4.5 Social-Cognitive and Trait Theories of Personality

Social-Cognitive theory of personality

reciprocal determinism shapes personality.

Reciprocal determinism- the interacting influences of behavior, internal cognition(personal factors),and environment

Reciprocal determinism explores self-concept and how self-efficacy and self-esteem both contribute to self-concept

Self-concept- how one views themselves and in relation to others

Self-efficacy- an individual’s belief in their ability to do a specific task

Self-esteem- how positively a person views themselves, it includes how a person sees their abilities, accomplishments, and values, as well as how they think others see them

Trait theories of personality

conclude that personality involves a set of enduring characteristics(traits) that lead to typical responses to stimuli

Big five theory of personality

proposes that traits of agreeableness, openness to experience, extraversion, conscientiousness, and emotional stability make up one’s personality

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Conscientiousness- a person’s organization, dependability, discipline, and goal-directed behaviors

Agreeableness- a person’s trustworthiness, altruism, kindness, and affection

Neuroticism- emotional stability, a person’s tendency to experience emotional stability and remain calm in stressful situations

Openness- imagination, creativity, and curiosity

Extraversion- a person’s sociability, enthusiasm, and assertiveness

These traits are measured by specialized personality inventories

Personality inventories

a specialized questionnaire that measures where they fall on each of the Big Five traits

uses factor analysis to organize item responses

Factor analysis

a statistical method that identifies clusters of related questions, helping researchers determine which items on the test measure the same underlying trait