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Personality Psychology > 8 - Factor Analytic Trait Theories > Flashcards

8 - Factor Analytic Trait Theories Flashcards

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1
Q

Why are factor analytic trait theories the dominant view?

A
  • not because it is better at predicting behaviour

- but because of easy quantification and ancestry (familiarity, history)

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2
Q

What is factor analysis?

A
  • factor analytic theories are based on a mathematical technique called factor analysis
  • in general, factor analysis identifies patterns of intercorrelated variables, and models how such patterns could be accounted for by hypothesizing a small number of factors underlying and contributing to the correlated variables
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3
Q

What is the process for factor analysis?

A
  • there are more than 15 000 words that describe positions on trait dimensions
  • people are asked where they would place themselves on a scale for a set number of trait dimensions
  • then, look at the correlation between the trait dimensions
  • conduct factor analysis to analyze why the values of particular variables are related so closely to each other
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4
Q

What are factors?

A
  • an explanation for a correlation is that there is a common underlying characteristic or factor
  • each factor is described mathematically as an equation
  • the equation estimates the extent to which the hypothesized factor is reflected in the value of each intercorrelated variable
  • these are the factor loadings
  • the higher the loading for each variable, the more its value is determined by the underlying factor
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5
Q

What is the difference between orthogonal and non-orthogonal factors?

A
  • orthogonal = occurs when the set of variables making up one factor are completely different from the set of variables making up the other factor
  • non-orthogonal = occurs when one factor includes some of the same variables as the other factor; leads to an increased number of factors
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6
Q

How do you name a factor?

A
  • a factor analysis does not tell us what the underlying factors are, or how we should name and describe them
  • usually, a factor is given a name based on the sorts of variables it influences
  • people can differ in terms of the names they give to certain factors
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7
Q

What does factor analysis do?

A
  • does not find “real” things = factors are hypothetical constructs
  • does not identify factors
  • not necessarily traits = originally used for components of intelligence
  • results depend on measures
  • results depend on parameters = orthogonal vs non-orthogonal
    non-orthogonal, exploratory vs. confirmatory factor analysis
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8
Q

What makes a factor basic?

A
  • reliable = stable over time and observers
  • used by both theorists and laypersons
  • appear across cultures (lexical hypothesis) = if people find something is important, they will develop a word for it
  • must have some biological basis
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9
Q

What is Cattell’s 16 PF?

A
  • non-orthogonal factors

- unusual names that were later changed = affectia, premsia, surgency, tensidia

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10
Q

What is the Big Five?

A
  • dominant view in factor analysis
  • there are five dimensions in the Big Five
  • the dimension itself is not a trait
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11
Q

What are the dimensions in the Big Five?

A
  • dimension 1 = extroversion - introversion
  • dimension 2 = agreeableness
  • dimension 3 = conscientiousness - will
  • dimension 4 = neuroticism - ego stability
  • dimension 5 = intellect/openness
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12
Q

How doe the Big Five factors change with age?

A
  • increase in social dominance (extroversion) between 20 and 40
  • increase in conscientiousness between 20 and 40
  • increase in emotional stability (neuroticism) between 20 and 40
  • increase in social vitality (extroversion) in adolescence, down in old age
  • increase in openness in adolescence, down in old age
  • increase in agreeableness in old age
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13
Q

Why do changes in the Big Five occur?

A
  • cultural factors
  • Europeans and Americans have higher extraversion, higher openness, and lower agreeableness
  • selected migration with genes for increased entroversion
  • increased population area increases agreeableness
  • different genes are active in different parts of life
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14
Q

What are Zuckerman and Kuhlman’s Alternative Five?

A
  • sociability
  • neuroticism/anxiety
  • impulsive sensation seeking
  • aggression/hostility
  • activity
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15
Q

What is Zuckerman’s biological model?

A
  • attempted to tie together higher-level personality constructs (traits and factors) with cognitive/behavioural tendencies, emotions, and underlying physicochemical system
  • he focuses on the possible role of major neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine and norepinephrine)
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16
Q

How does low blood platelet MAO relate to the Alternate Five?

