Psych 2250A Chapter 3: Traits and Trait Taxonomy
Psych 2250A Chapter 3: Traits and Trait Taxonomy
The Dispositional Domain
Disposition: Inherent tendency to behave in a certain way.
Interchangeable with the term trait.
Traits are considered the building blocks of personality.
Key Questions in Studying Personality Traits
How should we conceptualize traits?
How can we identify which traits are the most important, despite thousands of individual differences?
How can we formulate a comprehensive taxonomy of traits?
Similar to the structure of the periodic table.
Conceptualizing Traits
Important to measure traits as dimensions on which people differ rather than as categorical types.
This contrasts sharply with approaches like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which focuses on restricted personality types.
Research indicates that traits are distributed normally over a range of expressions and exist as dimensions.
Traits as Internal Causal Properties
Traits represent internal needs, wants, and desires that are presumed to:
Influence and explain individual behavior.
Example: Desiring a hamburger but not eating one due to the desire to lose weight illustrates that desires do not always result in predictable behavior.
Caution: It is not always valid to assume that traits are the direct cause of behaviors.
Traits as Purely Descriptive Summaries
Traits are descriptive without presuming internal causality.
The “Act of Frequency Approach”
Definition: Assumes traits are categories of discrete acts.
Examples of dominance: Taking charge in games or deciding what to watch on TV.
This approach encompasses three key elements:
Act Nomination: A procedure identifying which acts are categorized into trait categories.
Prototypicality Judgment: Determining which acts are most representative of each trait category.
Recording of Act Performance: Gathering actual behavioral data about individuals through self-reports or peer reports.
Evaluation of the Act Frequency Formulation
Criticisms:
Fails to specify contact details in describing trait-relevant acts (e.g., relationships, occasions, personal history).
Focused on observable actions, neglecting significant traits like courage that may remain unexpressed under normal circumstances.
Accomplishments of this approach:
Clarified behavioral phenomena related to ambiguous traits (e.g., impulsivity, creativity).
Aided in identifying cultural similarities and differences regarding trait expressions (such as shyness).
Identification of Important Traits
Three fundamental approaches used:
The Lexical Approach:
Based on natural language; asserts significant differences among individuals have corresponding terms in language.
Over 18,000 trait-descriptive adjectives exist in the dictionary.
Criteria for identifying important traits:
Synonym Frequency: More terms indicate greater importance.
Example: Dominance – includes terms like bossy, assertive, powerful.
Cross-Cultural Universality: More widely used terms indicate greater importance across cultures.
Limitations: Different parts of speech complicate strict definitions.
The Statistical Approach:
Utilizes factor analysis to find major personality traits from a pool of items (questions, trait adjectives).
Most researchers turn to statistical methods post-lexical approach.
Self-ratings on collected trait adjectives can reveal basic personality trait categories.
Factor Analysis: Identifies groups of items that vary together while being distinct from other groups.
The Theoretical Approach:
Relies on existing theories to define which traits matter, in contrast to the theoretical neutrality of the statistical approach.
Example: Freud’s oral and anal personality concepts.
Identifies and measures traits with potentially practical applications (e.g., Sociosexual orientation).
Taxonomies of Personality
Taxonomy: A classification scheme to organize subjects.
Eysenck’s Hierarchical Model of Personality
Built upon biological bases of personality.
Suggested three primary traits:
Extraversion-Introversion (E)
Neuroticism-Emotional Stability (N): High neuroticism correlates with psychosomatic symptoms, anxiety, and emotional overreactivity.
Psychoticism (P): Associated with antisocial personality traits.
Remembered by the acronym PEN.
Structure of Eysenck's Model
Hierarchical levels:
Super Traits: Top level traits (E, N, P).
Narrow Traits: Second level specifics of super traits.
Habitual Acts: Clusters of acts related to narrow traits.
Specific Acts: Lowest level, demonstrating behavior linked to higher traits.
Findings on biological underpinnings:
Heritability; extraversion linked to CNS arousal.
Neuroticism related to ANS lability; high reactivity.
Psychoticism related to testosterone levels and neurotransmitter activity.
Wiggins’ Interpersonal Circumplex
Defined as a circle; based on the assumption that trait terms represent types of individual differences.
Focus on interpersonal traits; categorized interactions among individuals involving exchanges of love and status.
Two key resources:
Agency: Drive to get ahead.
Communion: Drive to get along.
Model characteristics:
Adjacency: Traits next to each other correlate positively.
Bipolarity: Opposite traits correlate negatively.
Orthogonality: Unrelated traits are perpendicularly positioned (zero correlation).
The Five Factor Model (Big Five)
Traits:
Openness to experience
Conscientiousness
Extraversion (surgency)
Agreeableness
Neuroticism (emotional instability)
Development: Combination of lexical and statistical approaches.
Allport and Odbert divided trait terms into four lists; stable traits, temporary states, social evaluations, and metaphorical terms.
Historical Contributions:
Fiske’s early identification of the five-factor model.
Tupes and Christal’s further development.
Measurement: Self-ratings (single-word adjectives or sentence items).
Adjective Markers for Big Five Traits
Extraversion (Surgency): Talkative, outgoing vs. shy, introverted.
Agreeableness: Sympathetic, kind vs. unsympathetic, harsh.
Conscientiousness: Organized, meticulous vs. disorganized, careless.
Emotional Stability (Low Neuroticism): Calm, stable vs. moody, anxious.
Intellect or Imagination (Openness): Creative, innovative vs. unimaginative, conventional.
The NEO-PI-R is the most widely used measurement tool employing sentence-length items.
The Fifth Factor and Cultural Implications
Disagreements exist on the content and replicability of the fifth factor.
Suggested examinations of traits across cultures to assess consistent usage hold relevance.
Additional proposed factors include positive evaluation and attractiveness.
Investigating personality description nouns (e.g., Jock, Babe) presents a new avenue.
The HEXACO Model
Identified an additional sixth factor: Honesty-Humility (H):
Includes facets: sincerity, fairness, modesty.
Comparison of emotionality with agreeableness reveals subtle variations:
Honesty-Humility (H): Fair, modest vs. greedy, boastful.
Emotionality (E): Sensitive vs. brave, independent.
Extraversion (X): Outgoing vs. reserved.
Agreeableness (A): Tolerant, gentle vs. stubborn, choleric.
Conscientiousness (C): Organized vs. negligent.
Openness to Experience (O): Intellectual vs. conventional.
Exploring the Dark Side of Personality
Machiavellianism:
Tendency to be manipulative and exploitative for self-interest.
Narcissism:
Grandiosity and entitlement with attention-seeking behavior (distinct from Narcissistic Personality Disorder).
Subclinical Psychopathy:
High impulsivity and thrill-seeking paired with low empathy (distinct from Antisocial Personality Disorder).
Dispositional Sadism:
Enjoyment from causing harm to others; included in the proposed Dark Tetrad.