Traits and Behaviour

How are traits and types different?

Traits are continuous distributions showing variance among people; types are qualitatively different categories (often artificial dichotomies)

What is the main problem with categorising people into types?

Artificial dichotomising can make small differences seem large and ignore nuance in the middle of the distribution

What’s the criticism of the Myers–Briggs test?

It has poor validity and reliability, and its dichotomies (e.g., thinking vs feeling) rarely reflect real-world variation.

What are examples of visible personality cues?

Dress, speech, public music preferences, handshake confidence, room tidiness.

What are invisible cues?

Private preferences and hidden behaviours.

What is "competence-dar"?

Judging competence from appearance; often stereotyped and gendered, with appearance not necessarily matching ability.

What is "warmth-dar"?

Inferring warmth from appearance; there is often a warmth–competence trade-off in perception.

What is "Mormon-dar"?

People in high-Mormon areas can guess religion from cues like youthful, healthy appearance (possibly due to no alcohol/caffeine)

What is a stigma?

A socially devalued characteristic (e.g., disability, homelessness).

Why can hiding a stigma be costly?

It feels inauthentic, is effortful, and depleting; involves secrecy and self-monitoring.

Who are “good targets” for judging personality?

People with stable, well-organised, consistent behaviour; observable traits like extraversion are easier to judge.

Are “good targets” always morally good?

No — it’s about judgeability, not morality

How do high self-monitors behave?

Adapt to situations, act well, are socially poised, more likely to lie to get a date, and are influenced by external feedback

How do low self-monitors behave?

Stay consistent across situations, may be distrusting, perfectionistic, and more independent.

What are key features of narcissism?

High self-regard, need for admiration, lack of empathy, manipulativeness, charm, vanity

Why is narcissism a “trap” for others?

Intermittent good behaviour keeps people engaged despite manipulation

What does the lexical hypothesis state?

Important traits become part of language

What’s the problem with lexical hypothesis?

Too many possible traits (17,000+), and at least 4500 excluding synonyms, making generalisation difficult.

How are traits grouped in the essential-trait approach?

Through factor analysis into meta-traits.

What are the two main types of factor analysis?

Exploratory (atheoretical) and confirmatory (theory-driven).

What are Eysenck’s three broad traits?

Psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism.

How many primary traits did Cattell identify?

16

What are the Big Five traits?

Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism

What is HEXACO?

Big Five plus Honesty–Humility.

Extraversion vs Introversion Key differences?

Extraverts seek stimulation, social attention, focus on speed; introverts prefer low stimulation, focus on accuracy, may make better listener-leaders.

High agreeableness traits?

Cooperative, trusting, prosocial, good at judging trustworthiness

Low agreeableness traits?

Aggressive, suspicious, more willing to confront or critique

High conscientiousness traits?

Organised, diligent, rule-following, better long-term goal achievement

Downsides of extreme conscientiousness?

Risk of perfectionism or OCD-like tendencies.

High openness traits?

Curious, creative, enjoy novelty, unconventional beliefs.

Low openness traits?

Prefer predictability, conventional, cautious with change.

High neuroticism traits?

Mood swings, anxiety, poor coping, worse health outcomes.

Low neuroticism traits?

Calm, resilient, less affected by stress.

What is the “neurotic cascade”?

Hyperreactivity → exposure → appraisal → spillover → poor coping.