A

Low blood platelet MAO is positively associated with

  • impulsive sensation-seeking
  • sociability
  • aggression-hostility

Low blood platelet MAO is correlated with

  • chronic marijuana use
  • chronic schizophrenia
  • adults with borderline, antisocial PD
  • children with ADHD, conduct disorder
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17
Q

How does Eysenck’s model compare to Zuckerman’s model?

A

Eysenck

  • single optimal level of arousal
  • extroverts are below the optimal level
  • introverts are above the optimal level

Zuckerman

  • two levels of optimal chemical arousal (low levels of MAO, high levels of activity)
  • optimal arousal level for extroverts is higher than that of introverts
  • extroverts are below their optimal level, and introverts are above their optimal level
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18
Q

How does factor 1 compare across the three theories?

A
  • extroversion

- same across Big Five, Eysenck, and Alt 5

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19
Q

How does factor 2 compare across the three theories?

A
  • agreeableness
  • no equivalent in Eysenck
  • negatively correlated with Alt 5’s aggression
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20
Q

How does factor 3 compare across the three theories?

A
  • conscientiousness
  • negatively correlated with Eysenck’s psychoticism
  • negatively correlated with Alt 5’s sensation-seeking
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21
Q

How does factor 4 compare across the three theories?

A
  • neuroticism

- same across Big Five, Eysenck, and Alt 5

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22
Q

How does factor 5 compare across the three theories?

A
  • intellect/openness
  • no equivalent in Eysenck
  • positively correlated with Alt 5’s activity
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23
Q

What were the problems with the Big Five?

A
  • no dimension 5 (openness) in several lexicons = Italian, Hungarian, Greek
  • extroversion-conscientious dimension Filipino (Tagalog)
  • six factors emerge in 7 language lexicons = Dutch, Hungarian, Polish, Korean, French, German, Italian
  • reanalysis of English lexicon also extracts 6 factor dimensions
24
Q

What is the HEXACO model?

A
  • honesty-humility (this is the new factor)
  • emotionality (neuroticism)
  • extraversion
  • agreeableness
  • conscientiousness
  • openness
25
Q

What is DeRaad et al’s model?

A
  • combined trait lexicons from 10 languages = Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, Filipino, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian (2 lexicons), Polish
  • 3 to 6 factor model
  • affiliation = honesty-humility, agreeableness
  • dynamism = extraversion
  • order = emotionality, conscientiousness
  • openness was not related to any higher level factor
26
Q

What are the critiques of trait theories?

A
  • little about personality development
  • little clinical relevance
  • lots of overlap among factors
  • no mention of unconscious at all
  • no mention of the relation between traits and cognitions
  • no better at predicting behaviour
27
Q

What is rank order consistency?

A
  • the maintenance of individual differences in behaviour of personality over time or across situations
  • we tend to maintain the ways in which we are different from other people the same age
28
Q

What are the causes of stability?

A
  • from temperament to personality
  • physical and environmental factors
  • birth order
  • early experience
  • person-environment transactions
  • cumulative continuity and maturity
  • end of history
29
Q

What is heterotypic continuity?

A
  • the reflection of the consistency of fundamental differences in personality that changes with age
  • e.g. they may act differently as they age, but the underlying trait is the same
30
Q

What are some differences in birth order?

A
  • firstborn tend to be more conscientious than the secondborn children
  • secondborn tend to be higher on openness
  • however, all the effects are fairly small
31
Q

What are the different types of person-environment transactions?

A
  • active (seek out) = people seek out situations that are compatible, or avoid situations that are incompatible
  • reactive (respond to) = people with different personalities may react differently to the same situation
  • evocative (create) = people may change situations they encounter through behaviours that express their personality
32
Q

What is the concept of “end of history”?

A

from the perspective of the present moment, we expect to change less in the future than we have in the past

33
Q

What are the two methods of studying personality development?

