3. Trait Theories

Question 1

Emotional, cognitive and behavioural tendencies that constitute underlying personality dimensions on which individuals vary.

Answer 1

Traits

Question 2

A descriptive approach – an attempt to describe people according to the underlying attributes and tenancies they have.

Answer 2

Categorising people

Question 3

Who said, “on the one hand, a trait is an observed tenancy to behave in a particular way. On the other, a trait is an inferred, or hypothesised, underlying personality disposition that generates this behavioural tendency”

Answer 3

Gordon Allport, 1937

Question 4

Who identified three over arching psychological super traits: extraversion – introversion, neuroticism – emotional stability and psychoticism – impulse control.

Answer 4

Eysenck’s theory

Question 5

Refers to a tendency to be sociable, active and willing to take risks. Introverts are characterised by social inhibition, seriousness and caution.

Answer 5

Extroversion

Question 6

Defines a continuum from emotional stability to instability.

Answer 6

Neuroticism

Question 7

Describes people who are aggressive, egocentric, impulsive and antisocial. People low on THIS are empathic and able to control their impulses.

Answer 7

Psychoticism

Question 8

Who proposed that brain structures have evolved in response to reinforcement and punishment.

Answer 8

Jeffrey Gray

Question 9

This is the structure that is attuned to rewards, and leads people to seek out stimulation and arousal.

Answer 9

Behavioural approach system (BAS)

Question 10

This is the structure that is attuned to punishment, and leads people to avoid potential dangerous or painful experiences.

Answer 10

Behavioural inhibition system (BIS)

Question 11

Factor analysis boils down to 5 superordinate personality traits, known as the big five factors, or …?

Answer 11

Five factor model (FFM)

Question 11

Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism.
Each of these include several lower order factors or facets.

Answer 11

Acronym - OCEAN

Question 12

What are - (1) it provides a static account of personality, (2) the construct validity of the model and the underlying genetic determinants of the traits remains questionable and (3) the utility of the model in applied areas of psychology is uncertain.

Answer 12

Limitations of FFM

Question 13

Mischel argued that situational variables – the circumstances in which people find themselves – largely determine their behaviour.

Answer 13

Consistency of traits across situations

Question 14

A trait does not refer to a specific behaviour in a specific situation but rather to a class of behaviours over a range of situations.

Answer 14

Principle of aggregation

Question 15

Researchers now also documented considerable consistency in many aspects of personality over long periods of time, a factor referred to as the stability of personality.

Answer 15

Consistency over time

Question 16

A basic personality disposition heavily influenced by genes.

Answer 16

Temperament

Question 17

People expressed particular traits in particular situations.

Answer 17

Person by situation interactions

Question 18

Traits lend themselves to measurement and hence to empirical investigation through questionnaires.

Answer 18

Contributions of traits theories

Question 19

What are - (1) they relied heavily on self-reports, and people mother always given accurate assessment of themselves, (2) the factors structure that emerges depends in part on the terms that are included and a number of highly subjective decisions made by the factor analyst, (3) trait psychology does not examine the dynamic nature of personality, (4) factors may not seem the same thing to different cultures, (5) trait theories often provide more insight into the ‘how much’ of personality than that how or why.

Answer 19

Limitations of traits theories