parts of the personality.

  • Having an idea about how a person will react based on former situations

Common, Unique, Ability, Temperament, Dynamic, Surface, Source, Constitutional, Environmental Traits

What are the 9 Classification of Traits?

Surface VS Source Traits, Constitutional VS Environmental Traits, Ability, Temperament and Dynamic Traits

What are the Classification of Traits?

Common Traits

Traits

• Everyone shares or possesses common traits to some degree; true to all

• Ex. Everyone has some measure of intelligence or of extraversion.

Unique Traits

Traits

• Each of us has unique traits that distinguish us as individuals.

• For example, a liking for politics or an interest in baseball or other hobbies.

Ability Traits

Traits

• Our skills and abilities determine how well we can work toward our goals.

• Traits that describe our skills and how efficiently we will be able to work toward our goals.

Temperament Traits

Traits

• Traits that describe our general behavioral style in responding to our environment.

• Our emotions and feelings (whether we are assertive, fretful, or easygoing, for example) help determine how we react to the people and situations in our environment.

Dynamic Traits

Traits

• Traits that describe our motivations and interests.

• The forces that underlie our motivations and drive our behavior

• Ergs – Permanent constitutional source traits that provide energy for goal-directed behavior

• Sentiments - Environmental-mold source traits that motivate behavior.

Ergs

Dynamic Traits

• Permanent constitutional source traits that provide energy for goal-directed behavior

  • Basic innate units of motivation.

    • Anger

    • Appeal

    • Curiosity

    • Disgust

    • Gregariousness

    • Hunger

    • Protection

    • Security

    • Self-assertion

    • Self-submission

    • Sex 

Sentiments

Dynamic Traits

Environmental-mold source traits that motivate behavior.

Source Traits

Traits

• Stable and permanent traits that are the basic factors of personality, derived by the method of factor analysis.

• Single, stable, permanent elements of our behavior.

Surface Traits

Traits

• Traits that show a correlation but do not constitute a factor because they are not determined by a single source.

• May be unstable and impermanent, weakening or strengthening in response to different situations.

  • Ex. Conscientiousness can be a surface trait

Constitutional Traits

Traits

• Source traits that depend on our physiological characteristics. 

• Source traits that have biological origins, such as the behaviors that result from drinking too much alcohol.

  • Ex. How much effort an individual exerts in exercising

Environmental Traits

Traits

• Source traits that are learned from social and environmental interactions.

• Source traits that have environmental origins, such as the behaviors that result from the influence of our friends, work environment, or neighborhood.

bipolar form

Cattell presented the 16 traits in ______, and, the personality characteristics associated with these traits are expressed in words people are likely to use in everyday conversation when describing friends and one’s self.

Infancy, Childhood, Adolescence, Maturity, Late Maturity, Old Age

What are the 6 Stages in Cattell’s Stages of Personality Development?

Infancy

Cattell’s Stages of Personality Development

• Age: Birth - 6

• Development: Weaning; toilet training; formation of ego, superego, and social attitudes.

Childhood

Cattell’s Stages of Personality Development

• Age: 6 - 14 years old

• Development: Independence from parents and identification with peers.

Adolescence

Cattell’s Stages of Personality Development

• Age: 14 - 23

• Development: Conflicts about independence, self-assertion, sex.

Maturity

Cattell’s Stages of Personality Development

• Age: 23 - 50 years old

• Development: Satisfaction with career, marriage, and family.

Late Maturity

Cattell’s Stages of Personality Development

• Age: 50 - 65

• Development: Personality changes in response to physical and social circumstances.

Old Age

Cattell’s Stages of Personality Development

• Age: 65+

• Development: Adjustments to loss of friends, career, and status.

Gerontology

• A field of science that seeks to understand the process of aging and the challenges encountered as seniors grow older.

• As a multidisciplinary field, this includes the work of medical and biological scientists, social scientists, and even financial and economic scholars.

Psychosocial Gerontology

Refers to a specialized field of gerontology that examines the social and psychological aspects of aging.

Cohort

A group of people who share a statistical or demographic trait.

Young-old, Middle-old, Old-old

3 Phases of Ageing

Young-old

Phases of Ageing

• Approximately 65 - 74 years old

• The “infants”

• They still have the strengths and abilities to work

Middle-old

Phases of Ageing

• Ages 75 - 84 years old

• During this age, people decide how they will settle.