A
  • cross-sectional studies (can lead to cohort effects)

- longitudinal studies (illustrates maturity principle - conscientiousness, stability)

34
Q

What are the causes of personality development?

A
  • physical development

- different social roles people occupy at different stages of life

35
Q

What is the social clock?

A
  • a social clock places pressures on all people to accomplish certain things by certain ages
  • on time = receive social approval and enjoy the feeling of being in sync with society
36
Q

What are the three aspects of identity?

A
  • actor = develop the social skills, traits, and roles that will allow one to begin to take a place in society
  • agent (7-9 years) = guided by goals and values, start to plan for the future and align the plans toward outcomes that are important to you
  • author (late adolescence) = results in the narrative of your life, comprises your narrative identity
37
Q

What are some themes in narrative identity?

A
  • agency = life story around episodes of challenging oneself and then accomplishing goals
  • redemption = event that seemed terrible but turned out for the best
38
Q

How do goals change across the lifespan?

A
  • young = focused on preparation for the future
  • old = focus on what they find emotionally meaningful, especially ties with family and long-time friends
  • appears to result from having a broader or narrower scope about time
39
Q

How do people desire change?

A
  • desire for change tends to be in a socially desirable direction
  • higher in extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness
  • lower in neuroticism
40
Q

How does psychotherapy work?

A
  • can produce long-term behaviour changes

- generally conducted in conjunction with the prescription of psychiatric drugs

41
Q

What are general interventions?

A
  • typically aimed at important outcomes such as completing education, lessening criminal behaviour, and improving employment prospects
  • can be expensive, but can be worth the cost
42
Q

What are targeted interventions?

A
  • programs tailored to address personality traits
  • if you change the relevant behaviors, the trait will follow
    then, other behavioural change will follow
43
Q

How can you increase self-control?

A
  • set realistic goals that are compatible with personal values
  • monitor how well you are doing
  • work on being consistent
44
Q

How are life experiences related to personality change?

A
  • big life experiences = starting college, trying drugs, onset of a chronic disease, becoming unemployed, financial setbacks, relationships problems, joining the military
  • events can also long after childhood is over
  • living abroad showed an increase in openness, self-esteem, agreeableness, and decrease in neuroticism
45
Q

What are the obstacles to change?

A
  • most people like their personalities the way they are, and do not see any reason for drastic change
  • people tend to blame negative experiences and failures on external forces
  • people like their lives to be consistent and predictable
46
Q

What are the steps to personality change?

A
  • precondition 1 = changing trait-related behaviours is considered desirable or necessary
  • precondition 2 = changing trait-related behaviour is considered feasible
  • self-regulated behavioural changes
  • precondition 3 = self-regulated changes become habitual
  • trait change
47
Q

What are the principles of personality development?

A
  • cumulative continuity principle
  • maturity principle
  • plasticity principle
  • role continuity principle
  • identity development principle
  • social investment principle
  • corresponsive principle
48
Q

What is the cumulative continuity principle?

A

personality traits increase in rank-order consistency as people get older

49
Q

What is the maturity principle?

A

people become better equipped to deal with the demands of life as they acquire experience and skills

50
Q

What is the plasticity principle?

A

personality can change at any time, but such changes may not be easy

51
Q

What is the role continuity principle?

A

taking on roles or images can lead personality to be consistent over time

52
Q

What is the identity development principle?

A

people seek to develop a stable sense of who they are, and then strive to act consistently with this self-view

53
Q

What is the social investment principle?

A

changing social roles at different stages of life, such as becoming a spouse, parent, or boss, can cause personality to change

54
Q

What is the corresponsive principle?

A

person-environment transactions can cause personality traits to remain consistent or even magnify over time

55
Q

Is personality change good or bad?

A
  • having a disorganized, unsteady personality leads to difficulties presenting a consistent self to other people
  • if one’s personality is constantly changing, then it will be difficult to choose consistent goals that can be pursued over the long term
  • whether personality change is good or bad depends on exactly what changes

Personality Psychology (11 decks)

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