Personality: Personality Traits
Personality Traits
Personality traits are characteristic ways of behaving; they influence how individuals interact with the world.
Examples of traits include sociability/shyness, moodiness/even-temperedness, optimism/pessimism.
Early Trait Theories
Gordon Allport (1936)
Identified 4,500 words in English that can describe personality traits.
Organized traits into three categories:
Cardinal Traits: Dominant traits that shape a person's entire life (e.g., greed, altruism).
Central Traits: General characteristics that make up the personality (e.g., kind, loyal, sneaky).
Secondary Traits: Traits that are less obvious and depend on the situation (e.g., preferences, attitudes).
Raymond Cattell (1946, 1957)
Narrowed down to about 71 traits and identified 16 factors of personality.
Developed the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF).
Each dimension is scored on a continuum (high to low).
Key factors: warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, social boldness, perfectionism.
Eysenck's Personality Dimensions
Proposed by Hans and Sibyl Eysenck, focused on genetic influences on personality.
Identified two primary traits:
Extraversion vs. Introversion: Sociability and outgoing vs. solitary behavior.
Neuroticism vs. Stability: Anxiety and instability vs. emotional stability.
Later added a third dimension, Psychoticism vs. Superego Control: Independent and impulsive vs. altruistic and conforming.
The Big Five Personality Theory
The Five Factor Model, commonly known as the Big Five, is the most widely accepted framework in personality psychology.
Traits are remembered using the mnemonic "OCEAN":
Openness to Experience: Creativity vs. practical and routine.
Conscientiousness: Dependability vs. impulsiveness and carelessness.
Extraversion: Sociable and warm vs. reserved and withdrawn.
Agreeableness: Cooperative and trusting vs. critical and suspicious.
Neuroticism: Emotional stability vs. anxiety and negative emotions.
Trait Continuum
Each trait exists on a spectrum; individuals score anywhere from low to high on each dimension.
Stability of the traits over time: conscientiousness tends to increase, while neuroticism may decrease with age.
The Person-Situation Debate
Introduced by Walter Mischel in 1968, challenged the consistency of personality across different situations.
Two Perspectives:
Trait Perspective: Personality traits predict behavior across various situations.
Situationist Perspective: Behavior is determined more by situational circumstances than by personality traits.
Examples in behavior context, such as honesty differing based on perceived risks and rewards.
Walter Mischel's Research
Conducted the Marshmallow Test to assess self-control; children differed in their ability to delay gratification.
Follow-up studies indicated that self-control in childhood correlated with positive outcomes in adolescence.
Stability and Change in Personality
Personality traits tend to be stable but can change due to life experiences and age.
Maturity Principle: Traits associated with positive adult roles tend to increase with age; neuroticism decreases.
Research shows that personality stability increases with age (Cumulative Continuity Principle).
Meta-Analysis Findings
Studies find that average levels of extraversion and agreeableness tend to increase, whereas neuroticism decreases.
Young adulthood (early 20s) is a critical period for personality change due to major life transitions (e.g., career, relationships).
Conclusion on Personality Stability
Personality is not set in stone. It is relatively enduring yet responsive to environmental influences.
Personality development can be influenced by an individual's experiences that affect their behavioral responses.
Summary of Research Trends
Stability is observed at different life stages, but changes are possible based on life experiences and situational factors.
Current research emphasizes the importance of both broad traits and situational contexts in understanding behavior.
Personality Traits
Personality traits are the characteristic ways in which individuals tend to behave, think, and feel, influencing their interactions with the world around them. These traits can significantly affect personal relationships, career choices, and overall life satisfaction. Examples of traits include sociability or shyness, moodiness or even-temperedness, and optimism or pessimism.
Early Trait Theories
Gordon Allport (1936)
Allport identified approximately 4,500 words in the English language that can describe personality traits, highlighting the complexity and richness of human temperament.
He categorized these traits into three hierarchical levels:
Cardinal Traits: Dominant traits that shape an individual’s entire life and influence their behavior across various situations (e.g., greed, altruism).