Old-old

Phases of Ageing

• Over age 85

• Prepares for the terminal phase of life

Primary Ageing, Secondary Ageing

2 Factors Contributing to Ageing

Primary Ageing

Factors contributing to Aging

• Biological factors such as molecular and cellular changes.

• Ex. Hair turning grey, wrinking, slower walk

Secondary Ageing

Factors contributing to Aging

• Attributed to controllable factors such as lack of physical exercise or poor diet.

• Factors you can get yourself out of

Disengagement Theory, Activity Theory, Continuity Theory, Modernization Theory, Age Stratification Theory, Exchange Theory, Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory

7 Theories of Ageing

Disengagement Theory

Theories of Aging

• Suggests that withdrawing from society and social relationships is a natural part of growing old.

Activity Theory

Theories of Aging

• Suggests that for individuals to enjoy old age and feel satisfied, they must maintain activities and find a replacement for the statuses and associated roles they have left behind as they aged.

Continuity Theory

Theories of Aging

• States that the elderly make specific choices to maintain consistency in internal (personality structure, beliefs) and external structures (relationships), remaining active and involved throughout their elder years.

Modernization Theory

Theories of Aging

• Suggests that the primary cause of the elderly losing power and influence in society are the parallel forces of industrialization and modernization.

Age Stratification Theory

Theories of Aging

• States that members of society are stratified by age, just as they are stratified by race, class, and gender.

• Ageism - Discrimination based on age

Exchange Theory

Theories of Aging

• Suggests that we experience an increased dependence as we age and must increasingly submit to the will of others, because we have fewer ways of compelling others to submit to us.

Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory

Theories of Aging

• The idea that successful personal development throughout the life course and subsequent mastery of the challenges associated with everyday life are based on the components of selection, optimization, and compensation.

Death and Dying

• by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1969)

  • Argued that people go through a certain process as they grieve

  • This is an example of a grounded theory research.

• Thanatology – Systematic study of death and dying.

  • Death Anxiety – Fear of the insinuation of death

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1969)

Proponent of Death and Dying

Thanatology

Systematic study of death and dying.

Stage 1: Denial

Death and Dying

• Characterized by not wanting to believe that a person is dying or has already died.

• Common thoughts such as “I feel fine” or “this is really not happening to me.”

Stage 2: Anger

Death and Dying

• When loss of life is seen unfair or unjust.

• Common thoughts such as “Bakit siya pa!? Marami namang masamang tao sa mundo!”

Stage 3: Bargaining

Death and Dying

• Trying to negotiate with a higher power to postpone the inevitable by reforming or changing the way he or she lives.

• Common thoughts such as “Baka po pwedeng isa pang pagkakataon…”

Stage 4: Depression

Death and Dying

• Allows for resignation as the situation begins to seem hopeless.

• Common thoughts such as “Bakit? Bakit? Bakit? Hindi ko na kaya…. Kunin mo na rin ako….”

Stage 5: Acceptance

Death and Dying

• A person can face the death honestly, regarding it as a natural and inevitable part of life, and can make the most of the remaining time.

• Common thoughts such as “Magkikita rin tayong muli. Lagi mo kaming babantayan ha.”

Life Records (L-Data), Questionnaire Data (Q-Data), Personality Tests (T-Data), 16 Personality Factors Test

4 Assessments in Cattell’s Theory

Life Records (L-Data)

Assessments in Cattell’s Theory

• Life-record ratings of behavior observed in real-life situations, such as the classroom or office.

Questionnaire Data (Q-Data)

Assessments in Cattell’s Theory

Self-report questionnaire ratings of our characteristics, attitudes, and interests.

Personality Tests (T-Data)

Assessments in Cattell’s Theory

Data derived from personality tests that are resistant to faking.

16 Personality Factors Test

Assessments in Cattell’s Theory

• Intended for use with people 16 years of age and older and yields scores on each of the 16 scales.

• The _______ is widely used to assess personality for research, clinical diagnosis, and predicting occupational success.

Behavioral Genetics

The study of the relationship between genetic or hereditary factors and personality traits.

Dimensions of Personality

• Regarded as superfactors by Eysenck and his wife, Sybil.

  • For him, these are the main traits to consider for us to understand a person.

