Chapter 3 - Traits Flashcards
What is the Dispositional Domain?
-aspects of personality that are stable over time; relatively consistent over situations; make people different from each other
-2 basic formulations:
1.traits as internal causal properties
2. traits as purely descriptive summaries
What is a trait (as internal causal properties)?
-traits are internal: individuals carry their desires, needs, and wants from one situation to the next
-desires/needs are causal: explain behaviour of individual who posses them
-traits lie dormant: capacities are present even when behaviours are not expressed
What are 2 problems with assuming causal?
-internal aspects the person might not be aware of;
-in different situations we might not notice (context matters)
What is a trait (purely descriptive summaries)?
-traits are descriptive summaries of attributes: no assumption about internality/no deep-seated trait; nor is causality assumed
-first identify/describe individual differences: subsequently develop casual theories to explain them
What are the 3 approaches to identifying relevant traits?
- Lexical approach
- Theoretical approach
- Statistical apporach
What is the Lexical Approach?
-starts with lexical hypothesis: all important individual differences have become encoded within the language
-which words we use are important
What are the 2 criteria of the Lexical Approach to identify important traits?
- Synonym frequency
- Cross-cultural universality
What are the problems and limitations of the Lexical Approach?
-many traits are ambiguous, metaphorical, obscure, or difficult
-personality is conveyed through different parts of speech
-good starting point for identifying important individual differences but shouldn’t be used exclusively
What is the Theoretical Approach?
-starts with a theory, which then determines which variables are important
-contrasts the statistical approach which is atheoretical
What is the Statistica Approach?
-starts with large/diverse pool of personality items
-researchers using lexical turn to statistical to distill ratings of trait adjectives into basic categories of traits
-goal: identify major dimensions of personality
-researchers often use factor analysis to correlate responses into clusters
What is factor analysis?
-identifies groups of items that covary or go together, but don’t covary with other groups of items
-provides means for determining which personality variables belong within the same group
-reduces the large array of diverse traits into smaller, more useful set of underlying factors
What are the Taxonomies of Personality?
-Gordon Allport
-Hans Eysenck’s Hierarchical Model of Personality
-Raymond Cattell’s Taxonomy: the 16 personality factor system
-circumplex taxonomies of personality: the Wiggins Circumplex
-Five-Factor Model
-The HEXACO Model
Did Allport agree with Freud?
-he did not agree with psychoanalytic perspective of personality
-not everything is a repressed memory from childhood
What were Allport’s views?
-virtually impossible to define personality in precise terms
-“personality is the dynamic organization within the individual of those psychophysical systems that determine his characteristic behaviour and thought”
–components are interconnected; continually evolving and changing
-although situational influences have an effect, it is the individual’s perception of the situation that influences their behaviour and thoughts
What is the Humanistic Theory?
-a theory that emphasizes the dignity and worth of a person
-gives people the benefit of the doubt; doing the best they can
-people are in a state of becoming: a developmental process involving movement towards self-actualization
What does a trait in action look like?
-stimuli is processed through the trait which results in a specific behaviour/response
What are the 3 trait classifications (in order of influence)?
-cardinal traits
-central traits
-secondary traits
What is a Cardinal trait?
-characteristics that serve as the motivating force for virtually all of an individual’s behaviour.
-ex: power; empathy
-some don’t have a cardinal trait
What is a Central trait?
-characteristics that control an individual’s behaviour in many situations, but are less comprehensive than cardinal traits.
-ex: intelligent; sincere; kind
-everyone has central traits; they impact decision-making but less than cardinal traits
What is a Secondary trait?
-peripheral characteristics that exert little control over a person’s behaviour (personal preferences)
-ex: likes dessert more than dinner; preference of vacation spots
What are 2 trait distinctions?
-common: dispositions shared with others.
-personal disposition: traits unique to the individual.
What is Nomothetic?