Central Traits: General characteristics that form the primary foundation of a person's personality (e.g., kindness, loyalty, or sneakiness).
Secondary Traits: Traits that may only manifest in certain situations and are more variable based on context (e.g., preferences, attitudes).
Raymond Cattell (1946, 1957)
Cattell narrowed down the extensive list of traits to around 71, from which he derived 16 essential factors of personality.
He developed the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), a widely-used tool for assessing personality, where each dimension is measured on a continuum ranging from high to low.
Key factors identified include warmth, reasoning, emotional stability, social boldness, and perfectionism, providing a more nuanced understanding of an individual's personality.
Eysenck's Personality Dimensions
Proposed by Hans and Sibyl Eysenck, this theory emphasizes the genetic influences on personality, identifying two primary dimensions of personality:
Extraversion vs. Introversion: This dimension captures sociability and outgoing behavior versus solitary and reserved tendencies.
Neuroticism vs. Stability: This characteristic ranges from anxiety and emotional instability to emotional well-being and stability.
Eysenck later expanded his model by introducing a third dimension: Psychoticism vs. Superego Control, which differentiates individuals who are more independent and impulsive from those who are conforming and altruistic.
The Big Five Personality Theory
The Five Factor Model, commonly known as the Big Five, represents the most broadly accepted framework in personality psychology. Traits are frequently recalled using the mnemonic "OCEAN":
Openness to Experience: Describes the spectrum from creativity and curiosity to practicality and routine.
Conscientiousness: Ranges from high dependability and organization to impulsiveness and carelessness.
Extraversion: Measures sociability and warmth versus being reserved and withdrawn.
Agreeableness: Captures cooperative and trusting nature as opposed to being critical and suspicious.
Neuroticism: Reflects emotional stability, ranging from calm and resilient to anxious and prone to negative emotions.
Trait Continuum
Each trait exists on a continuum, meaning individuals can present varying levels of these traits from low to high, indicating a spectrum of behaviors and characteristics. For instance, while conscientiousness often increases with age as individuals adopt adult roles, neuroticism may decrease. This variability showcases the dynamic nature of personality traits.
The Person-Situation Debate
Introduced by Walter Mischel in 1968, this debate challenged the consistency of personality across different situations:
Trait Perspective: This perspective argues that personality traits are stable and can effectively predict behavior across various contexts.
Situationist Perspective: This viewpoint suggests that external situational factors play a more significant role in determining behavior than personality traits do, illustrating that individual behavior can vary greatly depending on circumstances.
For example, an individual’s honesty may differ based on perceived risks and rewards in a given situation.
Walter Mischel's Research
Mischel conducted the famous Marshmallow Test to assess children's self-control and their ability to delay gratification. The findings showed significant differences in self-control among children , which correlated with later positive outcomes in adolescence, such as academic success and social competence.
Stability and Change in Personality
While personality traits tend to be stable over time, they can change due to a variety of life experiences and aging processes.
The Maturity Principle posits that traits associated with positive adult roles tend to become more pronounced with age, while neuroticism typically decreases.
Research indicates that personality stability increases with age, referred to as the Cumulative Continuity Principle, indicating that as people grow older, they develop more consistent personality profiles.
Meta-Analysis Findings
Studies have shown that average levels of extraversion and agreeableness tend to increase throughout the lifespan, while levels of neuroticism generally decline.
Young adulthood, particularly during the early 20s, is viewed as a critical period for personality change, driven by major life transitions, such as entering the workforce or forming long-term relationships.
Conclusion on Personality Stability
Contrary to the notion that personality is a fixed entity, research demonstrates that it is relatively enduring yet responsive to environmental influences.
Personality development can be significantly impacted by an individual's experiences and responses to environmental factors, highlighting the interplay between inherent traits and external circumstances.
Summary of Research Trends
Stability in personality traits is observed across different stages of life; however, changes can occur based on life experiences and situational elements.
Current research emphasizes the importance of both broad personality traits and the situational contexts in understanding behavior, advocating for a balanced view that incorporates both intrinsic and extrinsic influences on personality.