Extraversion VS Introversion, Neuroticism VS Emotional Stability, Psychoticism VS Impulse Control

What are the 3 Dimensions of Personality according to Hans Eysenck?

Extraversion VS Introversion

Dimensions of Personality

• Classified people as either those who direct focus on inner world or those who give more attention to people and his or her environment.

• Sociable, lively, active, assertive, sensation-seeking, carefree, dominant, venturesome, etc.

Neuroticism VS Emotional Stability

Dimensions of Personality

• Synonymous to “moodiness vs even-temperedness”.

• A neurotic person is inclined to change emotion from time-to-time while an emotionally stable person maintains composure.

  • How you handle your emotions and respond to situations

• Anxious, depressed, guilt feelings, low self-esteem, tense, irrational, shy, moody, etc.

Psychoticism VS Impulse Control

Dimensions of Personality

• Impulse Control is also known as Superego Functioning.

  • Behavioral and kinesthetic

• Refers to how easy or difficult it is to deal with reality.

• A psychotic person may be considered hostile, manipulative, anti-social, and non-empathetic.

• Aggressive, cold, egocentric, impersonal, impulsive, antisocial, creative, tough-minded, etc. 

Superego Functioning

Other term for Impulse Control.

heredity

• To Eysenck, traits and dimensions are determined primarily by ______, although the research evidence shows a stronger genetic component for extraversion and neuroticism than for psychoticism.

  • He believed that certain traits are passed on by the people ahead of us. 

• Eysenck did not rule out environmental and situational influences on personality, such as family interactions in childhood, but he believed their effects on personality were limited. The emphasis is still on genes and heredity.

Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism

What are the Big 5 Factors of Personality according to Robert McCrae and Paul Costa?

environmental

Research on McCrae and Costa’s work

The factor of Agreeableness has a strong _________ component.

Women; men

Research on McCrae and Costa’s work

_______ report higher levels of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness than ____.

hereditary

Research on McCrae and Costa’s work

Neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness have a strong _______ component.

Ashton and Lee’s 6 Factor Model of Personality

A more recent model of personality theory that has an “Asian flavor”.

Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness

What are the factors in Ashton and Lee’s Six Factor Model of Personality?

Honesty-Humility

Ashton and Lee’s Six Factor Model of Personality

• High scorers are usually described as genuine, fair, non-manipulative, law-abiding, modest, self-effacing, and unconcerned with status or luxury.

• Low scorers are willing to bend the rules for their personal gain, are prone to flattery and insincere displays of friendliness, seek luxury and prestige, and feel entitled to special status and privilege.

Emotionality

Ashton and Lee’s Six Factor Model of Personality

• High scorers are afraid of physical illness or harm, worrisome, prone to sharing their fears and concerns with others, and likely to empathize with the suffering and hardships of others. 

• Low scorers are undeterred by the threat of danger or pain, have little anxiety, and are good at keeping their heads cool in stressful situations.

Extroversion

Ashton and Lee’s Six Factor Model of Personality

• High scorers are outgoing, lively, social, talkative, and cheerful, enjoy social interactions and are likely to see positive qualities in themselves. 

• Low scorers are reserved, quiet, passive, inhibited, tend to avoid small talk and liable to think of themselves as less popular than their extroverted counterparts.

Agreeableness

Ashton and Lee’s Six Factor Model of Personality

• High scorers are tolerant, mild, kind, forgiving, gentle, accommodating, flexible in their opinions, and lenient in judging others. 

• Low scorers are stubborn, quarrelsome, headstrong, blunt, defend their views and opinions fiercely, and take a critical view of others.

Conscientiousness

Ashton and Lee’s Six Factor Model of Personality

• High scorers are well-organized, hardworking, self-disciplined, efficient, thorough, and precise, as well as orderly with their things and time. 

• Low scorers are absent-minded, messy, find it hard to motivate themselves to do their work and duties, don’t mind incompleteness or inaccuracies, and are disorganized with their surroundings and schedules.

Openness

Ashton and Lee’s Six Factor Model of Personality

• High scorers are unconventional, creative, intellectual, inquisitive, have a lively imagination, and like to listen to new and unusual opinions. 

• Low scorers are conventional, traditional, dislike foreign and unfamiliar things, indifferent to intellectual pursuits, and dislike listening to unconventional or bizarre ideas.