-approach to the study of behaviour that seeks to establish laws by specifying the general relationships between variables.
What is Idiographic?
-approach to the study of behaviour that seeks to understand the uniqueness of a specific individual through intensive investigation.
What are the criticisms of Allport’s Trait Theory?
-did not have much impact outside of psychology
-difficult to focus on uniqueness of individual rather than generalizable traits
-too few traits
What was Raymond Cattell’s goal?
-his goal was to identify and measure the basic units of personality
-believed true factors of personality should be found across different types of data (L data; Q-data; T-data)
What are the 2 techniques for factor analysis?
-R technique: used to infer underlying source traits in large subject populations. (nomothetic)
-P technique: permits assessment of the unique trait structure of an individual. (idiographic)
What is the role of Heredity and Environment?
-both biology and learning affect the development of traits
What is Classical Conditioning?
-type of learning in which a stimulus that is originally incapable of evoking a response becomes capable of evoking it after continued pairing of this stimulus with one that naturally produces the response.
What is Instrumental/Operant Conditioning?
-type of learning in which the presentation of a rewarding or punishing stimulus is made contingent on the occurrence of a response or behaviour
What is integration learning?
-type of learning in which people utilize their reasoning abilities and value systems to maximize the attainment of long-range goals.
What is Cattell’s 16 Personality Factor System/Test?
-factor-analytically derived questionnaire designed to measure the primary or basic underlying traits of personality.
What are the major criticisms of Cattell’s Taxonomy?
-other researchers failed to replicate the 16 factors
-a smaller number of factors captures important ways in which individuals differ
-Cattell was a eugenicist
What are Restrictive Eugenics?
-program to reduce the birth rate of the mentally handicapped; Cattell advocated this program in the belief that such individuals are a costly burden to society and slow its evolutionary growth
What are Creative Eugenics?
-program designed to increase the birth rate of more intelligent people in the belief that such individuals will develop sounder ethical values and contributes more to society’s well being
What is Eysenck’s Hierarchical Model of Personality?
-based on traits that Eysenck believed were highly heritable with a psychophysiological foundation
-3 Supertraits met criteria:
1. Extraversion-Introversion (E)
2. Neuroticism-Emotional Stability (N)
3. Psychoticism (P)
What is the Hierarchical Structure of Eysenck’s model?
-super traits (P,E,N) at the top
-narrower traits at the second level
-subsumed by each narrower trait is the 3rd level (habitual acts)
-at the lowest level of the four-tiered hierarchy are specific acts
What are the Biological Underpinnings of Eysenck’s model?
-key criteria for “Basic” Dimensions of Personality:
-P,E,N have moderate heritability
-identifiable physiological substrate
What are the limitations of Eysenck’s model?
-many other personality traits show moderate heritability
-Eysenck may have missed important traits
What is Wiggins’ Circumplex Taxonomies of Personality?
-developed measurement scales to assess traits
-started with lexical assumption
-argues that trait terms specify different kinds of ways in which individuals differ: interpersonal, temperament, character, material, attitude, mental, and physical
-concerned with interpersonal traits and carefully separated these out
-two resources that define social exchanges are love and status
What are 3 key advantages of the Wiggins Circumplex?
-provides an explicit definition of what constitutes “interpersonal” behaviour
-specifies relationships between each trait and every other trait in the model (adjacency, bipolarity, orthogonality)**
-alerts investigators to “gaps” in work on interpersonal behaviour
What are key limitations of the Wiggins Circumplex?
-interpersonal map is limited to two dimensions
-other traits may have important interpersonal consequences
What is the Five Factor Model?
five broad factors
-originally based on the combination of lexical and statistical approaches
-has achieved a greater degree of consensus than any other trait taxonomy in the history of personality trait psychology
What are Facets (Big Five)?
-because the Big Five are big, they include several subcategories of traits, called facets (we don’t score high on all facets)
-helps view diversity of characteristics within each larger grouping
-helps avoid common misunderstandings about the traits
What are the five factors (OCEAN/CANOE)?
