psyc1101 exam 4: personality part 2

traits

characteristic ways of behaving

• ex: shy, funny, quiet, kind, knowledgeable, organized, generous

personality factors

• a big picture personality trait

• collection of traits that are similar

• likely all stem from one “big trait” factor

myers briggs test

• 4 personality traits

  • introversion/extraversion

  • sensing/intuition

  • thinking/feeling

  • judging/perceiving

• traits are binary

  • you are either one or the other, no in between

• combination of factors yields 16 personalities

is myers briggs a good test

• created by 2 individuals

  • one had a bachelors in agriculture

  • one had a bachelors in political science

• based on carl jung's theories

• there are a number of psychometric limitations to the reliability of the test

• your MBTI can change after a few months

big 5 inventory

• created by examining similarities between over 1500 traits in thousands of individuals across the world

• created by personality psychologists

• 5 personality factors

• factors are continuums, not binary

the big 5

• openness

• conscientiousness

• extraversion

• agreeableness

• neuroticism

• OCEAN

openness

• how willing to try new things you are

  • independence, imaginative, preference for variety

conscientiousness

• how dependable and responsible you are

  • careful, disciplined, organized

extraversion

• how sociable you are

  • outgoing, talkative, lively

agreeableness

• how forgiving and king you are towards others

  • sympathetic, kind, appreciative

neuroticism

• how emotional unstable you are

  • stable/tense, calm/anxious, secure/insecure

  • more negative emotions

HEXACO - big 5 evolved

• honesty-humility: care and empathy for others

  • sincere, fair, caring, modest

• emotionality (neuroticism)

• eXtraversion

• agreeableness

• conscientiousness

• openness

advantages and disadvantages of trait theories

• advantages

  • simple and easy to understand labels for personality

  • people can be compared easily on traits

• disadvantages

  • different theories point toward different traits as important (and have different number of factors)

  • theories do not take situational factors into consideration (like social cognition does)

biology and personality

• personality is influenced by genetics

• children often have similar personalities to their parents

• studies show about 40-60% of someone's personality id determined by genetics

optimal arousal theory

• everyone has a preferred level of arousal

• if they are below that level, they will seek stimulation

• if they are above that level, they will seek calming environments

eysenck’s reticular activation theory

• introverts and extroverts differ in optimal arousal level

grey's biopsychological theory

proposes that personality is based on three brain-based systems that manage responses to rewards and punishments. These systems include the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) for reward-seeking, the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) for threat monitoring, and the Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS) for fear responses

behavioral inhibition system

- sensitive to environmental punishment
- behavior
	- avoid negative consequences/punishments
- character of emotion
	- negatvie
- personality trait
	- neuroticism

behavioral activation system

- sensitive to environmental reward
- seek positive consequences/rewards
- positive character of emotion
- extraversion