The 5 Factor Model

mccrae

born in 1949 in maryville, MO, went to BU and majored in psychology, very interested in Cattell’s work with factor analysis and traits, hired by Costa after getting his PHD

Costa

born in 1942 in Franklin, New Hampshire, majored in psychology at Clark university; MA and PhD from U of Chicago, hired mccrae to work on a grant (smoking and personality)

the big 5

E, A, C, N, O (OCEAN)

progression of the 5 factor model

a counter to armchair speculation of many personality psychologists, developed through factor analysis of other personality inventories including the MBTI and Eyesenck’s personality inventory, initial focus was on neuroticism and extroversion the openness to experience was added, then agreeableness and conscientiousness, and is found across all cultures

how can behavior be predicted

by understanding 3 central (core) and 3 peripheral components of personality

mccrae and costa

basic tended (the major component of personality) are the “universal raw material of personality capacities and dispositions that are generally inferred rather than observed. basic tendencies may be inherited, imprinted by early experiences or modified by a disease or psychological intervention, but at any given period in an individual’s life, they define the individual’s potential and direction”

basic tendencies

stable, not influenced by environment, genetically acquired, the big 5+ cognitive abilities, artistic talent and sexual orientation, we each have a unique combination of trait patterns (ex how quickly we learn)

characteristic adaptations

flexible, acquired as we adapt to our environment, skills, habits, beliefs, attitudes (etc). that we acquire through interacting with our environment, differ from culture to culture (ex what we learn)

self concept

conscious beliefs, attitudes, and feelings we have about ourselves, actually a characteristic adaptation but so important it has its own designation as a core component, shaped through the interaction of traits (basic tendencies) and our response to our environment (characteristic adaptations)

biological bases

basic tendencies are influenced primarily by genes, hormones, and brain structures

objective biography

influence of what has happened in a person’s life (not their perception of it, but what actually has happened)

external influences

how we response to opportunities and demands of a context; “behavior is a function of the interaction between characteristic adaptions and external influences”

high extraversion

affectionate, joiner, talkative, active, passionate

low extraversion

reserved, loner, quiet, passive, unfeeling

high neuroticism

anxious, temperamental, self conscious, emotional, vulnerable

low neuroticism

calm, even tempered, comfortable, unemotional, hardy

high openness

imaginative, creative, original, curious, liberal

low openness

down to earth, uncreative, conventional, incurious, conservative

high agreeableness

softhearted, trusting, generous, lenient, good natured

low agreeableness

ruthless, suspicious, stingy, critical, irritable

high conscientiousness

conscientious, hard working, well organized, punctual, ambitious, persevering

low conscientiousness

negligent, lazy, disorganized, late, aimless, irresolute

5 FM and human development

relative permanence with age (barring TBI, Alzheimers etc), traits can shift as we mature, our environment changes, or with deliberate intervention

traits develop and change more in childhood than in other stage

slowing during adolescence, general stagnation of personality traits in mid adulthood

certain traits are more malleable and dynamic at different stages

E, O, and N as most important in youth and A and C become more vital as we age

academic performance

biggest prediction of high school and college GPA, C (nearly the same influence on GPA as intelligence), low A and low C predicts academic dishonesty, big 5 not predictions of SAT performance although O has been found to be related to scores on the verbal section and N leads to higher scores (bc of repeat administrations)

internet use

compulsive internet use associated with low mood, low E, low A, high N score high on compulsive use

emotions

high E - positive emotion; high N - negative emotion, O correlated with joy, love, passion, and amusement, fake it until you make it (E)