from manuel TRAIT PERSPECTIVE

TRAIT PERSPECTIVE

Trait

distinguishing personal characteristic or quality

example of trait description

• Kayla is very self-assured

• Ian is so competitive

• Brandi is really compulsive

William Sheldon

• proposed that body type (somatotype) influences personality. He identified three body types and linked them to personality traits

• Endomorphic

• Mesomotphic

• Ectomorphic

Endomorphic

Body Type	Physical Traits	Personality Traits

Endomorphic

Soft, round, higher fat, wide body

Relaxed, sociable, comfort-seeking, fun-loving (e.g., friendly and outgoing) 😊

Mesomorphic

Body Type

Mesomorphic

Physical Traits

Muscular, strong, athletic

Personality Traits

Energetic, confident, competitive, assertive (e.g., natural leaders, risk-takers) 💪

Example of mesomorph

he's muscular and loves sports. His confidence and competitive nature help him succeed as a team leader."

Ectomorphic

Body Type

Ectomorphic

Physical Traits

Thin, tall, delicate features

Personality Traits

Introverted, thoughtful, anxious, artistic (e.g., deep thinkers, creative individuals) 🎨

recap of EME

• Endomorph = Round & Sociable 😊

• Mesomorph = Muscular & Confident 💪

• Ectomorph = Thin & Introverted

Allport

• the unconscious is important only in the behavior of neurotic or disturbed people.

• we are guided more by the present and by our view of the future.

• the abnormal personality functioned at an infantile level

Allport believed proper study of personality

was to collect data from emotionally healthy adults

Allport’s theory of uniqueness

• uniqueness of personality in each person’s traits

• personality is particular and specific to the individual

• personality is dynamic organization & determine

Personality is dynamic organization

• although personality is constantly changing and growing, the growth is organized, not random

Personality determine

• all facets of personality activate or direct specific behaviors and thoughts

• everything we think, or do are characteristics and typical for us.

The Roles of Heredity and Environment ALLPORT

• personality reflect both our heredity and our environment.

• Heredity provides the personality with raw materials, such as physique, intelligence, and temperament, that may then be shaped, expanded, or limited by the conditions of our environment

Allport´s belief about genetics

• genetic endowment interacts with our social environment

Two Distinct Personalities for Two Stages of Life ALLPORT

• considered personality to be discrete/ discontinuous

• personalities → one for the childhood, and one for adulthood → Primitive biological urges & reflexes drive infant behavior, whereas adult functioning is more psychological in nature

Personality Traits according to ALLPORT

• traits are consistent and enduring ways of reacting to our environment

  1. Personality traits are real and exist within each of us.

     • They are not theoretical constructs or labels made up to account for behavior.

  2. Traits determine or cause behavior.

     • They do not arise only in response to certain stimuli. They motivate us to seek appropriate stimuli, and they interact with the environment to produce behavior.

  3. Traits can be demonstrated empirically.

     • By observing behavior over time, we can infer the existence of traits in the consistency of a person’s responses to the same or similar stimuli.

  4. Traits are interrelated; they may overlap, even though they represent different characteristics.

     • For example, aggressiveness and hostility are distinct but related traits and are frequently observed to occur together in a person’s behavior.

  5. Traits vary with the situation.

     • For example, a person may display the trait of neatness in one situation and the trait of disorderliness in another situation.

Allport proposed two types of traits

• Individual

• common

Individual traits

unique to a person and define his or her character

Common traits

are shared by a number of people, such as the members of a culture.

Personal Dispositions ALLPORT

Cardinal traits

Central traits

Secondary traits

A cardinal trait

• ruling passion, a powerful force that dominates behavior and touches almost every aspect of a person’s life

Central traits

• characteristics we mention when discussing a friend’s personality: aggressiveness, self-pity, and cynicism

• describes our behaviour

secondary traits

• least influential individual traits

• only a close friend would notice evidence of them

• e.g. preference for a particular type of music or food

Motivation: What We Strive for ALLPORT

• explain the present in terms of the future rather than in terms of the past.

• Deliberate intentions are an essential part of our personality.

• keys to understanding our behavior

Functional Autonomy

• motives of mature, emotionally healthy adults are not functionally connected to the prior experiences in which they initially appeared

• talked about the development of a tree → the seed is no longer required as a source of nourishment = same way, when we grow up, we become independent of our parents.

