The Five-Factor Model (FFM)

Flashcards based on lecture notes about the Five-Factor Model of personality.

What were the three original factors focused on by McCrae and Costa?

Neuroticism (N), Extraversion (E), and Openness to Experience (O).

When did the full Five-Factor Model (FFM) emerge?

1985 with the development of the NEO-PI.

What two additional traits were fully developed by 1992 in the Revised NEO-PI (NEO-PI-R)?

Agreeableness (A) and Conscientiousness (C).

What did the Five-Factor Model (FFM) become in personality research?

A standard taxonomy in personality research, recognized across cultures and languages.

What did McCrae and Costa agree with Eysenck regarding personality traits?

Personality traits are bipolar and follow a bell-shaped distribution.

According to the Five-Factor Model, what do high scores in Neuroticism (N) reflect?

Anxiety, emotional instability, and vulnerability to stress.

According to the Five-Factor Model, how can high scorers in extraversion be described?

Sociable, energetic, and affectionate.

According to the Five-Factor Model, what does high openness indicate?

Creativity, curiosity, and liberal values.

According to the Five-Factor Model, what does high agreeableness show?

Trust, altruism, and kindness.

According to the Five-Factor Model, what do high scores in conscientiousness suggest?

Self-discipline, well-organized, and goal-oriented.

What did McCrae and Costa transform the FFM into?

A comprehensive personality theory (FFT) by organizing empirical findings into a meaningful system explaining both stability and change.

In the Five-Factor Theory, what are Basic Tendencies?

Biological, enduring dispositions including the Big Five traits.

In the Five-Factor Theory, what are Characteristic Adaptations?

Contextualized personality structures like skills, habits, attitudes, shaped by external influences.

In the Five-Factor Theory, what is Self-Concept?

Personal identity and self-perceptions developed through experience.

What are the Biological Bases within the peripheral components of the Five-Factor Theory?

Genetics and neurobiology shaping basic tendencies.

What is Objective Biography within the peripheral components of the Five-Factor Theory?

Observable behaviors and life experiences.

What are External Influences within the peripheral components of the Five-Factor Theory?

Environmental factors affecting characteristic adaptations.

What do the postulates for Basic Tendencies state?

Traits are biologically based and remain stable across time and situations.

What do the postulates for Characteristic Adaptations state?

They are shaped by experiences and can vary across cultures and life stages.

What two major problems in personality research did the Five-Factor Model answer?

A common language for trait description and a unified structure for understanding personality across cultures.

What does the Five-Factor Model integrate into a coherent framework?

It integrates both nature (biological tendencies) and nurture (environmental adaptation) into a coherent framework.