-Openness-intellect/Openness to Experience (O)
-Conscientiousness (C)
-Extraversion (surgency) (E)
-Agreeableness (A)
-Neuroticism/Emotional Stability (N)
What are the traits of Openness-intellect/Openness to Experience?
-being interested in trying new activities; playing with new ideas, beliefs, and value systems
-fantasy prone; open to feelings; open to diverse behaviours; open to new/different ideas; open to various values and beliefs; vivid fantasy life; artistic sensitivity; deep feelings; behavioural flexibility; intellectual curiosity; unconventional attitudes
What are high openness people like?
-enjoy trying new things
-play with complex ideas
-consider alternative perspectives and value systems
-tend to be creative
-tend to be politically liberal and interested in social activism
What are low openness people like?
-prefer routine
-value the status quo
-favour traditional and conventional activities
-tend to be politically conservative
What are the traits/facets of Conscientiousness?
-organized, ambitious, and self-controlled
-competent; orderly; dutiful; achievement-oriented; self-disciplines; deliberate
What are people high in conscientiousness like?
-have high levels of will power
-are organized
-work hard toward goals despite distractions or boredom
-have good mental and physical health
-have academic and professional success
What are people low in conscientiousness like?
-are impulsive
-are easily distracted
-have less ambition
-are unorganized
-tend to give up easily
-are more likely to engage in drug and alcohol abuse, crime, risky sex, and gambling
What are the traits/facets of Extraversion?
-being outgoing and experiencing positive
-gregarious; warm; assertive; active; excitement-seeking; positive emotionality
What are some characteristics of Extraversion?
-linked to better mental health
-Americans score above average on extraversion
-personality traits vary regionally
-most people are both extraverted and introverted in different settings
What are the traits of Agreeableness?
-caring for others and having a good relationship with other people
-straightforward; altruistic; compliant; trusting; modest; tender-minded
What are agreeable people like?
-are trusting and sympathetic
-prefer cooperation to competition
-tend to be honest, forthright, humble, self-efficacing, and compliant
-tend to be good friends and caring romantic partners
-linked to better mental health
What are disagreeable people like?
-skeptical, cynical, dishonest, aggressive, grandiose, egocentric, manipulative, and callous
-more likely to be involved with crime, risky sex, drug abuse, and other antisocial behaviour
-likely to have a hostile attribution bias
What are the traits/facets of Neuroticism?
-experiencing negative emotions like worry and anger
-anxiety; angry hostility; depression; self-consciousness; impulsiveness; vulnerability
What are people high in neuroticism like?
-are more likely to take medications, drink alcohol or take drugs to improve mood
-more prone to mental health issues including: depression; anxiety disorders; personality disorders; substance abuse disorders; eating disorders
-prone to physical health issues including: heart issues; obesity; irritable bowel syndrome
What is the empirical evidence for the Five-Factor Model?
-replicable in studies using English language trait words as items
-found by more than a dozen researchers using different samples
-replicated in different languages
-replicated in every decade for the past half century
-replicated using different item formats
Are the Big Five distinct categories or a continuum?
-very few people score at one extreme or the other
-most are somewhere in between
-the Big Five components are on a continuum
-some Big Five traits are weakly correlated with others
What is the HEXACO Model?
-similar to Big Five, but posits slightly different versions of some of the traits
-key differences:
–honesty-humility as a sixth dimension
–the inclusion of anger under agreeableness rather than emotionality
What are other possible traits?
-still debates on exact number and composition of traits that are most important
-other traits capturing interesting aspects of our behaviour: need for achievement; need for cognition; authoritarianism; self-esteem; optimism; alexithymia
What is the Dark Triad?
-three traits associated with disruptions and transgressions in social relationships
1. Machiavellianism
2. Narcissism
3. Subclinical psychopathy