The Unique Self “proprium”

• includes those aspects of personality that are distinctive and thus appropriate to our individual emotional life

• The core of personality (the self) that develops over time

• The core of personality

• bodily self

• self-identity

• self-esteem

• self-extension

• self-image

• self as rational coper

• propriate striving

Bodily self

• 0-2 years

• Awareness of ones own body (sensations, limit)

Self-identity

• 2-4 years

• recognising oneself as the same person over time (own name)

Self-esteem

• 3-6 years

• sense of competence, pride in achievements

Self-extension

• 4-6 years

• identifying with things outside oneself (family)

Self-image

• 5-6 years

• awareness of how others see us, expectations, good vs bad behaviour

self as rational coper

• 6-12 years

• problem-solving, logical thinking, personal responsibility

Propriate striving

• 12 + years

• developing life goals, sense of purpose, long-term aspirations

The Healthy Adult Personality ALLPORT

• the healthy personality changes and grows from being a biologically dominated organism in infancy to a mature psychological organism in adulthood

• Adults cope with the present and plan for the future

six criteria for normal, mature, emotionally healthy adult personalities (ALLPORT)

• Mature adults extend their sense of self to people and activities beyond the self.

• Mature adults relate warmly to other people, exhibiting intimacy, compassion, and tolerance.

• Mature adult’s high degree of self-acceptance helps them to achieve emotional security.

• Mature adults hold a realistic perception of life, develop personal skills, and make a commitment to some type of work.

• Mature adults have a sense of humor and self-objectification (an understanding of or insight into the self).

• Mature adults subscribe to a unifying philosophy of life, which is responsible for directing the personality toward future goals

Cattell - Predicting Behavior

• how a person will behave in response to a given stimulus situation

• Cattell’s subjects were normal people

A Scientific Approach CATELL

• Relied on observations of behavior and masses of data

Personality Traits

• defined as the mental elements of the personality

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

• traits as relatively permanent reaction tendencies that are the basic structural units of the personality

Catell´s tarits

• common Traits

• unique Traits

• Ability Traits

• Temperament Traits

• Dynamic Traits

• Surface Traits

• Source Traits

• Constitutional traits

• environmental-mold traits

Common Traits

• e.g. Intelligence, extraversion, and gregariousness are examples of common traits

• The traits are universal, however, some people have them to a greater extent than others

Unique traits

• particularly apparent in our interests and attitudes

• E.g. one person may have a consuming interest in genealogy, whereas another may be passionately interested in Civil War battles or baseball or Chinese martial arts.

Ability traits

• Determine how efficiently we will be able to work toward a goal.

• Intelligence is an ability trait; our level of intelligence will affect the ways in which we strive for our goals

Temperament traits

• Describe the general style and emotional tone of our behavior; for example, how assertive, easygoing, or irritable we are.

• These traits affect the ways we act and react to situations

Dynamic traits

• Are the driving forces of behavior

• They define our motivations, interests, and ambitions.

Surface traits

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

Source traits

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

Constitutional traits

Source traits that depend on our physiological characteristics

Environmental traits

Source traits that are learned from social and environmental interactions.

Catell identified 16 source traits

• the basic factors of personality

• personality test called the Sixteen Personality Factor (16 PF) Questionnaire.

Dynamic Traits and Motivation

Cattell described dynamic traits as the traits concerned with motivation

The Influences of Heredity and Environment

• twin studies

• differences in traits could be attributed to genetic or to environmental influences

• Cattell emphasised: one-third of our personality is genetically based, and two-thirds is determined by social and environmental influences.

Cattell: six stages in the personality development

• Infancy

• Childhood

• Adolescence

• Maturity

• Late Maturity

• Old Age

Infancy

• from birth to age 6

• Major formative period for personality

• child is influenced by parents and siblings (toilet training)

• Development of social attitudes, ego, superego, feelings of security or insecurity, attitudes toward authority, and a possible tendency to neuroticism.

Childhood

• Between ages 6 and 14

• marks the beginning of a move toward independence from parents and an increasing identification with peers

Adolescence

• ages 14 to 23

• Emotional disorders and delinquency may be evident as young people experience conflicts centered on the drives for independence, self-assertion, and sex.

Maturity

• age 23 to 50

• personality becomes less flexible, compared with earlier stages, and thus emotional stability increases

Late Maturity

• ages 50 to 65

• personality developments in response to physical, social, and psychological changes

• people reexamine their values and search for a new self.

Old Age

• from 65 onward,

• involves adjustments to different kinds of losses

• the death of spouses, relatives, and friends

Assessment in Cattell’s Theory

• objective measurements of personality

• used three primary assessment techniques: called L-data (life records), Q-data (questionnaires), and T-data (tests).

L-data (life records)

• involves observers’ ratings of specific behaviors exhibited by people in real-life settings such as a classroom or office → recoding the frequency of conscientiousness in performing job duty.

Importance of L-data (life records)

• they involve overt behaviors that can be seen by an observer and occur in a naturalistic setting rather than in the artificial situation

Q-data (questionnaires)

• relies on questionnaires

• subjects are required to rate themselves

Limitations related to Q-data (questionnaires)

• participants might have superficial self-awareness, answers will not reflect the true nature of their personality.

• participants does not want researchers to know them

T-data (tests)

• use “objective” tests → the test is resistant to faking

• participant responds without knowing what aspect of behavior is being evaluated